Report Prepared by: Jennifer Levesque, Assistant City Clerk, City Clerk’s Department
Title
SUBJECT: Public Hearing (to be Heard at 6:30PM) to Receive a Report from Staff on the Redistricting Process and Permissible Criteria to be Considered to Review Maps Recommended by the Redistricting Advisory Committee and Submitted Draft Maps from the Public for Selection
REPORT IN BRIEF
Public Hearing to inform the City Council and the public on the redistricting process and permissible criteria to be considered to review maps recommended by the Redistricting Advisory Committee and submitted draft maps from the public for consideration.
RECOMMENDATION
City Council - Adopt a motion selecting a new City Council District Map.
Body
DISCUSSION
Every ten years, cities with by district election systems must use new census data to review and, if needed, redraw district lines to reflect how local populations have changed. This process, called redistricting, ensures all districts have nearly equal population. The redistricting process must be completed by April 17, 2022.
The City adopted its current district boundaries on October 19, 2015. The current district boundaries are based on 2010 census data as required by law. The districts must now be redrawn using the 2020 census data and be in compliance with the FAIR MAPS Act, which was adopted by the California legislature as AB 849 and took effect January 1, 2020.
Under the Act, the council shall draw and adopt boundaries using the following criteria in the listed order of priority (Elections Code 21621(c)):
1. Comply with the federal requirements of equal population and the Voting Rights Act
2. Geographically contiguous
3. Undivided neighborhoods and “communities of interest” (socio-economic geographic areas that should be kept together)
4. Easily identifiable boundaries
5. Compact (do not bypass one group of people to get to a more distant group of people)
6. Shall not favor or discriminate against a political party
By law, the City must hold at least four public hearings that enable community
members to provide input on the drawing of district maps:
• At least one hearing must occur before the city draws draft maps
• At least two hearings must happen after the drawing of draft maps
• The fourth hearing can happen either before or after the drawing of draft maps
• City staff or consultants may hold a public workshop instead of one of the
required public redistricting hearings
To increase the accessibility of these hearings, cities and counties must take the
following steps:
• At least one hearing must occur on a Saturday, Sunday, or after 6 p.m. on a
Weekday
• If a redistricting hearing is consolidated with another local government meeting,
the redistricting hearing portion must begin at a pre-designated time
• Local public redistricting hearings should be made accessible to people with
disabilities
The City held the following Public Hearings and Workshops:
• June 21, 2021 - City Council Pre-Draft Public Hearing
• September 15, 2021 - Redistricting Advisory Committee Pre-Draft Public Hearing
• November 6, 2021 (Saturday, 10am) - Redistricting Workshop
• December 1, 2021 - Redistricting Advisory Committee Pre-Draft Public Hearing
• January 12, 2022 (6PM) - Redistricting Workshop
• January 22, 2022 (Saturday, 10am) - Redistricting Advisory Committee Public Hearing to Narrow Draft Map Submissions
• February 7, 2022 - City Council Public Hearing, Review Draft Map Submissions
Last scheduled Public Hearing:
• March 7, 2022 - City Council Public Hearing, to Consider Final Map Selection
The purpose of this public hearing is to review draft maps, inform the public about the districting process, and to hear from the community on what factors should be taken into consideration while creating district boundaries. The public is requested to provide input regarding communities of interest and other local factors that should be considered while drafting district maps. A community of interest under the relevant Elections Code 21621(c) is “a population that shares common social or economic interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of its effective and fair representation.”
Possible features defining community of interest might include, but are not limited to:
A. School attendance areas;
B. Natural dividing lines such as major roads, hills, or highways;
C. Areas around parks and other neighborhood landmarks;
D. Common issues, neighborhood activities, or legislative/election concerns; and
E. Shared demographic characteristics, such as:
(1) Similar levels of income and education;
(2) Languages spoken at home; and
(3) Single-family and multi-family housing unit areas.
Boundaries cannot be adopted earlier than August 1, 2021 and must be adopted
before April 17, 2022. The U.S. Census Bureau released the 2020 Census data on August 12, 2021. California released its initial "prisoner-adjusted" data on September 21, 2021, and released a corrected version on September 27, 2021.
During the January 22, 2022 Redistricting Advisory Committee meeting, the Committee reviewed eleven (11) draft maps that met the Federal Law and the FAIR MAPS Act criteria and recommended two (2) draft maps for Council consideration.
During the February 7, 2022, Council reviewed and discussed draft maps and received input from the Public. Council will be selecting a new Council District Map during the March 7, 2022 Public Hearing.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Draft Maps
2. Presentation