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4 DATE:November 4, 2024
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Stefan Chatwin, City Manager
FROM: Priscilla Schaus, Communications Director/City Clerk Benjamin L. Stock, City Attorney
DEPARTMENT: Communications/ City Clerk
SUBJECT: TO START AT A TIME CERTAIN OF 7:00 P.M. -
THIRD PUBLIC HEARING TO RECEIVE COMMUNITY INPUT AND
PROVIDE DIRECTION TO STAFF REGARDING THE SUBMITTED
DRAFT MAPS AND SEQUENCE OF ELECTIONS FOR DISTRICT-
BASED COUNCIL ELECTIONS
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council conduct the third public hearing to receive community input and provide direction to staff regarding the submitted draft maps and sequence of elections for district-based council elections.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On August 19, 2024, the City Council discussed a letter received from a potential plaintiffs’ attorney, Shenkman & Hughes PC, on July 22, 2024, alleging a violation of the California Voting Rights Act (the “CVRA”)1 and threatening litigation if the City declines to voluntarily change to a district-based election system for electing Councilmembers.
While the Council strongly disagreed with the allegations in the letter, a majority of the Council gave direction to staff to proceed with agendizing the resolution of intent in order to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of Elections Code Section 10010 and avoid costly litigation.
At the September 3, 2024 Council meeting, the Council adopted City Resolution No. 2024-91 to transition to district based elections, to allow the City to take advantage of 1 Cal. Elec. Code §§ 14025-14032.
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4 the safe harbor provisions of Elections Code Section 10010.
At the October 7, 2024 Council meeting, the City Council conducted the first public hearing to receive input regarding the composition of the districts. The City Council conducted the second public hearing on October 21, 2024. The first and second public hearings were conducted to receive community and Council input on the composition of the districts and the sequencing. This third public hearing is being conducted to receive community input and provide direction to staff regarding the submitted draft maps and sequence of elections for district-based council elections.
The public hearings must be scheduled to start at a time certain if it is consolidated with a regular or special meeting of the governing body that includes other substantive agenda items, to begin at a fixed time regardless of its order on the agenda.
BACKGROUND
The City of Foster City currently elects its Councilmembers at-large, which means that each Councilmember is elected by the registered voters of the entire City.
The CVRA was enacted in 2001, in part, to provide minority groups in California with tools to prevent dilution of votes in “at-large” election systems and is more expansive than the Federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (“FVRA”). An at-large method of election may not be imposed or applied in a manner that impairs the ability of a protected class to elect candidates of its choice or its ability to influence the outcome of an election, as a result of the dilution or the abridgement of the rights of voters who are members of a protected class.2 A violation of the CVRA is established if it is shown that racially polarized voting occurs in elections for members of the governing body or in elections incorporating other electoral choices by the voters of the political subdivision.3 Any voter who is a member of a protected class and who resides in a political subdivision where a violation of the CVRA is alleged may file an action in the superior court in which the political subdivision is located.4
Pursuant to Elections Code Section 10010, a city may rely on the “safe harbor” provisions that allows a city to adopt a resolution outlining its intention to transition from at-large to district-based elections within forty-five (45) days of receiving a demand letter from a potential plaintiffs’ attorney.5 These “safe harbor” provisions allow a city to transition in accordance with a statutory timeline and, if followed, insulate a city from litigation arising from alleged CVRA violations and caps attorneys’ fee liability to a maximum of $30,000.6 Under those “safe harbor” provisions, a prospective plaintiff is required to send a written notice to the clerk of a city asserting that the city’s method of conducting elections may violate the CVRA.7 A forty-five (45) day stay is then imposed on a prospective plaintiff’s 2 Cal. Elec. Code §§ 14026 and 14027.
3 Cal. Elec. Code §14028(a); see also § 14027.
4 Cal. Elec. Code §14032.
5 Cal. Elec. Code § 10010(e)(2).
6 Cal. Elec. Code § 10010(f)(1)-(3).
7 Cal. Elec. Code § 10010(e)(1).
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4 ability to bring an action.8 That forty-five (45) day stay allows a city to adopt a resolution outlining its intention to transition from at-large to district-based elections.9 If a resolution of intention is adopted by a city council to move to district-based elections, a prospective plaintiff may not commence an action within ninety (90) days of the resolution of intention’s passage.10
Since the Council adopted City Resolution No. 2024-91 to transition to district-based elections on September 3, 2024, a prospective plaintiff may not commence an action within ninety (90) days of the resolution of intention’s passage.
