Fremont City Council Meeting: 03/03/26 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: City Attorney's Office
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Plans, Policies and Studies
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 5658) DOC ID: 5658 A
Updated: 2/27/2026 12:30 PM by Dina Lewis A Page 1
CITY CHARTER COMMENCEMENT AND WORKPLAN – Adopt a resolution establishing a 7-member Charter Advisory Committee; approve preliminary Charter development workplan; and announce call for applications to serve on Advisory Committee
Contact Persons:
Name: Rafael Alvarado Christina Briggs
Title: City Attorney Assistant City Manager
Div/Dept: City Attorney's Office City Manager's Office
Phone: 510-284-4030 510-284-4022
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: At City Council’s direction, staff has prepared a draft workplan to facilitate the development of a new City Charter on the Council’s prescribed timeline. The workplan describes the process to establish an Advisory Committee, an outline of the Committee’s role and responsibilities, a community engagement component, the drafting of a Charter, and its placement on the ballot. A proposed schedule of deliverables is also included. Each aspect of the schedule will need to be adhered to carefully in order to qualify for the November 2026 ballot.
BACKGROUND: The City of Fremont currently operates as a general law city under the laws of the State of California. Article XI of the California Constitution allows cities to adopt a charter, a document that provides the legal framework for the purpose, governance, and operation of a city government. Transitioning to charter city status requires voter approval and a structured process, including preparation of a proposed charter, public review, and placement of the measure on a ballot.
On February 17, 2026, the City Council directed staff to initiate the process for preparing a new City Charter in response to a Council referral put forth by Vice Mayor Zhang. The referral specified several elements of city governance for review and potential inclusion in a draft charter. After deliberation, the Council directed that this be a City Council-proposed Charter, with structured input provided by a 7-member, Mayor-appointed advisory committee. They further directed that this process be completed in time for the Charter to be placed on the ballot for consideration by Fremont voters in November 2026.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: The following elements constitute a basic framework for developing a Charter to be placed on the ballot for voter consideration in November 2026.
This draft timeline is based on City staff’s understanding of Council interests as discussed on February 17, 2026.
Charter Advisory Committee
A city council may propose a charter to its voters and create an advisory committee to prepare a draft charter for consideration by the City Council. A council may use the draft prepared by the committee as the basis for a charter to be proposed to a city’s voters. To enable the committee to fulfill its charge, City staff recommends that the City Council provide some direction to the committee regarding the provisions to be included in the charter.
Council Staff Report (ID # 5658) Meeting of March 3, 2026 Updated: 2/27/2026 12:30 PM by Dina Lewis A Page 2
In the timeline contemplated in this recommendation, beginning on March 3, 2026, the Mayor would accept applications from individuals wishing to participate on the Charter Advisory Committee (“Committee”). (See attached draft application form.) Seven Committee members would be appointed by the Mayor and ratified by the City Council at its March 17, 2026 meeting. In compliance with the Brown Act, City staff recommends that the Committee meet at 6 noticed public meeting to complete its work and provide written recommendations to the City Council.
Charter Drafting and Analysis
Upon formation, City staff will organize 6 public meetings with the Committee. City staff may (if possible, under competitive procurement rules) secure the assistance of an independent consultant with experience/expertise in Charter formation to facilitate or support the Committee’s discussions. An overview of the Charter formation process and potential topics that may be addressed by a Charter would be provided to the Committee.
Additionally, the Committee should review the City’s existing government structure and operations and research best practices on key issues prior making recommendations for a proposed Charter. The Committee will consider topics previously identified as priorities by the City Council including, but not limited to:
• Governance models
• Hiring authority
• Meeting structures
• Principles of accountability, transparency, and non-interference • Term limits options
• Council compensation considerations
• City Council staffing options
Some or all of the recommendations by the Committee may require legal and fiscal analysis that will need to be considered by the City Council in any proposed Charter. It is important that time is built into the proposed schedule to allow for this.
Upon the Committee finalizing its recommendations, the City Attorney will oversee the drafting of a Charter document that will be presented to City Council for consideration at a minimum of two public hearings and a third meeting for a final vote of the Council prior to it being placed on the ballot by August 7, 2026.
Community Engagement
In parallel with the Advisory Committee timeline, the City would need to conduct community outreach to ensure transparency and equitable public access to the Charter development process. However, the compressed timeline of this proposed workplan will result in significantly less community engagement than other Charter development processes. Public outreach activities may include articles in City publications, a community survey on My Fremont, community meeting(s), an information campaign at public events, and a social media campaign.
