Here’s how Downtown Fullerton will change in the next few months
Fullerton is about to hit a “reset” button with its downtown.
The City Council on Tuesday, April 16, voted 3-2 to overhaul the city’s regulations for downtown restaurants and bars.
Downtown Fullerton attracts thousands of visitors every weekend with its growing live music and restaurant scene. But some downtown residents complain the city hasn’t enforced its codes very well, making the area rowdier and dangerous.
“We’re doing the best we can with the resources we’ve got,” Community Development Director Ted White said in telling the council members how the overhauled regulations would make a difference once they are in place. The council will have to take a second vote to finalize the new rules.
The police chief would be able to restrict how late problematic businesses that can’t get into compliance are allowed to offer entertainment. The city would also require businesses that sell alcohol or offer entertainment to clean the outside of their buildings nightly and to submit security and operational plans outlining, among others, their policies on managing intoxicated patrons.
Also, through a reshuffling of duties, the city and its Police Department would add more staff to the area.
“Our greater investment in downtown will yield a better downtown,” Councilwoman Jennifer Fitzgerald said.
The city would also simplify the standards businesses need to follow under their permit to make them more reasonable for enforcement, White said.
“It still feels like a work in progress to me,” said Councilman Bruce Whitaker, who along with Councilman Ahmad Zahra, opposed rolling out the new regulations.
The councilmen said they support the spirit of the new rules, but Whitaker said he wanted to see more efforts to simplify the standards.
“I’m still not convinced that just simplifying this is going to help us enforce the code, while we never really attempted in the past to actually improve the enforcement side of things,” Zahra said.
The city will also pilot a parking program charging visitors $5 to use many downtown lots after 9 p.m. on weekends. Nearly half of the lots in the area, including the 814-space South of Commonwealth Parking Structure at 130 W. Santa Fe Ave., will be turned into paid parking during the six-month period.
The program has two goals: revenue and data collection. The city estimates after start-up costs generating $14,550 by its end, which would go toward improving the downtown. The city can also collect more data on where people park, including in the fall after colleges start their academic year.
Whitaker, who also voted against the parking program along with Zahra, said it could generate more confusion and inconvenience and turn off downtown visitors. “In the end, we’re going to be penny-wise and pound-foolish.”
But Mayor Jesus Silva said the program could give the city a tool to better manage the area’s parking demands.
The city expects to start charging for parking on June 6.