Staff has prepared a tentative timeline, which identifies the preliminary schedule for the required public hearings and public outreach, which complies with Elections Code Section 10010 (Attachment 1). This timeline may change depending on the level of community involvement and the complexity of the map drawing process. If the timeline needs to adjust beyond the 90 days, then the City may enter into a written agreement to extend the 90-day period up to an additional 90 days in order to provide additional time to conduct public outreach, encourage public participation, and receive public input.11 Transition to District Based Elections: First and Second Public Hearings As a part of the transition process, the City is required to hold at least two public hearings over a period of no more than 30 days, at which the public is invited to provide input regarding the communities of interest that would help to define the composition of the districts.12
The Fair Maps Act defines a “community of interest” as a population that shares common social or economic interests that should be included within a single election district for purposes of its effective and fair representation. Characteristics of communities of interest may include, but are not limited to, shared public policy concerns such as education, public safety, public health, environment, housing, transportation, and access to social services. Characteristics of communities of interest may also include, but are not limited to, cultural districts, shared socioeconomic characteristics, similar voter registration rates and participation rates, and shared histories. Communities of interest do not include relationships with political parties, incumbents, or political candidates.
The City conducted the initial two public hearings on October 7, 2024 and October 21, 2024. At the first and second public hearings, the Council received a report from the City’s demographer, Redistricting Partners, about the basics of the districting process and identifying communities of interest. The video and presentation from the first and second 8 Cal. Elec. Code § 10010(e)(2).
9 Cal. Elec. Code § 10010(e)(1)-(3).
10 Cal. Elec. Code § 10010(e)(1)-(3).
11 Cal. Elec. Code § 10010(e)(3)(C)(i).
12 Cal. Elec. Code § 10010(a)(1).
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4 meeting can be found on the City’s dedicated redistricting webpage which can be found here: https://www.fostercity.org/districtelections.
The City has received twelve submissions of the Community of Interest forms which were posted on the City’s website. The responses from those twelve submissions are summarized as follows:
Four people submitted testimony requesting to not transition to district elections; •Encouraged the City Council to base criteria on three things: 1) geographic proximity; 2) dwelling type; and 3) traffic and noise;
•Homeowners Association Consideration; and
•School boundary consideration.
•Renters
•Lagoon homes (multiple submissions)
•Elementary School communities (multiple submissions, including a specific reference to Brewer Island)
Community of Interest forms submitted as of October 30, 2024 are attached as Attachment 3.
Transition to District Based Elections: Third and Fourth (and Fifth) Public Hearings Now that the first and second public hearings are complete, the City must hold at least two additional hearings over a period of no more than 45 days, at which the public is invited to provide input regarding the content of the draft maps and the proposed sequence of elections. A fifth public hearing would be held to adopt the selected map.
The City will need to comply with the Fair and Inclusive Redistricting for Municipalities and Political Subdivisions (Fair Maps) Act in adopting the districts,13 which provides criteria that the City must utilize when establishing election district boundaries or when undertaking the redistricting process (which must occur every ten years after each population census). The criteria is summarized below.
(a) The election districts must be substantially equal in population based on the most recent census.
(b) The districting body shall adopt election district boundaries that comply with the United States Constitution, the California Constitution, and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10301 et seq.) and consistent with the federal Voting Rights Act, the districting body shall determine whether it is possible to create an election district or districts in which a minority group is sufficiently large and geographically compact to constitute a majority in a single-member district, as set forth in Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U.S. 30 (1986).
13 Cal. Elec. Code § 21100 et seq.
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4 c) The districting body shall adopt election district boundaries using the following criteria as set forth in the following order of priority:
(1) To the maximum extent practicable, election districts shall be geographically contiguous. Areas that meet only at the points of adjoining corners are not contiguous. Areas that are separated by water and not connected by a bridge, tunnel, or regular ferry service are not contiguous. (2) To the maximum extent practicable, and where it does not conflict with the preceding criterion, the geographic integrity of any local neighborhood or local community of interest shall be respected in a manner that minimizes its division.
(3) To the maximum extent practicable, and where it does not conflict with the preceding criteria, election districts shall be bounded by natural and artificial barriers, by streets, or by the boundaries of the local jurisdiction. Election district boundaries should be easily identifiable and understandable by residents.
