The City of Fountain Valley, California

T he City of Fountain Valley, California is located in the heart of Orange County, just north of Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, and Newport Beach, south of Santa Ana and Anaheim, and 35 miles southeast of greater Los Angeles. Fountain Valley has a long history of long-range planning, which can be seen in the city’s current Fountain Valley Crossings Specific Plan, which is discussed, at length, below. In its early days, the area that became the city was referred to as Gospel Swamps by its residents because of its very high water table. The name Fountain Valley originated from the great supply of water and the many artesian wells dug by its early settlers, who also constructed drainage canals to make the land usable for agriculture; early pioneers grew field crops such as sugar beets, beans, barley, and wheat. Cattle grazed on portions of land not being used for farming. In the 1930s, when some large land owners began to sell off portions of their holdings, Fountain Valley began producing truck crops, including strawberries, cabbage, cauliflower, asparagus, corn, lettuce carrots, spinach, onions, tomatoes, The City of FOUNTAIN VALLEY California A N I C E P L A C E T O L I V E