Fountain Valley is the latest Orange County city to consider becoming a charter city, a move that could give local leaders more say over housing, elections, zoning and other municipal decisions.
Currently a general law city, Fountain Valley follows the state’s rules for governance.
By adopting a charter, the city could gain broader authority to set its own regulations — similar to neighboring Anaheim, Irvine, Huntington Beach and Newport Beach.
It also comes while Fullerton officials take steps toward making a similar change.
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Of California’s 482 cities, 108 operate under charters. While still bound by the state constitution, charter cities get more flexibility on how local taxes can be levied and more leeway on how public contracts are bid for.
At a recent study session on Aug. 19, council members were split over whether charter status would give Fountain Valley the flexibility to resist state housing laws like Senate Bill 9 or whether it would saddle the city with costly legal fights.
SB 9 was signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021 and allows homeowners in single-family neighborhoods to have a total of four units on their property — often including developments commonly known as granny flats.
Supporters framed the change to a charter city as a way to reclaim local control regarding housing developments, while opponents warned it could give residents “false hope” about what the city can actually fight.
“If we become a charter city, we’d be exempt from SB 9, and that’s almost enough by itself for me to support it,” Councilmember Patrick Harper said during the meeting, calling the move a “declaration of independence from Sacramento.”
Others were unconvinced.
Councilmember Kim Constantine said the city risks misleading residents into thinking it can wage the same kinds of battles as Huntington Beach, which has repeatedly lost in court.
“The city’s messaging would have to be very, very solid in not giving people false hope, because the community has false hope already,” Constantine said at the meeting.
Councilmember Glenn Grandis said if the city gets into housing lawsuits against the state like Huntington Beach did, Fountain Valley simply doesn’t have the resources to fight drawn-out lawsuits.
“We don’t have a legal department. We have one part-time contract attorney,” Grandis said. “If we were to add this on, just the legal portion of it alone, in fighting the state, it would be millions. We’re not Huntington Beach. We’re just not these big cities.”
The debate comes as cities across California face housing mandates from Sacramento.
Fountain Valley’s state-assigned Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) requires planning for 4,839 new homes by 2029, with about 2,000 of those units designated for low- and very-low-income households.
City officials say meeting those targets won’t be easy in a built-out suburb dominated by single-family homes.
Local officials in Fountain Valley have already adopted an inclusionary housing ordinance requiring 15% of units to be affordable in new projects.
Roughly 37% of Fountain Valley households already earn less than 80% of the county’s median income, with nearly a quarter in the “very low income” bracket, according to the city’s housing element.
State income limits define low income for a family of four in Orange County as anything under $135,350 a year, according to the Department of Housing and Community Development.
If a four-person household makes less than $84,600 annually, they’re considered very low income.
Officials say residents have pushed back against higher-density projects, and the council has faced criticism for moving too slowly to meet its state-mandated housing goals.
That pressure from Sacramento, coupled with years of frustration over new housing laws, is what’s driving the charter city discussion, said Mayor Ted Bui.
“At the end of the day, it’s the public that’s going to decide whether they want to move forward or not,” Bui said. “Our role is to inform the public about the difference between general law and charter cities. None of this council can make the decision for the city.”
Fountain Valley isn’t the only Orange County city to recently consider charter status as a response to state housing mandates.
Last year, Fullerton leaders debated the idea before opting for a hybrid approach.
Instead of letting voters elect a full charter commission or having council members create a charter alone, Fullerton officials appointed a resident committee to advise the council while it drafts a charter. Council members approved that action in a 3-2 vote during a June meeting.
[Read: Fullerton City Council Votes to Draft City Charter]
Supporters there cited the need for more local control over zoning, while critics balked at the projected costs — upwards of $50,000 just to draft a charter — and questioned whether the council could be trusted to write its own rules.
Fullerton Mayor Fred Jung emphasized the need for multiple public hearings and warned that the process would not be quick. Some residents argued that only an elected charter commission would give the effort legitimacy.
In both Fountain Valley and Fullerton, council members pushing for charter status cast it as a shield against Sacramento’s housing agenda.
Opponents caution that the courts have not sided with charter cities in recent cases, including Huntington Beach’s failed attempts to exempt itself from affordable housing laws.
[Read: Is Huntington Beach on Track to Lose Control of New Housing Developments?]
City leaders said Fountain Valley has two possible paths if it moves ahead.
A charter commission elected by residents could spend up to two years drafting a proposal with public hearings and eventual voter approval.
Or, the city council could draft its own charter, hold two public hearings and place it on the ballot as early as 2026.
Voters will have the final say.
City officials say the next step is public input.
“We are having two community forums to discuss the issue on Sept. 30 and Oct. 18,” City Clerk Rick Miller wrote in an email. “After that, I’m not sure which way it will go.”