Fountain Valley residents will get the opportunity to weigh in on whether or not they want to become a charter city in next November’s election after city leaders decided to place the question on the 2026 ballot.

Becoming a charter city means that Fountain Valley could have more control over its local housing regulations, elections and zoning. The city is currently a general law city, meaning that it must follow all rules and regulations set by the state.

Fountain Valley City Council members voted to add the measure to the 2026 ballot in a 3-2 vote during the Nov. 4 council meeting. Councilmembers Kim Constantine and Glenn Grandis voted no – raising concerns over what they said was a lack of planning.

Both Mayor Ted Bui and Councilmember Patrick Harper acknowledged the lack of planning, but said the move will give more local control to council members. 

“A charter city would not fix everything overnight, but it would give us the legal tools to finally take action,” Bui said.

Increased local control and the ability to push back against some state housing mandates have been significant draws for several cities to consider a transition to a charter. 

Harper pointed to the ability of the city to have more leverage as a reason for his support of drafting a charter.

“If there’s something that the state is doing, or wants to do, that is not in the best interests of the city, I think it’s our obligation to stand up and do something about it,” Harper said. “With a charter city — for me — that gives us one extra tool.”

Grandis raised concerns about a lack of reasoning as to why the change was being discussed and a lack of financial planning.

City Attorney Colin Burns stated that a simple charter would cost this city $20,000 as a baseline. 

Additionally, he said costs could range up to $17,000 to add the question to an upcoming ballot or up to $200,000 for the city to hold a special election. He also noted that these costs did not include costs for city staff pay, and there was no finalized amount for what creating the charter could cost.

Some residents at the meeting also voiced concerns, saying that the decision to create a city charter would cause division among the community and with the state.

Leaders in several current and potential charter cities have said that establishing a charter will give them more control over their city against state regulations and mandates – especially housing mandates, which call upon cities to prioritize affordable housing.

Notably, Huntington Beach has faced and lost several lawsuits against the state, claiming that its charter status exempts it from certain state laws.

Huntington Beach is currently in the middle of a legal battle to determine whether it must pay penalty fines for not following housing quotas, despite its charter status.

[Read more: Is Huntington Beach on Track to Lose Control of New Housing Developments?]

“Pursuing a charter to avoid compliance wastes taxpayer dollars on unwinnable fights,” Resident Rudy Huebner said during the public comment portion of Tuesday’s meeting. “Charter status should serve residents, not shield the city from oversight.”

Councilmembers Constantine and Grandis both voiced concerns about the lack of planning and public education on the topic, stating that city staff should prepare a plan for the charter before moving forward to vote.

“‘I want to do a charter city. Let’s do it’ — and that’s about the extent of the level of effort that went into this,” Grandis said. “We’re not ready. We’re not planning for it, and the potential corruption outweighs.”

He also brought up a statement by a public commenter, who voiced concerns about the charter taking away city staff attention from other ongoing projects like the Fountain Valley Parks Master Plan and the transition to the Orange County Power Authority, both taking place in 2026.

Fountain Valley is one of several Orange County cities considering a charter, including Fullerton, which is also facing a housing crisis.

[Read: Fullerton City Council Votes to Draft City Charter]

Grappling With Housing Mandates

Discussions about becoming a charter city began in Fountain Valley earlier this year, with city officials holding three study sessions and two forums regarding the topic.

[Read: Another Orange County Town Debates Becoming a Charter City]

The proposal to become a charter city comes after California leaders have introduced a number of laws changing housing requirements statewide.

California requires cities to contribute their “fair share” of housing through a mandate known as the Regional Housing Needs Allocation. For the 2021-2029 period, Fountain Valley is required to plan to add 4,839 new homes, with about half being reserved for low- to very low-income households.

According to the city’s housing element, about 37% of Fountain Valley households’ incomes fall below 80% of the county median income. About 5% of Fountain Valley families were below the poverty line in 2019. 

In Orange County, if a four-person household makes under $135,350 annually, they are considered low-income, according to state housing income limits. If they make less than $84,600, they are considered very low-income.

About 27% of Fountain Valley households fall under the low-income bracket, with almost a quarter of the population being categorized as very low-income, according to Fountain Valley’s housing element plan.

City officials have said that increasing high-density, low-income housing will put additional pressure on already heavily populated cities like Fountain Valley.

The state also recently passed two bills — Senate Bills 9 and 79 – impacting how housing can be built and who has jurisdiction to build it. 

SB 9 was passed in 2021 and allows for a single-family residential lot to have up to four units occupying the lot. SB 79 bypasses some local planning by allowing high-density housing to be built near transit centers.

The combination of state housing quotas and new housing laws overriding local control was a major factor in several cities seeking charter city status in California, including Fountain Valley.

If passed in November 2026, Fountain Valley would join the 121 charter cities in California, including neighboring cities of Anaheim, Huntington Beach and Irvine.