Vernon, California

Vernon, California is a chiefly industrial city roughly five miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles in Southern California. The City of Vernon encompasses 5.2 square miles of land and has a population of a little over 200 residents. To the south of Vernon are the cities of Maywood, Bell, and Huntington Park. To the east is the city of Commerce. Alameda Street forms the western boundary of Vernon.

As a chiefly industrial city, the City of Vernon is the site of one of the greatest concentrations of industry in California. Vernon prioritizes the needs of industry. Vernon offers low business license and construction fees. Vernon Public Utilities provides electric, gas, internet, and water services to businesses and residents within the City at rates that are among the lowest in Southern California. Water is sourced from City-owned wells and purchases from the Metropolitan Water District. Vernon is accessible from several major freeways, surface streets, and rail lines, permitting rapid transportation of goods and raw materials in and out of the City. Vernon enjoys high occupancy rates for its central business district.

Vernon is home to over 1,800 business that employ about 50,000 individuals. Industries that operate out of Vernon include apparel, food, home furnishings, business logistics, plastics, and steel. The City strives to be one of the lowest cost cities in the United States for businesses.

While Vernon historically has been almost entirely industrial, lacking in significant residential development, that may soon change. The City is developing a mixed-use plan, the Westside Specific Plan, aimed at capitalizing on the proximity of the western portions of Vernon to the Arts District of downtown Los Angeles. The plan seeks to bring significant retail and residential development to portions of Vernon. The approximately 840-acre target area is generally limited to the swathe of territory west of Santa Fe Avenue and Pacific Boulevard where, unlike other portions of Vernon, little heavy industry is located. A Specific Plan is a plan that creates unique zoning standards for an area with markedly different characteristics from other portions of a city. Transformation of the target area will progress over a period of at least 20 to 25 years. The target area is near two stops on the A Line (Blue), a light rail public transit route operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Vernon plans to restrict new rendering facility development as a means controlling odors. Rendering is a form of recycling animal byproducts that cannot be deposited in landfill facilities. Rendering produces such finished products as biofuels, fertilizers, and soap.

The City of Vernon operates under the council-manager form of government. Vernon City Council is composed of five council members elected at large. The City Council is the legislative body of Vernon. The City Council appoints the City Attorney, City Administrator, and members of boards, commissions, and committees. The City owns housing, which consists of two and three-bedroom single family dwellings, and one and two-bedroom apartments. Unlike most cities, Vernon’s Building Division retains individual inspectors trained to enforce specific aspects of construction such as building, electrical, and plumbing. The Building Division inspects facilities for building and safety code regulations enforcement to ensure proper storage heights and food handling requirements among other concerns.

Vernon has transitioned so that the County of Los Angeles Fire Department now provides fire services for the municipality. The Vernon Fire Department served the City from 1927 to 2020.

The Vernon Police Department provides law enforcement services for the City. The average emergency response time is less than four minutes. The Vernon Police Jail Facility contains a Temporary Holding Facility. Those ordered by a judge to remain in custody or who have been arrested on felony charges are transported to the Huntington Park Police Department for detention.

Vernon has its own Health Department.

Vernon is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The area now comprising the City of Vernon was the site of the Battle of La Mesa, a clash in the California campaign of the Mexican American War. The battled occurred on January 9, 1847. This was the final armed resistance in the American conquest of Alta California. In the decades that followed, the Vernon area became an unincorporated farming area that was considered a garden spot. In 1887, a portion of the area was subdivided for development as a housing tract and a 10-acre park was built for new residents to enjoy. However, the growth of the larger and more politically powerful city of Los Angeles threatened Vernon’s access to adequate water supplies. Soon thereafter, John B. Leonis, a local merchant, began buying up the remaining farmland in the eastern portion of Vernon. Leonis did not wish for the ranches and farms he owned to prosper. Instead, Leonis planned to develop a modern city of industry. Irrigation water to the remaining orchards and gardens was shut off and Leonis negotiated with the railroads to connect the Vernon area to the main rail lines of Los Angeles through a number of short tracks. Vernon was incorporated in 1905 as an exclusively industrial city with the intention of attracting businesses to the area.

By 1920, Vernon was populated by more than two dozen slaughterhouses. However, after World War I, heavy industry sought to expand operations into the western portion of United States. Manufacturing giants such as Bethlehem Steel, Alcoa Inc., General Mills, Norris Aerospace Industries, and Studebaker Automotive Company set up shop in Vernon. Strong unions represented workers at many of the manufacturing plants and Vernon became an economic powerhouse.

Vernon workers have rights. Our office pursues cases against employers who fail to provide employees with all owed regular and overtime wages, or who attempt to compel employees to work without taking mandatory meal breaks and paid rest breaks. If you have not been paid all wages you are owed, or if your employer has not provided you with meal and rest breaks or has discriminated against you in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), we are here to help. Your initial consultation with our office is free, so call the experienced employment attorneys at Kokozian Law Firm, APC or Contact Us via our online form. We advance all costs. No recovery, no fee.