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Staff Report
City Council
Item No. 5.B
Meeting Date: January 26, 2022
From: Charles McClendon, City Manager
Title: Consideration of revised City Council District Electoral Boundaries as required by Elections Code Section 21621.
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive a report from staff and the City's redistricting consultant on the redistricting process and permissible criteria to be considered to redraw district boundaries; and conduct a public hearing to receive public input on district boundaries.
BACKGROUND:
Every 10 years, following the decennial census, 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, ensure s all districts have a nearly equal population. The redistricting process for the City of Cathedral City must be completed by April 17, 2022.
DISCUSSION:
The City adopted its current district boundaries in 2017, following the transition to district-based elections and based on 2010 census data as required by law. The districts must now be redrawn 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 City 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. Be geographically contiguous
3. Undivided neighborhoods and “communities of interest” (socio -economic geographic areas that should be kept together)
4. Display easily identifiable boundaries
5. Be 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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Once the prioritized criteria are met, other traditional districting principles can be considered, such as:
1. Minimize the number of voters delayed from voting in 2022 to 2024
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 drawing of district maps:
• At least one hearing must occur before the city or county 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 or county 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 6:00 p.m. on a weekday
• If a redi stricting hearing is consolidated with another local government meeting, the redistricting hearing must begin at a pre-designated time • Local public redistricting hearings must be made accessible with people with disabilities
Analysis of the City’s cur rent district boundaries, adjusted for the 2020 Census data, shows the districts are no longer population -balanced. The City’s population is 51,683.
The ideal district population is one-fifth of that number, or 10,337.
Determining population balance is done by measuring the spread, or deviation, between the least populated district and the greatest populated district. Deviations of 10% or less are generally considered acceptable under U.S. Supreme Court rulings on equal protection.
The current population of District 3 is measurably over the ideal at 6.15% while District 4 is somewhat under the ideal at -4.09%. Combined, those deviations bring the City’s current total deviation to 10.24%. As such, the district boundaries should be adjusted to achieve a population balance with less than a 10% deviation.
Another consideration is the distribution of minority voters throughout the City, and whether there is a possibility of creating a majority/minority voting district as required under the federal Voting Ri ghts Act. This analysis involves reviewing the ethnicity demographics from the census data, specifically citizens of voting age populations (CVAP). Upon review of the City’s CVAP data, creation of a majority/minority voting district (a district in which an identified minority comprises the majority of voting age population) is possible while remaining in compliance with regard to the other mapping requirements noted above. Currently Districts 1 and 4 are majority/minority Hispanic voting districts. A compl ete demographic breakdown of the existing districts is attached to this report.
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The purpose of this public hearing is to review draft maps, to inform the public about the districting process, and to hear from the community on factors that must be taken in to consideration for district boundaries. The public is requested to provide input regarding communities of interest and other local factors that should be considered for district maps. A community of interest under the relevant Elections Code for cities ( 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.” Possible features defining community of interest might include, but are not limited to:
1. School attendance areas;
2. Natural dividing lines such as major roads, hills, or highways;
3. Areas around parks and other neighborhood landmarks;
4. Common issues, neighborhood activities, or legislative/election concerns; and
5. Shared demographic characteristics, such as:
• Similar levels of income, education, or linguistic insolation; • Languages spoken at home; and
• Single-family and multi-family housing unit areas.
The City’s current district boundary map is illustrated below:
The City’s Redistricting consultant has prepared two draft map options for Council’s consideration. Each map is summarized below and accompanying demographic information may be found attached to this report (Attachment). Further, an online to ol for closely examining the boundaries, with zoom and search capabilities, may be found here:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1gakY85gLpJoemSnu9laHwZ4nz tCboSiq&ll=33.823762257171865%2C-116.454539&z=12
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Map Option A
Map Option A is a relatively minor population
balance adjustment that closely resembles the
current boundary map, particularly with regard
to Districts 1 and 2. Option A preserves
majority/minority Hispanic voting districts in
Districts 1 and 4, while lowering the total
deviation to 4.12%, as compared to the current
deviation of 10.24%. The map preserves the
core of existing districts, create s compact
districts to the extent the geography of the City
permits, and complies with the requirements of
the Fair Maps Act as outlined above.
A complete demographic analysis is attached to
this report.
Map Option B
Map Option B balance s the pop ulation more dramatically than Option A, making more significant changes to the
configuration of the current boundary map. Option B
exhibits a total deviation of 3.53%, moving a greater
number of residents to achieve that balance. The map
creates more comp act voting districts, particularly with respect to Districts 3, 4 and 5. It maintains the core of the existing districts, and complies with the requirements of the Fair Maps Act as required. Like Option A, Option B
preserves majority/minority Hispanic vot ing districts in Districts 1 and 4.
A complete demographic analysis is attached to this report.
Next Steps
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Following tonight’s hearing and continued demographic review of the recently released 2020 Census data, the City’s redistricting consultant will revise any maps as directed by the Council, as well as evaluate any maps submitted by the public. The City has launched an online mapping tool which allows the public to draw and submit their own district maps for consideration. Any maps submitted by the public by February 1st will be evaluated and included with any revised maps considered at the third public hearing scheduled for February 9th.
If at the third public hearing the Council requests additional revisions, those revisions will be presen ted at the fourth public hearing, scheduled for February 23, 2022. The Council may, at the third public hearing, narrow their focus and identify a preferred map.
In that instance, staff will also include introduction of an Ordinance approving a final map a t the fourth public hearing. Should additional public hearings be necessary to identify and select a preferred map, they will be scheduled accordingly. The deadline for the City of Cathedral City to complete the redistricting process is April 17, 2022.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with the recommended action.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment - Proposed Maps and Analysis-c1