The City of San Fernando is in the process of change. The launching of the Harris Promenade Upliftment Project marks the beginning of a modernized San Fernando.
The refurbished Harris promenade will be complemented by other major infra-structural development initiatives such as the development of the San Fernando Waterfront redevelopment project, Chancery Lane Administrative Complex, upgrading of Skinner Park and the redevelopment of Union Park to complement Skinner Park.
Hand in hand with those initiatives in upgrading and enhancing the physical infrastructure of the City, there is a resurgence of economic activities in the areas of real estate, construction and the distributive trades. These and other major undertaking could return the city to the prominence it once enjoyed.
The San Fernando City Council exercises control over the activities of the city through the City Corporation and its staff. The corporation falls under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Local Government whose administration dates back to 1845, when a Town Council was established and the municipality of San Fernando came into being. Eight years later the town was elevated to a borough with the first Mayor being Dr. Robert Johnstone. Since then, the borough continued to flourish as the industrial capital of the south.
The result of sustained economic growth contributed to the elevation of the city to the status of a city on November 18, 1988. Within the first year of city-hood the city was twinned to the town of Trinite, Martinique, and last Sunday another twinning took place when it established new relationships in a partnership/twinning arrangement with New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.
The City is divided into nine electoral districts, each represented by a councilor. The earliest inhabitants of the town were Amerindians who called it 'Anaparima' which means a single hill. The French called it Petit Bough and it became San Fernando when the town was christened San Fernando de Naparima by Governor Don Jose Maria Chacon in 1784.
A significant feature of the city is the San Fernando Hill around which the city is built. This hill offers one of the most panoramic views of the city, the Gulf of Paria and its environs. The hill was declared a National Park in 1980, and attempts to restore some of the vegetation that was destroyed by quarrying seem to be having some measure of success.
Although rich in history, the city continues to cry out for modernization in several areas. A resurgence of economic activities will go a long way towards providing a better way of life for its citizens.
The Greater Land Use Plan for San Fernando provides a basis for development or redevelopment of the City in the private and public sector. The over centralization of economic activity in the city needs to be re-examined.
High unemployment exists among the 62,000 persons in the city. There is a need to rationalize small business and vending to make better accommodation for vendors who ply their trade at the doorsteps of well established businesses on High and Mucurapo streets.
There is also a need to rationalize squatting now taking place at Kings Wharf that is earmarked for water front development and other beautification projects. The development of some 500 acres of land by the state for residential communities at Tarouba North, Harmony Hall, Corinth, Union Hall and Bien Venue are some of the areas to regularize the scarce housing allotments in the city centre.
Design proposals for the city seeks to provide the City with a clearer and more explicit spatial structure thus providing its users with a greater sense of orientation.
The main proposals to complement urban development are - the identification of nine buildings for mandatory preservation. Designation of six areas as Heritage Conservation Districts, the designation of San Fernando Hill as an Environmental Conservation Area and the establishment of a linear park along the sea coast.
The following persons were
given special awards at the city's ninth anniversary celebrations:
| Justice Noor M. Hassanali | Former President of Trinidad and Tobago |
| Beryl Archibald Critchlow | Mayor 1949-1950 |
| Gerard Montano | Mayor 1954-1956 |
| Leslie J. Edmunds | Mayor 1960-1963 |
| Errol Mahabir | Mayor 1963-1966 |
| Doveton Sullivan | Mayor 1966-1970 |
| George Durity | Mayor 1973-1977 |
| Willian Steele | Mayor 1980-1983 |
| Dr. Romesh Mootoo | Mayor 1987-1992 |
| Hazel Rogers Dick | Mayor 1992-1996 |
EMPLOYEES
| Lennox John Barnard |
| Hillard Robinson |
| Heronne Forde |
| Mary-Catherine Griffith |
STUDENT
| Nadira Teeluckdharry | Naparima Girls | Winner of the President's Award 1997 |