Logo courtesy of the City of Gridley

GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) – State housing requirements have some Gridley residents asking city leaders to fight changes they fear could reshape their neighborhoods, including exploring a different form of city government.

Nora Hogan and Lee Underwood urged officials to consider whether replacing Gridley’s general law status with a charter, commonly called “home rule,” could give residents greater influence over development.

Their concerns surfaced when the City Council introduced the zoning ordinance in September to comply with state housing laws. The council approved it on Oct. 5, and it takes effect early next month.

Provisions addressing accessory dwelling units, employee housing and transitional and supportive housing prompted questions about what the state now allows in single-family neighborhoods.

“There are some radical changes potentially coming through...,” Underwood said. “Now, some of them may be state law, some of them may be required, but maybe there's a way for us to fight some of these things because it changes the whole makeup of our neighborhoods here.”

Senate Bill 9, which took effect in 2022 to expand housing supply, allows qualifying single-family lots to be divided into two parcels with up to two homes on each, potentially creating four homes on one original lot.

Five charter cities, Redondo Beach, Carson, Torrance, Whittier and Del Mar, challenged the law as an infringement on their authority over local land use. A trial court ruled in their favor in 2024, but an appeals court reversed that ruling in 2025 and ordered reconsideration after Sacramento lawmakers amended the law.

Local concerns extend beyond how many homes can fit on a parcel. Hogan questioned whether Gridley’s job market could support medium-and high-density housing and how additional development would affect schools.

She described Gridley as a small, largely agricultural community whose needs differ from those of larger municipalities and said residents also want clearer explanations of zoning definitions and what provisions for shelters, transitional housing and supportive housing would mean locally.

State law requires cities to allow transitional and supportive housing in residential neighborhoods, including single-family homes, under the same zoning rules as comparable residences. SB 9 and broader state housing mandates have prompted some cities to explore charter status.

“A charter maximizes local control,” Hogan said.

Underwood said he purchased his home in a single-family neighborhood because he wanted it to retain that character. He questioned the possibility of a two-story accessory dwelling unit near his fence and how “employee housing” could affect occupancy and parking.

He also supported researching charter status, while acknowledging that he did not know what benefits it might provide.

Although charter cities have greater authority over municipal affairs, according to the League of California Cities, that authority has limits and does not automatically exempt a city from state housing requirements. The California Attorney General’s Office has successfully defended enforcement of Housing Element Law against charter-city challenges.

Vice Mayor Bruce Johnson, who was the lone dissent against the ordinance, acknowledged the residents’ concern, said the charter-city suggestion deserved further examination.

Meanwhile, Gridley Principal Planner Christopher Smith said the ordinance puts state requirements Gridley already follows into its zoning code.

“We can always do more than what the state asks, but we have to at least do what the state asks,” Smith said.