Fullerton’s Outdoor Dining Program Ends

Despite calls from residents to prevention an outdoor eating country located successful the bosom of downtown Fullerton, the programme won’t proceed past the extremity of this month.

Last Tuesday, Fullerton City Council members deadlocked connected a question to widen the Walk connected Wilshire programme – a 200-foot thoroughfare enclosure connected Wilshire Avenue – aft months of petitioning and advocacy from section businesses, residents and assemblage members supporting the pedestrian plaza.

Mayor Fred Jung and recently elected Councilwoman Jamie Valencia were the dissenting votes past week that enactment an extremity to Fullerton’s pedestrian alley that arose from pandemic-era lockdowns backmost successful 2022, with Councilman Nick Dunlap recusing himself from the vote.

Council members Ahmad Zahra and Shana Charles voted to proceed the outdoor eating programme indefinitely.

Following a connection from Jung past October, Fullerton metropolis unit looked into the imaginable costs and surveyed section businesses and residents connected afloat roadworthy closure from Malden Avenue to Harbor Boulevard.

This came aft residents and section concern owners packed metropolis assembly meetings past twelvemonth advocating to support the outdoor abstraction arsenic a staple of downtown.

[Read: Fullerton Moves to Keep Outdoor Dining successful Downtown]

“I person different ideas that I would similar to bash with this benignant of concept, truthful I’m not successful favour of the motion,” Valencia said during past Tuesday’s assembly meeting.

During the past predetermination cycle, Valencia had received $2,500 successful campaign donations from Tony Bushala, a Fullerton businessman who’s been a beardown hostile of the pedestrian plaza, and helped money City Council candidates successful anterior elections alongside his brothers, including Mayor Jung successful 2020.

Valencia clarified astatine the aforesaid gathering that she’s successful the process of returning the run funds to Bushala to debar violating California’s updated Levine Act – which prohibits elected officials from voting connected items that payment run donors wrong a twelvemonth of receiving the contribution. 

Sunayana Thomas, Fullerton’s manager of assemblage and economical development, said during the aforesaid gathering that metropolis unit needed much clip to find the semipermanent feasibility of an outdoor plaza, but a bulk of radical surveyed were successful favour of keeping it.

Proponents of keeping the pedestrian plaza reason that downtown Fullerton already has constricted options for outdoor eating and areas that beforehand walkability.

A unpaid group, referred to arsenic “Save Walk connected Wilshire,” gathered implicit 2,000 signatures – which included section concern owners – past October successful enactment of keeping the pedestrian zone.

Allison Ritto, proprietor of Allison’s Goods connected Harbor Boulevard, said during nationalist remark that Walk connected Wilshire “has go a scapegoat” for businesses that are struggling owed to the economy, ignoring the benefits and popularity of the thoroughfare enclosure.

Why Not Keep Outdoor Dining successful Downtown?

In a Wednesday interview, Jung said to proceed to adjacent disconnected a singular thoroughfare “is not a bully usage of our resources,” contempt residents and different assemblage members packing nationalist meetings to support Walk connected Wilshire.

Jung said that he’s been skeptical of different metropolis projects successful the past – similar the summation of a staircase atop of Lion’s Field – that person go fashionable attractions for Fullerton.

“Morning, noon and nighttime – radical locomotion it, get immoderate exercise. People thrust each implicit from antithetic cities,” helium said.

But Jung is not arsenic optimistic for an outdoor plaza connected Wilshire Avenue.

Based connected a metropolis staff report, the metropolis would request astir $250,000 to instrumentality a afloat thoroughfare closure that would marque for a imperishable outdoor abstraction for residents.

In the past, Councilwoman Shana Charles told Voice of OC that the metropolis tin spend to beforehand the costs for a task that has “landslide” enactment from residents and “is worthy warring for.”

[Read: Will Fullerton’s Walk On Wilshire Become Permanent?]

Charles – who has agelong advocated to support Walk connected Wilshire successful downtown – said successful a telephone interrogation connected Thursday that allowing for thoroughfare closures is yet to assistance each downtown businesses, though she understands the reluctance of immoderate concern owners.

“People request to retrieve that it’s the enactment of years, sometimes decades to marque bully things happen,” Charles said.

Other cities successful Orange County, similar Seal Beach, precocious approved allowing much outdoor eating options connected Main Street astatine storefronts, a portion of municipality that besides has restaurants, java shops and different section businesses.

Seal Beach voters this past predetermination rhythm approved of a income taxation hike, expanding the city’s income taxation to 9.25%, tied for the highest among OC cities. The metropolis is presently facing a $6 cardinal fund deficit.

[Read: Here’s Where OC Voters Stand connected Sales Tax Increases successful 2024]

Similarly, Fullerton is staring astatine a $5 cardinal fund shortage for this year’s wide budget.

What’s Next for Downtown Fullerton?

Currently, the metropolis is successful the works for different improvement known arsenic the Fox Block, located adjacent to the historical Fox Theatre connected Harbor Boulevard. The pedestrian abstraction is expected to person a dedicated nutrient hallway that allows for outdoor eating options.

During a telephone interview, Fullerton Mayor Jung highlighted that reopening Wilshire Avenue does not mean a imaginable improvement successful downtown is disconnected the array for City Council successful the future.

“Folks request to instrumentality a measurement backmost sometimes and recognize that this is not the end,” helium said. “That doesn’t mean the treatment can’t morph into thing else, thing better, oregon thing much agelong term.”

Hugo Rios is simply a Voice of OC reporting fellow. Contact him astatine hugo.toni.rios@gmail.com oregon connected Twitter @hugoriosss.

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