Ballot Placement and Voter Approval
The City Council directed that the Charter development process be completed in time to be placed on the ballot for consideration by Fremont voters in November 2026. To meet this Council Staff Report (ID # 5658) Meeting of March 3, 2026 Updated: 2/27/2026 12:30 PM by Dina Lewis A Page 3
objective, the City of Fremont will need to take certain actions in conformance with the California Elections Code, including:
• Notice of Municipal Election: The City elections official (City Clerk) must publish a notice of election, at least once in a newspaper of general circulation, not earlier than June 29th and no later than July 13th. The Notice of Election must contain a statement of the time of election and the office to be filled. (CEC §12101).
• Resolution Calling and Consolidating Election: To call a general municipal election and to consolidate a general municipal election with a statewide election, the City Council must adopt a resolution calling and requesting consolidation. The resolution must be transmitted to the County Registrar of Voters no later than August 7, 2026. (CEC §10403).
• Resolution on Charter Measure: A proposal to adopt a charter proposed by the City Council shall be submitted to the voters at an established statewide general. The resolution proposing charter adoption must be transmitted to the County Registrar of Voters no later than August 7, 2026. (CEC §9255(b)).
• Ballot Arguments: For City measures placed on the ballot by the City Council, a written argument for or against any city measure may be submitted by the City Council, an individual Councilmember or Councilmembers, an eligible voter, a bona fide association of citizens, or a combination of voters and associations. Each argument must not exceed 300 words. If more than one argument for or more than one argument against any city measure is submitted to the city elections official within the time prescribed, the city elections official shall select one of the arguments in favor and one of the arguments against the measure for printing and distribution to the voters using the priority order set forth in the Election Code (CEC §9282 and §9287).
• City Attorney Impartial Analysis: Where a city measure qualifies for placement on a ballot, the City Council may direct the City Attorney to prepare an impartial analysis of the measure showing the effect of the measure on the existing law and the operation of the measure. The analysis must not exceed 500 words. (CEC §9280)
The resolution language would need to be finalized and approved by the City Council in July in order to allow for its submission to the County Registrar of Voters. The expense for placing a measure on the ballot is calculated by the City’s total registered voters multiplied by the County Registrar of Voters election cost per registered voter. The Registrar of Voters estimates that the election cost per voter for the November 3, 2026 general election will cost between $5 - $7 per voter. The city currently has 122,138 registered voters. An estimate of the cost of placing the measure on the ballot for 2026 equates to approximately $610,690 - $854,966.
Draft Schedule
DATE ACTION
February 17, 2026 VM Zhang referral adopted by City Council.
March 3, 2026 Consideration and adoption of resolution establishing Charter Advisory Committee and Workplan. Council Handbook authorizes: (a) the Mayor to announce that the City is accepting Council Staff Report (ID # 5658) Meeting of March 3, 2026 Updated: 2/27/2026 12:30 PM by Dina Lewis A Page 4
applications for the committee and to receive applications for a minimum one-week period, (b) any person interested in a City committee opening to file a written application for appointment with the City Clerk, and (c) Mayor to decide when to schedule appointments at a Council meeting.
March 17, 2026 City Council Appoints Charter Advisory Committee Members.
March 18 2026 –
April 27, 2026
Committee Conducts Meetings to Accomplish Workplan.
Committee will have 42 days to meet, review, and generate recommendations on all items identified in the Workplan.
Committee meetings must comply with Brown Act (i.e., Notice, Agenda, Public Access).
April 28, 2026 Committee produces Interim Recommendation Report.
Committee will have 10 days to draft and publish a final report.
May 8, 2026 Committee produces Final Recommendations Report.
June 2, 2026 City Council (Regular) Meeting - Public Hearing No. 1.
State law requires the City to provide 21-days notice before this public hearing may take place.
July 7, 2026 City Council (Regular) Meeting - Public Hearing No. 2.
State law requires the City to provide 21-days notice before this public hearing may take place, and this second public hearing must occur no earlier than 30 days after first hearing.
July 28, 2026 City Council (Special) Meeting – Final Vote.
State law provides that the City Council cannot conduct a vote on whether to approve the submission to the voters of the proposal to adopt a charter until 21 days after the second public hearing. At this meeting, the City Council will adopt a resolution on a charter measure to submit it to the voters in November 2026.
FISCAL IMPACT: It is estimated that the cost to place a proposed Charter on the November 2026 ballot will be approximately $610,690 - $854,966. In addition, there may be additional legal, communication/public outreach, and facilitation costs associated with this effort.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: N/A
ATTACHMENTS:
• Draft Resolution, Charter Advisory Committee and Work Plan • Draft Resolution, Charter Work Plan Redlined from 2/17 Version • Board and Commission Application
• City Charter Workplan for Council Consideration Presentation
RECOMMENDATION: If the City Council seeks to move forward with the draft timeline as described in this memo, the following action is recommended:
• Adopt a resolution establishing a 7-member Charter Advisory Committee, approve preliminary Charter development workplan, and direct staff to proceed with implementation
• Announce call for applications to serve on Advisory Committee