ORDINANCE NO. 3345
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF CORONA, CALIFORNIA REGARDING BY-DISTRICT
ELECTIONS, ADJUSTING THE BOUNDARIES OF CITY
COUNCIL ELECTION DISTRICTS AND CONFIRMING
SUCH REVISED COUNCIL DISTRICT BOUNDARIES, AS
REFLECTED IN THE ATTACHED MAP
WHEREAS, the United States Census Bureau is required by Article I, Section 2, of the United States Constitution to conduct an accurate count of the population every ten years; and WHEREAS, California Elections Code § 21601 requires that following each decennial federal census, and using that census as a basis, the Council shall, by ordinance or resolution, adjust the boundaries of any or all of the Council election districts of the City so that the districts shall be substantially equal in population as required by the United States Constitution, California Constitution, and the Federal Voting Rights Act. In establishing the boundaries of the districts the Council must give consideration to the following factors in the following priority: (a) contiguity of districts, (b) respecting communities of interest, (c) drawing easily identifiable districts through use of natural or artificial boundaries and (d) compactness of territory in districts; and WHEREAS, California Elections Code § 21602 requires that the Council adopt an ordinance amending Council districts no later than April 17, 2022; and WHEREAS, on September 27, 2021, the Census Bureau sent 2020 Census data to the State of California with an official population estimate of 157,679 residents for the City of Corona; and
WHEREAS, City Council of the City of Corona ("City Council") held four public hearings on January 5, 2022, February 2, 2022, February 16, 2022, and March 16, 2022, and a public meeting on March 23, 2022, where the Council received briefings from the City’s demographic consultant relating to the redistricting process and state and federal redistricting criteria, including the California Elections Code, the Federal Voting Rights Act and the United States Constitution, heard public testimony, and directed staff and the City's demographic consultant to prepare draft Council district maps for consideration; and
WHEREAS, in addition, City staff conducted public outreach by way of print and digital advertisements and conducted a community workshop on Thursday, January 27, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. . During the public hearings, public comment was received on redistricting criteria and communities of interest; and
WHEREAS, at the February 2, 2022, February 16, 2022 and March 16, 2022 public hearings, the Council received a presentation of several draft maps prepared by the City's demographic consultant for compliance with applicable laws and standards and reviewed additional maps submitted by the public; and
WHEREAS, at the March 16, 2022 public hearing, the City Council agreed on Map Option 5, designating it as the preferred map and directed that it be presented to the Council for adoption by Ordinance; and
WHEREAS, at each of the public hearings on redistricting, the Council heard testimony relating to “communities of interest,” which led the Council to reach the following determinations about communities of interest on the preferred map, as required under federal and state law:
(1) The election districts are geographically contiguous. The districts are arrayed in a simple and logical form without any islands and with minimal intrusions from the area of one district into another;
(2) To the extent practicable, the preferred map respects the geographic integrity of local neighborhoods and local communities of interest. The Council heard testimony about what constitutes communities of interest in the public’s view. (3) The election districts are easily identifiable and understandable by residents. The districts in the preferred map form a relatively simple pattern. (4) To the extent practicable, the election districts are geographically compact. Their configurations for the most part are compact, simple shapes, with nearby populations included in the same districts.
(5) The election districts are balanced in terms of total population and voting age population. The districts are well within the one-person/one-vote deviations permitted under federal and state voting rights laws.
(6) The election districts conform to concentration of minority voters. The preferred map creates two (2) majority/minority voting districts.
WHEREAS, all information in the staff reports, maps, presentations, Council debate and public testimony referenced above is hereby incorporated into this decision and serves as evidentiary basis for these findings and legislative decision.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CORONA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Public Hearing Requirement Satisfied. This Ordinance is adopted following four noticed City Council public hearings as required by California Elections Code section 21607.1.
SECTION 2. By District Elections. City Council elections shall continue to be conducted "by districts" in five districts as set forth in Exhibit “A:. The term “by district” shall mean “election of members of the legislative body by voters of the district alone,” as provided in Government Code § 34871(d).
SECTION 3. Repeal of Conflicting Enactments. All ordinances and resolutions, or parts thereof in conflict with this Ordinance are hereby repealed.
SECTION 4. City Manager Authorization. The City Manager is directed to take all necessary steps to give effect to this Ordinance. If necessary to facilitate the implementation of this Ordinance, the City Manager or his or her designee is authorized to make technical adjustments to the election district boundaries that do not substantively affect the populations in the districts, the eligibility of candidates, or the residence of elected officials within any district. The City Manager shall consult with the City Attorney concerning any technical adjustments deemed necessary and shall advise the City Council of any such adjustments required in the implementation of the districts.
SECTION 5. Delivery to Registrar of Voters. The City Clerk is hereby directed to provide a certified copy of this Ordinance to the County of Riverside Registrar of Voters for use in subsequent Corona City Council Elections.
SECTION 68. Compliance with California Environmental Quality Act. This activity is exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) (Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq.) pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines, (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, § 15000 et seq.) §§ 15061(b)(3), 15320, and 15378(b)(3). The redistricting process is an organizational and administrative activity of the City, does not have the potential to result in either a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and is therefore not a project for purposes of CEQA. (State CEQA Guidelines, §§ 15061(b)(3); 15378(b)(5).) In the event the transition process does constitute a project, it is categorically exempt under the Class 20 (Changes in the Organization of Local Governments) categorical exemption. (State CEQA Guidelines, § 15320.) None of the exceptions to the exemptions found in State CEQA Guidelines, § 15300.2 apply.
SECTION 7. Severability. If any section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, or clause or phrase in this Ordinance or any part thereof is for any reason held to be unconstitutional, invalid or ineffective by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity or effectiveness of the remaining portions of this Ordinance or any part thereof. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted each section irrespective of the fact that any one or more subsections, subdivisions, sentences, clauses, or phrases are declared unconstitutional, invalid, or ineffective.
SECTION 8. Effective Date. The Mayor shall sign this Ordinance and the City Clerk shall attest thereto and shall within fifteen (15) days of its adoption cause it, or a summary of it, to be published in a genal circulation newspaper published and circulated in the City of Corona [or specify Sentinel Weekly News]. This Ordinance shall take effect and be in force on the 30th day after its adoption.
SECTION 9. Publication. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Ordinance and cause it, or a summary of it, to be published in a newspaper of general circulation printed and published within the City of Corona, pursuant to all legal requirements.
ADOPTED this 6th day of April 2022.
Mayor of the City of Corona, California
ATTEST:
City Clerk of the City of Corona, California
CERTIFICATION
I, Sylvia Edwards, City Clerk of the City of Corona, California, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance was regularly introduced at a special meeting of the City Council of the City of Corona, California duly held on the 23th day of March, 2022 and thereafter at a regular meeting held on the 6th day of April, 2022, it was duly passed and adopted by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAINED:
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of Corona, California, this 6
th day of April, 2022.
City Clerk of the City of Corona, California
[SEAL]
MEMORANDUM
DATE: August 4, 2022
FROM: Office of the City Clerk
SUBJECT: Ordinance 3345 – Map 5
Map Option 5 submitted on March 23, 2022, was labeled incorrectly for District 1 and District 4. The map was corrected on August 4, 2022. The corrected Map is attached to Ordinance 3345 as Exhibit A.
EXHIBIT A
Final District Boundary Map