TITLE:
title
FOURTH PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS AND FIRST READING AND INTRODUCTION OF AN ORDINANCE TO ADOPT A COUNCIL DISTRICT MAP
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DEPARTMENT: CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE/CITY CLERK DIVISION
PRESENTED BY: BRENDA GREEN, CITY CLERK
CONTACT INFORMATION: BRENDA GREEN, CITY CLERK (714) 754-5221
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Staff recommends the City Council:
1. Conduct the fourth public hearing to receive additional public input on district boundaries and draft map.
2. Introduce for first reading Ordinance No. 2022-xx, to adopt a Council District Map.
3. Schedule March 15, 2022 for the second reading and adoption of Ordinance No. 2022-xx.
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BACKGROUND:
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 populations. The redistricting process for the City of Costa Mesa must be completed by April 17, 2022.
On April 6, 2021, the City Council selected National Demographics Corporation (NDC) for the demographics analysis of census data and to engage the public in the redistricting process.
In November 2016, Ordinance 16-05 was approved by the voters, which amended the City’s method of electing members to the City Council, commencing in November 2018. Pursuant to the approved Ordinance the City is currently divided into 6 geographic districts, with a Mayor elected by voters citywide. The districts must now be evaluated using the 2020 census data, and 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 21601(c) for general law cities):
1. Comply with the federal requirements of equal population and the federal 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 above prioritized criteria are met, other traditional districting principles may be considered, such as:
1. Minimize the number of voters delayed from voting due to a change of their district.
2. Respect voters’ choices / continuity in office.
3. Future population growth.
By law, the City must hold at least four public hearings that enable community members to provide input on the redistricting process. The process involves the following requirements:
• One hearing must occur before the City draws draft maps (10/19/2021).
• Two hearings must happen after the drawing of draft maps (11/16/21 & 02/15/22).
• Third Public Hearing to discuss and select final map (02/15/2022).
• Fourth Public Hearing and Introduction of Ordinance for final map selected (03/1/2022).
• Second reading and adoption of Ordinance approving final map (03/15/2022).
Public workshops were conducted to seek public input on suggested criteria for consideration on drafting district maps. Workshops were held on the following dates:
• Saturday, October 23, 2021, 10:00 a.m. at the Norma Hertzog Community Center
• Wednesday, December 1, 2021, 6:00 p.m. at the City Hall Community Room
• Saturday, January 8, 2022, 10:00 a.m. via Zoom Webinar.
In addition, the City has a dedicated webpage that includes online mapping tools and an Interactive Review Map. The draft district maps are posted on the webpage at:
Redistrict Costa Mesa <https://redistrictcostamesa.org/>
ANALYSIS:
Draft Maps
The first set of draft district maps were presented to the City Council at the Public Hearing of November 16, 2021. The first set of maps included seven (7) public submittals and three (3) prepared by the City’s demographer, based on the legal criteria outlined in previous public hearings and communities of interest as provided by the community. Prior to the January 8, 2022 workshop an additional three public maps were submitted by the public. After the workshop, one additional map (Map 115) was prepared by NDC for consideration.
Map Submittals
|
Map Number |
Submitter |
Population Balanced |
Note |
|
Current |
|
No (11.5%) |
|
|
101 |
David Martinez |
No (10.5%) |
Replaced by #111 |
|
102 |
Andy Godinez |
Yes |
|
|
103 |
Anonymous |
No (32.7%) |
|
|
104 |
Matt Eimers |
No (12.7%) |
|
|
105 |
Matt Eimers |
Yes |
|
|
106 |
Matt Eimers |
Yes |
|
|
107 |
Anonymous |
Yes |
Correction of #103 |
|
108 |
NDC |
Yes |
|
|
109 |
NDC |
Yes |
|
|
110 |
NDC |
Yes |
|
|
111 |
David Martinez |
Yes |
Replaced #101 |
|
112 |
David Martinez |
Yes |
|
|
113 |
David Martinez |
Yes |
|
|
114 |
David Martinez |
Yes |
|
|
115 |
NDC |
Yes |
|
Maps 101, 103, and 104 are not population balanced and Maps 104, 105, 106, 113, and 114 lack a majority Latino district.
All presentation materials and public testimony received, as well as audio recording of each community meeting, are posted to the City’s redistricting website. Outreach and engagement efforts continued throughout the process to encourage community input and participation, announcement of community meetings/public hearing opportunities, and accessibility to mapping tools.
On February 15, 2022 the third Public Hearing was held to receive public input on all draft maps, receive and file oral and written testimony from the prior community meetings and public hearings. The City Council selected Map 115 on a 7-0 vote for Introduction and First Reading at the March 1, 2022 City Council meeting. The second reading and adoption of the Ordinance approving a final map is scheduled for the March 15, 2022 City Council meeting.
Pursuant to California Election Code, the process must be completed and the adoption of the new boundary map must occur by April 17, 2022, which will be utilized in the November 2022 General Municipal Election.
ALTERNATIVES:
The City Council may discuss and select specific draft maps for additional public review and input. Staff does not recommend this alternative because a map must be adopted prior to the final deadline of April 17, 2022.
FISCAL REVIEW:
The City Clerk’s budget includes sufficient funding to cover the estimated redistricting cost of $80,000.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed this report and approved it as to form.
CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND PRIORITIES:
This item is administrative in nature.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends the City Council:
1. Conduct the fourth public hearing to receive additional public input on district boundaries and draft map.
2. Introduce for first reading Ordinance No. 2022-xx, to adopt a Council District Map.
3. Schedule March 15, 2022 for the second reading and adoption of Ordinance No. 2022-xx.