A CITY REBORN LEADERS STAGING MAJOR COMEBACK FOR SAN FERNANDO.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

SAN FERNANDO - When the San Fernando High School Tigers marching band high-steps through town on Sunday, it will mean far more than the city's first Christmas parade in 20 years.

The San Fernando Heritage Holiday and Parade will proclaim the renaissance of the San Fernando Valley's oldest city, civic leaders say.

``The community has come back,'' said San Fernando Mayor Pro Tem Maribel De La Torre. ``This is the rebirth of San Fernando.''

A coalition of young city officials, business leaders and residents is working to transform this historic, 2 1/2-square-mile city into a cultural, commercial and residential hub.

Once known as a Northeast San Fernando Valley backwater marred by crime and decay, San Fernando has earned national acclaim as a model for ``Latino new urbanism'' - a compact, livable city tailored to the needs of its mostly Hispanic residents.

Civic leaders say there's strong momentum to turn around their town - to develop malls, libraries, parks and residential-business districts, high school academies and what may be the Valley's first Olympic-quality training facility.

``This town reflects a spirit of moving forward ... an oasis,'' said Jacqueline Elliot, founder and executive director of the Community Charter Middle School in San Fernando, established four years ago as a charter campus.

The most ambitious plan for the city - which has an annual budget of only $13 million - is the $7 million San Fernando Regional Aquatic Center, slated for completion in December 2004.

The center, funded by federal and state grants, will include the Valley's first year-round Olympic-size pool, as well as an instructional pool and water park. Olympic gold medalist Kristine Quance-Julian, a graduate of Granada Hills High School, will likely direct its aquatic training program and is already recruiting coaches.

``I would like nothing else,'' said Quance-Julian, 28, of Woodland Hills, who won a medal in the 4x100-meter relay medley in 1996.

``This pool will be by far the best state-of-the art training facility and complete pool around. It'll be home to the first San Fernando city Olympian.''

San Fernando on the move

Anyone entering the city from Pacoima, Mission Hills or Sylmar will pass a marker reading, ``City of San Fernando, Historic and Visionary.''

Founded in 1874 and incorporated in 1911 at what was then the end of the Southern Pacific Railroad, the city soon grew into communities of whites and minorities, separated by railroad tracks.

Today, San Fernando boasts roughly 25,000 residents, more than 90 percent of them Latino.

In recent decades, a city once known as the business hub of the North Valley became blighted by crime and inaction. Residents recall being afraid to visit Las Palmas Park, where a man had been killed in a drive-by shooting.

Now the park's baseball diamonds, playgrounds and community centers teem with activity, night and day. On weekends, families must sign a waiting list to use its barbecue grills.

``Parents are coming to the park and feeling comfortable about it,'' said Dan LaBrado, director of Recreation and Community Services.

In recent years, the city has planted 1,000 trees, raised thousands in grants for face-lifts and street repairs, has lured major car dealers to its spruced-up auto row and has a new dialysis clinic topped by loft apartments.

A cramped county library was moved into the stylish mission-style Library Plaza, which has a yoga fitness center, restaurants and a barber shop, as well as a hip wireless cafe.

When Frank and Blanca Diaz opened their House of Brews cafe two years ago, some warned that San Fernando residents would never ante up two or three dollars for premium coffee. But the cafe has a steady stream of customers, drawn not only by its brews, but its monthly art exhibits and weekend entertainment.

``That's what we are, pioneers,'' said Frank Diaz, 32, among a growing number of residents to buy and restore the city's collection of Craftsman homes.

``Over time, I've seen the change - I believe San Fernando is really a safe community. It's L.A's best-kept secret.''

Under construction are a San Fernando Station mall and chophouse, based on a Big Red trolley motif and built around a vintage Rambler dealership. An outdoor paseo linking the San Fernando Mall to additional parking and stores is also taking shape.

Also in the works are a new high school, with three separate academies, and a site for development of big-box stores.

