Out with the old, in with the new: How Fontana is changing the livelihood of their community.

The City of Fontana along the past few years has become the site of political insurrection, ranging from civil lawsuits to town hall protests, but why is this? Fontana citizens are unrest by the impending gentrification they believe their city is subject to, with recent ordinances perpetuating these suspicions. All the while, their mayor is facing backlash for discriminatory comments resurfacing, leaving residents to wonder what motives she is driven by. 

Acquanetta Warren has been the Mayor of Fontana since 2010, and from her inauguration, she has disconcerted the Latino-majority community with her comments against illegal migrants. “If you get here illegally, you need to learn how to speak English. You need to understand the culture in America,” she contested while defending racist allegations for supporting a controversial Arizona State law.

This comment of hers–among a multitude of allegations–was resurfaced during October of 2023 when an urgency ordinance struck controversy. Allocating nearly $600,000 to a third-party consultant, Fontana City Council aimed to enforce food vendor safety laws more strictly. “We’re not objecting to people making money, but you need to do it the right way,” Warren stated at a Fontana Council meeting.

The October ordinance alluded to the original street vending safeguarding measure initiated by Fontana City Council in January of 2022. This decision was in response to the San Bernardino County Department of Environmental Health Services (DEHS) lacking the resources and authority to provide enforcement of illegal sidewalk vending, as described by Deputy City Manager, Phillip Burum. He further explained that this ordinance would expand authority to both the city of Fontana and DEHS which allows for the city to have more enforcement authority. 

“The City of Fontana is not against street vendors; we’re against unlicensed, unpermitted street vendors and we’d like the ability to work with them to get those things. This ordinance accomplishes those things” Burum announced at the Jan. 25, 2022 Fontana Council meeting. 

This same meeting featured several Fontana residents in opposition of the ordinance, raising concerns that the guidelines for obtaining a permit are nearly impossible to meet. Owner of Tacos Los Gueros, Sergio Ruiz, spoke about his request for a business license being rejected despite his food truck meeting state demands. “I don’t understand why we’re not permitted to work a food truck if it's within the requirements and it’s proved by the state,” Ruiz objected.

Furthermore, Ruiz mentioned in his speech that within South Fontana, there is little opportunity to open any storefronts due to the lack of shopping centers in the area, resulting in excessive rent prices for the buildings that remain. Some Fontana residents connected the decrease in shopping centers to the increase in warehouses in the area. 

Frequently referred to as “Warehouse Warren,” Acquanetta Warren has made active efforts to industrialize the city of Fontana. “You know what, I like that name,” Warren commented in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. She further credited these warehouses with being proximate employment opportunities for Fontana residents, however, others have scrutinized their occupancy from an entrepreneurial perspective. 

“There used to be a lot of little restaurants and little houses down in Southern Fontana, and now all of it is like Amazon and other warehouses, so even if you did want to open a little restaurant, you can’t because there's no space,” *** explained. *** also pointed out that these warehouses were only being built in South Fontana, whereas North Fontana was becoming the site of something new.

As the city makes room for incoming residents, longtime Fontana homeowners have suspected that their community is undergoing gentrification. As the definition of gentrification continues to evolve, geographer and Marxist academic, Neil Smith, offers one of the earliest and most respected descriptions of the concept. “By gentrification I mean the process by which working class residential neighbourhoods are rehabilitated by middle class homebuyers, land- lords and professional developers,” Smith wrote in his book “Gentrification and Uneven Development.”

Upon inspecting Southern California migration trends from 2018-2022, the U.S. Postal Services reported a loss of approximately 399,000 residents from the Los Angeles, Long Beach and Anaheim Area. Concurrently, Fontana experienced an influx of nearly 9,100 residents, with the ongoing trends indicating upwards. 

Staff reporters from the Los Angeles Times and abc7 have linked the migration from the Los Angeles, Long Beach and Anaheim area to the increased cost of living, as supported by Zillow statistics. As a result, residents from the region have searched for more affordable territory to live in, with the Inland Empire being one of the more popular options. “The cost of living just got too expensive out there in [insert city] but in the Inland Empire, you get more bank for your buck” said Fontana resident, Alayjah Harrison. 

The city of Fontana website lists several developmental projects in-progress, with the planning areas ranging from 257 to 3,500 units. When asked if she felt the city was becoming gentrified, Acquanetta Warren did not comment.

*** continued to discuss Fontana’s response to new residents as being neglectful to the city’s more established inhabitants. Over the 16 years that her family has been food vending, *** shared that it was only within the past few years that they have faced excessive issues with law enforcement. “They came every day like three times a night… they like surround you” *** claimed.

*** is referring to the third-party consultant, 4LEAF, whose arrival invoked a protest in Fontana. On Oct. 10, 2023, food vendor supporters gathered at a council meeting in opposition of the ordinance, which would allow for this private company to crack down on unlicensed food vendors. Breeze staff reporters described the scene as intense and vigorous. 

“There’s other solutions like we’ve been mentioning since 2019 about [an] education first approach…on top of that working with organizations like us to implement state law,” proclaimed Economic Justice Organizing Director with The Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, Lizeth Mendoza. Other members from the protest emphasized that the fines and punishments implemented by 4LEAF were excessive, including the confiscation of street vending equipment.

While the majority of protesters were stationed outside of Fontana City Hall, others organized a demonstration at Acquanetta Warren’s home. These activists, however, were arrested due to what the police deemed as an unlawful assembly. Despite the efforts of the community, the ordinance was passed with a unanimous vote. 

In the following months, street vendors retaliated against Fontana City Council with legal action. Arguing that the ordinance was discriminatory, vendors sought the assistance of Christian Contreras, owner of The Christian Contreras Firm, PLC. Contreras further contested that this ordinance infringes upon citizens’ fourth amendment rights.

“Passing unlawful laws, passing unlawful ordinances, and passing unlawful laws that target street vendors, including a law which essentially allows the city to take someone’s property and throw it away. That is in violation of someone’s 4th Amendment rights, property rights, and life, liberty and property, the rights that we all have in this country under our Constitution,” Contreras stated. 

Amidst the controversy, the city of Fontana website updated their policies regarding street vending, including a video which considered the viewpoint of restaurant owners. “With all of my respect to everybody, I do have a business here in Fontana and I’ve been very affected by the people that are on the street right next to my door selling tacos,” remarked the owner of La Sexy Michelada, Ciro Brito.

When asked to comment on his involvement, Brito acknowledged that the video may have come off as racist, but that was not his intention. “I don’t have a problem with people trying to make a living, but that’s what I’m trying to do too.” Brito defended. Alongside oppositional quotes from business owners, the video portrays street vending stands in black and white footage, while restaurants are depicted in color.