San Fernando, California

San Fernando, California sits close to the northern edge of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County. The City of San Fernando has a population of over 24,000 residents and a land area of over 2 square miles. Communities that are part of the City of Los Angeles, including Sylmar, Pacoima, Arleta, and Mission Hills, home to Mission de San Fernando Rey, surround the City of San Fernando. San Fernando enjoys a Mediterranean-type climate with very warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters.

Though primarily residential with an abundance of pre-World War II neighborhoods, San Fernando also features commercial and industrial areas. The City’s proximity to three freeways: Golden State (Interstate 5), Foothill (Interstate 210), and Ronald Reagan (California State Route 118), ensures easy access to area businesses. The main traffic arteries within San Fernando are San Fernando Road, Truman Street, and Maclay Avenue. The Sylmar / San Fernando Metrolink Station, found just outside of city limits, lends access to the Metrolink commuter rail system, which serves large portions of Southern California. The East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority will provide San Fernando with light rail service. The largest employers in San Fernando include Los Angeles Unified School District, Pharmavite LLC, Pepsi Beverage Company, Home Depot, Puretek Corporation, and Vallarta Supermarkets. The Downtown District features most of the City’s primary destinations, including the Civic Center, the Maclay Avenue shopping district, and the San Fernando Mall. The City of San Fernando has a pro-business attitude and aims to aid the business community.

The City of San Fernando operates under a City Council / City Manager form of government. The City Council, which is the legislative body for the City of San Fernando, is comprised of five members. City Council Members are elected officials who serve four-year terms. Each year the City Council elects a Mayor and a Vice Mayor from among its members.

The San Fernando Police Department serves the City of San Fernando. San Fernando contracts with the County of Los Angeles for fire and ambulance services. Mission City Transit is a shared curb-to-curb community bus service.

The land that now comprises the City of San Fernando was the site of ranching activities of nearby Mission de San Fernando Rey. In the 1800s, San Fernando became an agricultural community. The arrival of the railroad in 1876 helped spur further development of the community.

The City of San Fernando incorporated in 1911.

Due to its semi-arid Mediterranean-type climate, groundwater sources susceptible to depletion through overuse, and a dearth of large year-round streams, local water sources in Southern California were scarce. Water scarcity limited the growth of agriculture and urban development in the region.

In 1905 and 1907, voters in the City of Los Angeles, the largest city in Southern California, approved bonds to construct an aqueduct that would bring water to the city from the water-rich Owens Valley, located over 200 miles from the City of Los Angeles. The city charter for Los Angeles stated that the city owned its waterworks. Consequently, when construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct completed in 1913, the City of Los Angeles asserted that it owned the aqueduct and therefore could not sell water to any area outside of Los Angeles city limits. Up to that time, no part of the San Fernando Valley was within the City of Los Angeles and most of the San Ferando Valley was unincorporated. San Fernando Valley had limited local sources of water. So, while some early landowners grew citrus and fruit, most of the area’s economic activity was limited to grazing and dry farming, usually a single annual crop of grains dependent on sufficient rain falling during the rainy season. To ensure access to the abundant water provided by the Los Angeles Aqueduct, most communities in the water-poor San Fernando Valley chose to be annexed by the City of Los Angeles.

The San Fernando and Sylmar groundwater basins, which underly the City of San Fernando, are particularly plentiful sources of groundwater. Groundwater is replenished naturally by percolation from rainfall as well as stream flows from the nearby San Gabriel Mountains. Because of this valuable resource, the City of San Fernando was able to rely on groundwater for its water needs and thrive without water from the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Consequently, to this day San Fernando has remained an independent city.

In 1971, the City of San Fernando, seeing the benefits of obtaining reliable imported water supplies, became a member of the Metropolitan Water District. San Fernando now receives water to augment its groundwater supplies exclusively on an as-needed- basis. While normally, San Fernando satisfies 100% of its needs from its groundwater supplies, occasionally it must buy imported water from the Metropolitan Water District from Northern California and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta via the State Water Project. The City also keeps an emergency connection with the City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power distribution system.

Built in about 1882, Casa López Adobe is a historical landmark and one of the oldest residences in the San Fernando Valley. Casa López Adobe, a two-story Monterey- type adobe, is the oldest standing adobe structure in the San Fernando Valley. The Lopez family was among the founders of the community of San Fernando. Francisco Lopez found gold in Placerita Canyon in 1842. This discovery sparked California’s first, if short-lived, gold rush.

César Chávez Memorial covers 23,000 square feet and features four separate pieces of art.

Other recreational facilities include Las Palmas Park, Layne Park, Pioneer Park, Rudy Ortega Sr. Park, San Fernando Recreation Park, and Pacoima Wash Natural Park, which is an infiltration site for the San Fernando Groundwater Basin.

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