(4) To the maximum extent practicable, and where it does not conflict with the preceding criteria, election districts shall be drawn to encourage geographical compactness in a manner that nearby areas of population are not bypassed in favor of more distant populations.
(d) The districting body shall not adopt election district boundaries for the purpose of favoring or discriminating against an incumbent, political candidate, or political party.14
Within 21 days of adopting final election district boundaries, the City Council will be required to issue a report that explains the basis on which it made its decisions in achieving compliance with the requirements and criteria of the Fair Maps Act, including, as to each neighborhood, community of interest, city, or census designated place that was split into two or more districts, the reason for that split.15
ANALYSIS
At this third public hearing on November 4th, the community and the City Council will consider the 17 draft maps that have been submitted by members of the public and the 3 maps that have been prepared by Redistricting Partners. All of the maps are available on the City’s website: https://www.fostercity.org/districtelections. The maps that have been submitted by members of the public through the City’s “Districtr” mapping tool are identified by a numerical identification number (e.g., ID 258150), the one map that was submitted by email are identified as “Public Map 1…” and the maps that have been prepared by Redistricting Partners are identified by a letter (e.g., Draft Map A).
The City must publish the maps that will be considered at a public hearing seven days in advance of the meeting. Thus, the draft maps that will be considered at the third public hearing were published on October 28, 2024.
14 Cal. Elec. Code § 21130 (a)-(d).
15 Cal. Elec. Code § 21130(f).
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4 Redistricting Partners has prepared a FAIR MAPS Act Assessment (“Assessment”) of the maps submitted by members of the public. (Attachment 2). This Assessment analyzed all of the ranked list of criteria pursuant to the FAIR MAPS Act in the order required (i.e., population size deviation is under 10%, contiguous, maintains “communities of interest”, easily identifiable and understandable lines, compact, etc. However, as indicated in the Assessment, Redistricting Partners can assess all criteria objectively except for “maintaining communities of interest”. That particular criterion is subjective by definition and should be discussed by the City Council and public at this meeting to determine how well the draft maps fulfil this criterion.
With regard to the maps prepared by Redistricting Partners, a summary of each of the maps is provided below to summarize some of the relevant aspects of those maps:
Draft Map A
Total Population Deviation: 3.3%
Draft Map A was drawn to ensure HOAs and elementary school areas were kept intact as much as possible.
•District 1 is the largest district due to the unpopulated industrial area being included in the election district. It keeps together the HOAs on the western side of the city, and it includes Foster City Elementary School.
•District 2 keeps together the HOAs in the southern portion of the city, with a slight split of Carmel Village due to the US Census blocks not aligning with the HOA boundaries. This is the only split of an HOA on the map. It is also the only district without a school within its boundaries.
•District 3 is centrally located and compact, respects the HOA boundaries, and it includes Beach Park Elementary School.
•District 4 represents the eastern side of the city, and it contains Audubon Elementary School. While Foster City Blvd would have been a preferred boundary between districts 4 and 3, District 3 needed to pick up population across Foster City Blvd. This split was created in a way that did not split any HOAs. •District 5 is centrally located and compact and contains Brewer Island Elementary School.
Draft Map B
Total Population Deviation: 7.3%
Draft Map B was inspired by Public Map 1 and drawn in a way that balanced that public map while maintaining HOAs, when possible. Shell Cove is the only HOA split, and that was due to following a main road.
•District 1 uses Beach Park Blvd and water channels as logical dividers. •District 2 is similar to District 3 on Draft A, except Foster City Blvd was used more substantially as a divider.
•District 3 needed to cross Foster City Blvd to pick up population. It maintains much of the eastern side of the city below the freeway. However, District 5 crosses the freeway to pick up population.
•District 4 is similar to District 5 on Draft A and uses main roads as dividers. 4893-2915-8900 v1
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4 •District 5 is similar to District 1 on Draft A, except it uses Beach Park Blvd as a divider. It also dips below the freeway to on the east side of the city in order to balance the population.
Draft Map C
Total Population Deviation: 7.9%
Draft Map C provides a different way to split the city while maintaining HOAs. •District 1 uses Beach Park Blvd as a divider and encompasses the communities on both sides of the water channel.
•District 2 is the least compact district, but it maintains the HOAs on the western side of the city. Williams Landing is slightly split due to census blocks and HOA lines not aligning with each other.
