Little Saigon Community Design Workshop

Three Orange County cities are asking residents and business owners to help write new design rules for Little Saigon at a public workshop on Saturday, April 25. (santa-ana.org) Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Fountain Valley scheduled the session for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Garden Grove Courtyard Center, 12732 Main St. City notices say community members, business owners and other stakeholders are invited. (santa-ana.org) The cities say the workshop is the latest step in a months-long outreach process that has included focus groups, surveys and business-to-business canvassing. Gensler, the architecture and planning firm hired for the project, is using that feedback to prepare architectural and urban design guidelines. (ggcity.org) Those guidelines are meant to shape how Little Saigon looks and feels as it changes, with city officials pointing to beautification, placemaking and business support. The final report is scheduled to go to each city for adoption later in 2026. (ggcity.org) The planning effort covers a district that stretches across parts of Garden Grove, Fountain Valley, Santa Ana and nearby areas, rather than a single city boundary. Fountain Valley’s notice describes the workshop as a design charrette and says the goal is to improve Little Saigon “for generations to come.” (fountainvalley.gov) Garden Grove’s City Council approved a contract with Gensler in January 2026, and the city says the broader initiative is backed by California Jobs First grant funding awarded to the three cities. Garden Grove expects the guideline project to conclude in September 2026. (ggcity.org) City officials are framing the work as both cultural preservation and economic planning. Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua said the cities are trying to keep future growth tied to Little Saigon’s identity, history and culture, while Fountain Valley Mayor Jim Cunneen said the guidelines are intended to support economic vitality and reflect the area’s Vietnamese American heritage. (santa-ana.org) That heritage carries regional weight. Santa Ana and Garden Grove cite a 2024 Cal State Fullerton Woods Center profile that describes Little Saigon as the largest and most influential Vietnamese American community in the United States, and city officials say that report is already informing planning across the area. (business.fullerton.edu) Saturday’s workshop is the public’s clearest chance, before the guidelines are finished, to push for what Little Saigon should preserve, add or avoid. The three cities say all are welcome. (fountainvalley.gov)