HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 09a - Redrawing of City Council Election District Boundaries
DATE: August 17, 2021
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Dominic Lazzaretto, City Manager
By: Michael Bruckner, Deputy City Manager
SUBJECT: PUBLIC HEARING TO RECEIVE INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY
REGARDING THE REDRAWING OF CITY COUNCIL ELECTION
DISTRICT BOUNDARIES
Recommendation: Receive Public Input
SUMMARY
As a result of the 2020 Census, the City of Arcadia is required to review new population
data and to rebalance its City Council election districts. Per the Election’s Code, the City
Council is required to adopt a new district map or, if appropriate, readopt the existing
district map by Ordinance following a series of public hearings. As required by law, the
City Council districts must be “substantially equal in population” based upon the results
of the 2020 Census. The districts are also required to comply with the United States
Constitution, the California Constitution, and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. On
June 15, 2021, the City entered into a contract with National Demographic Corporation
(“NDC”) to provide Demographer Services for this effort. This public hearing is the first
of several public hearings and community workshops to receive input from the Arcadia
community regarding the redrawing of City Council district boundaries.
BACKGROUND
On July 21, 2017, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 7179, a resolution declaring
the City’s intent to transition from at-large to district-based elections. After holding a
series of required public hearings, on October 17, 2017, the City Council adopted
Ordinance No. 2350 establishing by-district elections, defining district boundaries, and
scheduling elections within the districts. Two subsequent elections have been held
using the district format, with all five seated Council Members now representing specific
districts of the community (Attachment “A”).
Cities that use district voting systems are required to update their adopted district
boundaries in conjunction with each decennial Census to ensure that the districts
Public Hearing to Receive Community Input on Redistricting
August 17, 2021
Page 2 of 4
remain numerically and demographically balanced. As a result of the 2020 Census, the
City of Arcadia is required to review new population data and to rebalance its districts.
The canvassing for the 2020 Census was completed last year; however, the US Census
Bureau announced that it will deliver the final data to all states by September 30, 2021,
due to COVID-19 pandemic related delays, which is six months later than the statutory
deadline of March 31, 2021. Additionally, the State of California will take another month
to review the Census data to incorporate certain state-specific information – resulting in
a practical arrival date in early October 2021.
Under the State’s Fair Maps Act, the City must hold at least four public hearings for the
community to provide input regarding the composition of the districts. Further, the Fair
Maps Act requires that the new district maps be adopted at least 174 days prior to the
election. The next regularly scheduled municipal election is November 8, 2022, which
requires the City to adopt maps no later than April 17, 2022. Assuming that there are no
further delays, the City will have sufficient time to complete the redistricting process.
DISCUSSION
The purpose of this public hearing is to inform the public about the districting process
and to hear from the Arcadia 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
Section 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.” Per the Election’s Code, the City Council is required to adopt a new or
readopt the existing map, if appropriate, by Ordinance following a series of public
hearings, to include:
• 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
• Alternatively, the City may hold a public workshop instead of one of the required
public redistricting hearings
The City is proposing to hold three public hearings and one community workshop to
satisfy the requirements of the Fair Maps Act. The project timeline is as follows:
1. August 17, 2021 – Public Hearing
2. November 10, 2021 – Community Workshop
3. February 1, 2022 – Public Hearing (after draft maps are drawn)
4. March 15, 2022 – Public Hearing (after draft maps are drawn)
Public Hearing to Receive Community Input on Redistricting
August 17, 2021
Page 3 of 4
The districts must now also be in compliance with the Fair Maps Act (“Act”), which was
adopted by the California legislature as AB 849, and took effect January 1, 2020. Under
the Act, the City Council must draw and adopt City Council district 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
Once the prioritized criteria are met, other traditional districting principles can be
considered, such as:
• Minimize the number of voters delayed from voting from 2022 to 2024
• Respect voters’ choices / continuity in office
• Future population growth
The City has also created a Redistricting page on the City’s website at
www.ArcadiaCA.gov/redistricting, which will be used as a central repository to catalog
all information related to the redistricting process. A mapping tool will also be added to
this page to assist the community in submitting its own recommendations for City
Council districts. Map submissions and general inquiries about the redistricting process
should be sent cityclerk@ArcadiaCA.gov.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no impact to the General Fund as a result of this public hearing. The cost of the
entire redistricting process has been included in the FY 2021-22 operating budget.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
The proposed actions do not constitute a project under the California Environmental
Quality Act (“CEQA”), based on Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines, as it can
be seen with certainty that they will have no impact on the environment. Thus, these
matters are exempt under CEQA.
Public Hearing to Receive Community Input on Redistricting
August 17, 2021
Page 4 of 4
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council determine that this project is exempt under the
California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”); and hold a public hearing to receive
community input on City Council election district boundaries.