With an eye toward being a cultural hub, San Fernando hopes to transform its neoclassic San Fernando Middle School Auditorium into a new performing arts center.

But the biggest change of all is the grandiose plan to reshape downtown and a street of auto repair shops into a mission-style row of stores, town homes and affordable apartments.

``You have elected officials who are exposed to visionary ideas and developers willing to try new things,'' said Severyn Aszkenazy, a Los Angeles-area developer and preservationist based in San Fernando, who is investing millions on city projects.

``That's happened. If you want to change a place, you have to reach. We see results, we see that people around here truly appreciate quality.''

A new vision

Some of the energy accorded the city's emerging turnaround may be attributed to youth. Three of five of the city's new council members are around 30 years old. All have returned to their hometown with degrees from top universities.

De La Torre, the mayor pro tem who is a mortgage banker by profession, is the sister of state Assemblywoman Cindy Montanez, D-Mission Hills, the former mayor. Councilman Steven Veres, completing his doctorate in history, works as an aide to Montanez. Councilwoman Nury Martinez works as a field representative for state Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Van Nuys.

In addition, San Fernando Mayor Jose Hernandez founded the Chicano Studies Department at California State University, Northridge, and Councilwoman Julie Ruelas is a college professor and grant writer.

Jose Pulido, San Fernando's new city manager, is a University of California at Berkeley graduate who returned to his hometown with the goals of reviving its core and building badly needed affordable housing for future generations.

``We figured the best thing for us was to go through a metamorphosis - to re-create the downtown, to redefine it,'' he said.

What designers came up with were plans for a grandiose, mission-style ``mixed-use'' makeover of aging business districts to include affordable apartments and town homes, some set over stores.

The plan for Maclay Avenue, San Fernando Road and Truman Street also calls for the construction of three-story buildings - ``something that's never been allowed without an act of God, that will completely reshape the city in one fell swoop,'' Pulido said.

The plan has its critics, who accuse the city of gentrification and of alienating its few white residents.

``It's been a slow turnaround to make everything more Hispanic,'' said Ken Bennett, 54, who has lived and worked in San Fernando most of his life. ``In the '70s and '80s, people came to San Fernando to shop from Granada Hills and other areas.

``But now they (whites) don't come to San Fernando because it's a different culture.''

But De La Torre said the plans are based on changes and improvements that residents have longed for.

``We want better retail, somewhere to get a glass of wine,'' she said. ``We want movie theaters ... everything that Burbank, Santa Clarita and Pasadena have.

``We're still a working-class community. But that doesn't mean that we don't deserve the best.''

Dana Bartholomew, [phone]

dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com

HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS

Here is a list of San Fernando Heritage Holiday events:

--Decorate the Park Day, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Dec. 12. Volunteers are invited to decorate Santa's Pueblo at San Fernando Recreation Park at 208 Park St.

--Santa's Pueblo, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Dec. 13 and Dec. 14. San Fernando Recreation Park will become a winter wonderland of snow, pony rides and arts and crafts, with a kiddie parade, historical exhibit and more.

--The San Fernando Parade, presented by Wells Fargo, at 1 p.m. on Dec. 14. The parade will go from Brand Boulevard at O'Melveny Avenue to San Fernando Road, ending at Wolfskill Street. The theme is ``Heroes and History.'' For more information, contact www.sanfernandoparade.com.

CAPTION(S):

drawing, 4 photos, 2 boxes, map

Drawing/Box/Map:

(color) THE CITY OF SAN FERNANDO'S NEW FACE

REDEFINING THE CITY

CLASSIC STYLE

Jon Gerung/Staff Artist

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Councilman Steven Veres, above, gets a haircut from barber Gary Ballin at Champions Only at Library Plaza in San Fernando. Developer Severyn Aszkenazy, at left, checks out a Brand Boulevard loft designed for living and work space.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

(3 -- 4 -- color) San Fernando City Hall staff members, at left, look through posterboards showing future plans. At right, palm trees and a motto proclaiming the town's past set a tone for the city's desired image.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer

Box:

HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS (see text)