Sellers Protest Plan to Close Swap Meet
For 20 years, Martha Carrillo has made a living selling furniture at an outdoor swap meet in San Fernando, a small city of mostly working-class Latinos.
The grounds are rundown, with cracked asphalt and a raggedy perimeter fence, but the thrice-weekly swap meet is popular among locals. Carrillo said her booth makes enough money to support herself, her three children, mother and grandmother.
“This is not just a swap meet; it’s a tradition,” Carrillo said.
But in a year the swap meet--one of the largest in Los Angeles County--will close because the owners of the 36 acres that house it recently signed a contract with a developer to build a major retail center on the property.
Like the other 1,000 vendors who for years have been fixtures at the swap meet, Carrillo rents space for $15 a month on a month-to-month basis. She said there have never been any long-term leases with the property owners or commitments from the vendors, but somehow she felt a sense of security.
“If they close it, what are we all going to do?” Carrillo asked. “Where are we going to go? A lot of people will be on the street. I never imagined it would come to this.”
City officials, who overwhelmingly support the development, say it will be a much-needed retail center anchored by a home improvement store and a discount department store. But they also say they are exploring the possibility of helping the vendors relocate even though most are not San Fernando residents.
“We’re very concerned about the vendors and we would like to help them,” said San Fernando Mayor Jose Hernandez. “But it’s in the best interest of the city to develop that land. No one wants a swap meet in their backyard. It doesn’t fit with our image of economic development.”
Councilman Richard Ramos, whose parents have sold jewelry at the swap meet for 23 years, said city officials will meet this week with vendors to discuss a relocation plan. He said potential sites include Lake View Terrace and Pacoima, although Los Angeles Councilman Alex Padilla, who represents those areas, would not confirm it, saying talks with vendors are very preliminary.
“I grew up around that swap meet, so this is very close to my heart,” Ramos said. “I really feel for them and I’d like to help them find another place.”
But the vendors--only 50 of whom live in San Fernando, according to city officials--say they don’t want to move. They have protested in front of City Hall, formed a 10-person committee to fight the development, and vowed to continue battling to keep their booths on the corner of Arroyo Avenue and Glenoaks Boulevard.
The group has even discussed pooling its money to buy the property, which is estimated by San Fernando City Administrator John Ornelas to be worth $15 million to $16 million.
“We’re determined to do something,” said Eduardo Delgado, a Latin music vendor for 19 years who was elected head of the committee. “They want us to just go away, but we’re not. We’re going to fight.”
But it may be an uphill battle.
Before his death Friday, William Hannon, who owned two-thirds of the property, had signed an agreement with Los Angeles-based Regency Realty Corp. to purchase his share of the land and proceed with the development, planned to begin in about a year.
The owner of the other third, Richard Dunn of Los Angeles, has signed a contract with Regency Realty to lease his part of the property.
The potential tenant list includes discount retailers Costco, Kmart, Target and Wal-Mart as well as home improvement retailers Home Depot and Home Base, according to Mac Chandler, vice president of Regency Realty. The other retailers would probably be small stores, a fast-food restaurant, a gas station and a drugstore.
San Fernando, which has a population of 24,500, has no discount department or home improvement stores within its 2.5 square miles, so city officials immediately backed the plan, which Dunn said has been in the works for years.
“For a while, I’ve wanted to see the property look better,” Dunn said. “We were approached by four developers and Regency Realty made the best offer.”
Along with the vendors, many of the swap meet’s customers are saddened by the probable loss of their favorite shopping place. They’ll miss the convenience of finding a variety of items such as lingerie, toys, shoes, auto supplies and produce in one location.
“I find everything here: soap, shoes for the kids, my fruits . . .,” said Josefina Jimenez of Sunland, who shops at the swap meet three times a week. “And everything is cheap. I don’t want a Target where things are going to be more expensive. I want to keep coming here.”