Attachments: “A” - City Council Districts
“B” - Redistricting Presentation
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Council Districts
City Boundary
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Data Sources: City of Arcadia, 2017.
Council District
City of Arcadia, California
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City of Arcadia
First Public Hearing for Redistricting
August 17, 2021
Attachment "B"
2
2021 Arcadia Redistricting
August 17, 2021
The 2021 redistricting process
•Project timelines
•Key deadlines
•Next steps and hearings
•Project website –ArcadiaCA.gov/redistricting
3
Arcadia Elections
August 17, 2021
Mayor & Council Members hold 4 -year terms
•Districts 1 & 4 terms end November 2024*
•Districts 2, 3, 5 terms end November 2022*
*City changed election dates from April to November in order to comply with California’s SB 415
4
Redistricting Process
August 17, 2021
Step Description
Initial Pre-Draft
Hearing(s)
Held prior to release of draft maps.
Education and to solicit input on the communities in the City.
Identify “neighborhoods,” “communities of interest,” and “secondary areas.”
Initial deadline for draft
maps
Deadline for the public to submit draft maps for inclusion in the next hearing
packet and presentation
Release draft maps Draft maps posted to project website
Two hearings on draft
maps
Two meetings to discuss and revise the draft maps and to discuss the election
sequence.
Map adoption Map adopted via ordinance.
Final map must be posted at least 7 days prior to adoption.
5
Redistricting Rules and Goals
August 17, 2021
Equal Population
Federal Voting
Rights Act
No Racial
Gerrymandering
1. Federal Laws 2. California Criteria for
Cities
1.Geographically contiguous
2.Undivided neighborhoods and
“communities of interest”
(Socio-economic geographic areas
that should be kept together)
3.Easily identifiable boundaries
4.Compact
(Do not bypass one group of people
to get to a more distant group of
people)
Prohibited:
“Shall not favor or discriminate against a
political party.”
3. Other Traditional
Redistricting Principles
Minimize voters shifted
to different election
years
Respect voters’ choices
/ continuity in office
Future population
growth
Preserving the core of
existing districts
6
Asian-American CVAP
August 17, 2021
7
Arcadia Income Statistics
August 17, 2021
8
Percentage of Citizens Living in Apartments
August 17, 2021
9
Defining Neighborhoods
1st Question: what is your neighborhood?
2nd Question: what are its geographic boundaries?
Examples of physical features defining a neighborhood boundary:
Natural neighborhood dividing lines, such as highway or major roads, rivers, canals and/or hills
Areas around parks or schools
Other neighborhood landmarks
In the absence of public testimony, planning records and other similar documents
may provide definition.
August 17, 2021
10
Beyond Neighborhoods:
Defining Communities of Interest
1st Question: what defines your community?
Geographic Area, plus
Shared issue or characteristic
Shared social or economic interest
Impacted by city policies
Tell us “your community’s story”
2nd Question:
Would this community benefit from being “included within a single district for purposes of its
effective and fair representation”?
Or would it benefit more from having multiple representatives?
August 17, 2021
Definitions of Communities of Interest may not include
relationships with political parties, incumbents, or political
candidates.
11
Possible Neighborhoods / Communities
August 17, 2021
•Neighborhoods
•Commercial Areas
•HOAs
•Other designated areas
12
Public Hearing & Discussion
What is your neighborhood and what are its boundaries?
What other notable areas are in the city, and what are their boundaries?
Any questions about the mapping tools?
At the 2nd Hearing, Commission Discussion, then Action:
Vote on areas that meet each AB 849 definition:
“neighborhoods”
“communities of interest . . . that should be included within a single district for purposes of its
effective and fair representation.”
August 17, 2021
13
Timeline & Next Steps
Due to delays in the release of the Census data, it is
anticipated that full data sets from the Census Bureau will not
be ready until late September or early October
The approved map must be submitted to the LA County
Registrar of Voters by no later than April 17, 2022
August 17, 2021
14
Timeline & Next Steps
August 17, 2021
Date(s) Description Comments
August 17, 2021 1st Public Hearing
October 2021 Mapping software released to the public.
Redistricting data available. Census data will be
released in mid- to late-August. California will
release the prisoner-adjusted redistricting data
around October 1.
*Estimated time, dependent on Census
data
November 10, 2021 Proposed 2nd hearing – Community Workshop
February 1, 2022 Proposed 3rd hearing
Mid-February, TBD Maps due from the public.
Early-March, TBD Publish revised map(s) 7 Days prior to adoption
March 15, 2022 Proposed 4th hearing. Final Hearing and Council adopt
District map. Must be completed no
later than April 17, 2022; 14 Days (if
adopting by Ordinance)
April 17, 2022 (E-205) City deadline to adopt and submit map to Registrar