•District 3 maintains the communities north of Beach Park Blvd and is centrally located and compact. It crosses Foster City Blvd to pick up population for a balanced district.
•District 4 maintains communities within the eastern side of the city. Please note that District 4 needed to cross the water channel along the freeway, Foster City Blvd and Triton Drive in order to create a balanced district. •District 5 combines the industrial side of the city with the middle compact region of the city.
Members of the public are invited to provide input regarding the content of the publicly submitted draft maps and the maps prepared by Redistricting Partners at the third public hearing. The Council and members of the public can also provide input on the sequence of elections, if desired.
Members of the public can also continue to submit maps for consideration at the fourth public hearing on November 18, 2024. The City’s website provides instructions on submission of the map via printed maps or through the City’s online mapping tool. The last day to submit maps for consideration at the November 18, 2024 meeting is 9:00 a.m. on November 8, 2024. Maps will be published November 8, in accordance with the seven- day publication deadline due to the Veterans Day holiday on November 11.
Outreach Efforts
City staff regularly notifies residents of meetings and other engagement opportunities by posting on social media channels such as the City’s Facebook, Twitter, and Nextdoor pages, as well as attending community events, sending printed mailers, and hosting community workshops. Social media posts sharing information regarding the City Council’s consideration of adopting a resolution of intent to transition from at-large to district-based elections began days after the August 19 meeting, and continues. These efforts include updating the nature of the outreach material throughout the process to encourage community to get involved by submitting community of interest forms, drawing district maps, reviewing submitted maps, providing public comment, and more. 4893-2915-8900 v1
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4 Printed outreach material notifying residents of the meetings has been placed in City Hall and Council Chambers as well at kiosks posted along the Levee. It has also been posted on the marquee and posting boards at the Council Chambers and Library. Outreach material such as the mailer, website, and other printed documents have been translated to Mandarin as well.
To grant ample opportunities for residents and community members to have their voice heard, City staff have attended a variety of community events including the following:
•September 20, 8:30am-10am: Second Harvest Food Bank Free Grocery Program at the Foster City Library.
•September 21, 9am-11:00am: Community Bike Ride at Booth Bay Park. •September 28, 9am-11am: Foster City Farmers Market at 1010 Metro Center Blvd. •September 29, 10am-12pm: Clean Air Day celebration at the Foster City Library. •October 2, 5pm-7pm: Off the Grid at Leo Ryan Park.
•October 6, 11am-1pm: Baybasi Autumn Festival at Leo Ryan Park. •October 16, 5pm-6:30 pm: Off the Grid at Leo Ryan Park •October 19, 9am-11am: Foster City Farmers Market at 1010 Metro Center Blvd. •October 23, 5pm-6:30pm: Off the Grid at Leo Ryan Park. •October 26, 11am-12:30pm: Foster City Halloween Festival at Leo Ryan Park. •October 30, 5pm-6:30pm: Off the Grid at Leo Ryan Park. •November 1, 8:30am-10:00am: Second Harvest Food Bank Free Grocery Program at the Foster City Library.
•November 2, 10am-11:30am: Friends of the Library Book Sale at the Foster City Library.
City staff and the consultant also hosted a community workshop on October 20, 2024, which was well attended. The workshop was held in a hybrid format for in person attendance at the Council Chambers and online via Zoom, and the video was also recorded and uploaded to the City’s YouTube channel for on-demand playing.
The City has created a website dedicated to this district transition process which can be found here: https://www.fostercity.org/districtelections.
Information is available on the City’s website that provides the public with background information about the districting process, upcoming hearing dates, and supporting documents. This webpage is continuously updated with dates and locations where community members can share their feedback on this issue.
CALIFORNIA EQUALITY QUALITY ACT
This item does not constitute a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code § 21000, et seq.) (CEQA) as the adoption of the resolution 4893-2915-8900 v1
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4 does not have the potential to result in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment (14 Cal. Code Regs. § 15378.).
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no direct fiscal impact associated with this action. By transitioning to district-based elections, the costs that potential plaintiff’s attorney will receive is capped at $30,000. The City will also pay the demographer for their services, which totals $49,500.
CITY COUNCIL VISION, MISSION, AND VALUE/PRIORITY AREA
City Council Operations and Improved Community Engagement.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Tentative Timeline
Attachment 2 – Redistricting Partners FAIR MAPS Assessment October 28, 2024 Attachment 3 – Community of Interest Forms submitted as of October 30, 2024