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
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