1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: March 14, 2023
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Joseph H. McDougall, City Attorney
BY: Jill Vander Borght, Senior Assistant City Attorney
SUBJECT: First Public Hearing Regarding the Composition of Districts for the City’s Transition to District-Based City Council Elections
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the Amended Phase 1 Districting Process Schedule (Attachment 1).
BACKGROUND
On August 23, 2022, the City received a notice of a potential violation of the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) on behalf of a Latino voter in the City of Burbank, Mr. Nick Gutierrez. (Elec. Code §§14027- 14032.) On January 24, 2023, Council adopted a Resolution of Intent to Initiate a Transition to District Elections, which triggered a 90- day safe harbor period from litigation, including a tentative timeline for the districting process.
The Resolution of Intent provides in paragraph 5:
The timeline contained in Exhibit A may be adjusted by the Council in future consent calendars as the City Attorney deems necessary or appropriate to enhance the process of receiving public input and City Council consideration of districting options, provided that such adjustments shall not pr event the City from complying with the general time frames specified by Elections Code Section 10010 for public hearings, or such other timeframes as may be convenient and appropriate.
The Council also authorized staff in paragraph 3 of the Resolution to retain National Demographics Corporation (NDC), expert demographers serving local governments in California in successfully districting, to guide the process, which by statute requires this first public hearing. In consultation with NDC, staff developed an updated and more robust CITY ATTORNEY’S
OFFICE
2 timeline of workshops and public hearings for the districting process (Attachment 1). Per the proposed schedule, there will be a total of five public hearings as well as eight community meetings scheduled over the next four months. These public forums will give constituents multiple opportunities to provide input on the districting process.
The Council is being asked to approve the updated timeline in connection with the first public hearing to launch the districting process. If other modifications to the timeline are necessary, they may be presented to Council in conjunction with future public hearings or on a consent agenda item, as appropriate. The timeline and any updates thereto once approved will be published on the City’ s districting website :
www.burbankcouncildistricting.com.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This activity involves organizational and administrative activities of the government related to election procedures and eligibility requirements, and such internal procedural and eligibility changes have no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. As such, this action is not a “project” subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 14 Cal. Code Regs § 15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
CONCLUSION
The City Attorney recommends the Council approve the Phase 1 Amended Districting Process Schedule (Attachment 1).
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Phase 1 Amended Districting Process Schedule Correspondences