The Fullerton City Council meeting consent calendar for August 18 includes a response to a recent Orange County Grand Jury report that criticized California’s housing rules. The report, titled “California Housing Mandates: The Unintended Reshaping of Orange County Neighborhoods,” said the state’s housing goals are unrealistic and not clear. The council will meet on August 18 to go over the report, which was released to the public on May 27. State law requires a formal response by August 27.

City officials mostly agree with the Grand Jury’s findings, especially the part that says the housing goals for Fullerton are very difficult to meet. Fullerton has been asked to provide 13,209 new housing units from 2021 to 2029, as part of Orange County’s larger target of 183,861 units. However, over the last five years, the county has built only about 5,000 new units each year, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

In a response letter dated August 7 and signed by Mayor Fred Jung, the city acknowledges nearly all the Grand Jury’s conclusions. However, Fullerton is making a strong point about how student housing is counted. Currently, housing meant for students at Cal State Fullerton does not count toward the city’s housing goals because it is classified as group housing. The city argues that this classification is too broad and that housing designed like regular apartments should be recognized as part of the solution to the housing crisis.

Fullerton believes that if the number of students and staff at the university affects how many homes the city needs to build, then the housing built for those students should count against those requirements. The city is also promoting the idea that land owned by universities and nonprofits should be used to build more affordable housing since it typically costs less.

While the city agrees with many of the Grand Jury’s suggestions, it did not fully support two key recommendations. One was the importance of joining regional planning groups; Fullerton said that just attending meetings isn’t enough to ensure local concerns are heard. The other called for all cities to publish an annual report on housing progress by April 2027. Fullerton argued this would create too much extra work without additional funding.

Additionally, the city expressed concerns about new state laws that allow for the quick approval of accessory dwelling units (ADUs), which might limit local control over designs. Fullerton also pointed out that some state laws are confusing and can be interpreted differently by different cities, which can slow down the building process.

In its response, the city mentioned several steps it is taking to address these issues. It has appointed its planning manager and the director of community and economic development to represent Fullerton in discussions about housing needs. The city plans to engage more with the public on housing issues and look at ways to work with nonprofit housing developers by the end of the year. However, many of the Grand Jury’s recommendations depend on actions by other groups, such as conducting a study on local infrastructure.

Community and Economic Development Director Sunayana Thomas and Planning Manager Chris Schaefer prepared the report.