Rowland Heights is a thriving, diverse, and growing community — but it is not yet a city. Cityhood is our opportunity to take control of our future, protect our local identity, and shape the community we want for generations to come.
✅ What Is Cityhood?
Cityhood means becoming an incorporated city, with locally elected leadership, local governance, and greater control over decisions that affect our daily lives — from public safety to development to how our tax dollars are spent.
Currently, Rowland Heights is unincorporated and governed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, which oversees dozens of communities across a vast region. That means major decisions about our community are made by officials who may not live here or fully understand our unique needs.
💡 Why Cityhood Makes Sense
1. Local Control
- Make decisions locally, with leaders who live in and understand Rowland Heights.
- Tailor services, zoning, and ordinances to fit our community’s character and needs.
2. Stronger Voice
- As a city, Rowland Heights will have a direct seat at the table in regional planning and funding decisions.
- No longer a “footnote” in county-level discussions.
3. Control Over Development
- Protect our neighborhoods from overdevelopment or inappropriate land use.
- Establish our own general plan and zoning ordinances to maintain our community’s identity.
4. Improved Services
- Provide more responsive, community-specific services — such as street maintenance, public safety, and code enforcement — based on our priorities, not the county’s.
5. Keep Tax Dollars Local
- Cityhood allows us to retain more of the revenue generated in Rowland Heights (e.g., sales tax, property tax, business license fees).
- Funds can be reinvested in local infrastructure, parks, public safety, and beautification projects.
6. Preserve Community Identity
- As an unincorporated area, Rowland Heights lacks formal recognition on many maps and documents.
- Becoming a city gives us our own name, seal, and voice — preserving our heritage and shaping our own future.
🤔 Addressing Concerns
We understand cityhood raises important questions — about cost, services, and governance. That’s why our effort is grounded in:
- Transparent community engagement
- Fiscal feasibility studies
- Input from residents, business owners, and community leaders
Cityhood is not about big government — it’s about better, local governance.
💡 How to Make Rowland a City?
📈 The Time Is Now
Rowland Heights has the population, economic base, and community spirit to thrive as a city. We’re not a small rural town — we’re a dynamic, multicultural community of over 50,000 people with world-class potential.
Let’s turn that potential into power — the power to determine what kind of city we want to be.
🗳️ Join the Movement
Cityhood isn’t a top-down process — it’s a community movement. We invite every resident, business owner, and neighbor to get involved, ask questions, and shape the future of Rowland Heights.
📌 Learn more
📬 Sign up for updates
🤝 Volunteer or donate
Together, let’s make Rowland Heights a city we’re proud to call our own.
Research Analysis led by Yaoxi Zhang