California could get a new city very soon. Here’s what that means

The results are still coming in for California’s primary elections, but one thing that seems clear from the early returns is that California will soon get a new city.

The community of Mountain House in San Joaquin County overwhelmingly voted to incorporate as a city, according to early results from the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters. The final tally won’t be certified for some time, however, and mail-in ballots postmarked no later than March 5 and received by March 12 will continue to be counted.

Of the 1,555 voters casting ballots on Measure D, the proposal to incorporate Mountain House, more than 91% voted in favor. Turnout was relatively light countywide, with only about 17% of registered voters participating so far.

Measure D establishes Mountain House as an “independent, self-governing city” with community services such as parks, public safety and public facilities, according to the Mountain House Community Services District.

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Cityhood doesn’t automatically raise or lower taxes or change essential services for current residents. But the designation would allow Mountain House to get a guaranteed portion of state and federal funding and increase local control over zoning and taxation decisions.

Mountain House has about 24,499 residents as of the 2020 census and will be San Joaquin County’s eighth city.

The Cholbon tribelet of the Northern Valley Yokuts tribe originally inhabited the area now called Mountain House, according to the Mountain House Community Services District. During the Gold Rush, British captain Thomas Goodall coined the name “Mountain House” in 1849 when he erected a blue tent as a place for miners to rest when they traveled from San Francisco to the Sierra foothills.

The community of Mountain House was approved by the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors in November 1994. The government entity of Mountain House was formed two years later. In 2008, Mountain House officially reached 1,000 registered voters.