Fremont City Council Meeting: 04/05/22 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: City Manager's Office
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Plans, Policies and Studies
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
STAFF REPORT (ID # 4573) DOC ID: 4573
Updated: 3/29/2022 3:32 PM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 1 CITY OF FREMONT REDISTRICTING PROCESS PUBLIC HEARING – Fifth Public Hearing on City of Fremont Redistricting Process, Start time - 7:15pm Contact Persons:
Name: Amanda Gallo
Title: Management Analyst II
Div/Dept: City Manager's Office
Phone: 510-284-4016
E-Mail: [email protected]
Executive Summary: The Public Hearing scheduled for April 5, 2022, represents the fifth redistricting public hearing hosted by the City of Fremont, pursuant to California Elections Code Section 21600 et seq., which requires a series of at least four public hearings as part of the redistricting process undertaken following each decennial federal Census.
The purpose of this public hearing is to (1) conduct a public hearing to receive additional public input on communities of interest and district boundaries, and (2) adopt a redrawn Official City Council District Map. The redrawn Official City Council District Map will be adopted by resolution and implemented for the November 2022 election. The redistricting process must be completed by April 17, 2022.
BACKGROUND: In 2017, the City expanded the City Council from five members to seven members and began the transition from at-large to district-based elections. The district- based maps were adopted on June 13, 2017 by the City Council with an ordinance approving six new Council districts and a phase-in schedule from 2018-2020. The change from at-large to by-district elections requires the City to conduct a redistricting process every ten years.
Redistricting Public Hearing Recap
At each public hearing, the City’s demographer consultant, National Demographics Corporation (NDC), presented redistricting requirements under the federal Voting Rights Act and the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA), and the City Council received and filed reports on public input submitted to the City regarding communities of interest and district boundaries. All public input and documents of Fremont Redistricting Public Hearings, can be found by date at https://redistrictfremont.org/schedule/. At Public Hearings #2, 3, and 4, the City Council reviewed draft maps submitted by the public and NDC. All submitted maps can be found on the City’s redistricting website, www.redistrictfremont.org.
The City of Fremont hosted four public hearings as required by law. Public hearings for the City's 2021 Redistricting process were held in compliance with Elections Code Sections 21620-21629 on September 21, 2021, December 7, 2021, February 15, 2022, and March 1, 2022. The City is hosting a fifth public hearing to review corrections made to the priority map selected by the City Council at Redistricting Public Hearing #4 (NDC Redrawn Map 91064) and receive any additional input from the public on proposed district boundary lines.
Public Outreach
Staff Report (ID # 4573) Meeting of April 5, 2022
Updated: 3/29/2022 3:32 PM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 2 Information regarding public hearings has been posted in numerous ethnic media sources, and all public hearing documents have been translated into eight languages and are posted on the City’s redistricting website, www.redistrictfremont.org. Redistricting information has also been included in the City’s weekly online newsletter, The Fremont Connection, Channel 27, and the City’s social media platforms. In addition to the required public hearings, the City Council also received an informational presentation of the redistricting process at a public meeting, staff conducted a redistricting community survey, staff hosted a community workshop providing training on public mapping tools, and a variety of presentations were made to community organizations and City commissions.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: Under the redistricting process, districts must be redrawn using 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.
The Fair Maps Act requires that “council districts shall be substantially equal in population as required by the United States Constitution.” (Elections Code Section 21601(a)). A total deviation of 10% or below is the recommended target for proposed local government district maps. After processing the City’s current district map with 2020 Census data, NDC found that it reflects a total population deviation of 10.62%. This value above the 10% threshold requires redrawing of the district map in order to achieve balanced populations across districts.
Additionally, under the Act, Council must draw and adopt boundaries using the following criteria in the listed order of priority (Elections Code Section 21601(c)):
1. Comply with the federal requirements of equal population and the Voting Rights Act
2. Geographically contiguous
3. Undivided neighborhoods and “communities of interest”
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 prioritized criteria are met, other traditional districting principles can be considered.
Proposed Maps Reviewed under the Redistricting Process
The City received 16 maps from the public throughout the redistricting process. Nine maps drawn by the public met the basic criteria of redistricting under federal and state law, while seven did not. Each map that met the basic criteria was presented to the City Council with demographic analysis reports. NDC presented three proposed draft maps to the City Council for review based on results of the City’s redistricting public survey, public comment, and feedback from Council.
At the third public hearing, staff recommended that City Council select one to three focus maps for further review. The City Council directed NDC to perform analysis to revise Public Map 91604, Green Map Drawn by NDC, and the Minimal Change Map Drawn by NDC, for further review at the fourth public hearing. Direction was given to revise the map options to attempt to unify the Centerville neighborhood and its business corridor into one district and the Glenmoore neighborhood in one district, either District 2 or 3, and to ensure the continued unification of the Irvington neighborhood. Revisions were made and the Green Map Drawn by NDC and NDC Redrawn Map 91064 were presented for further review.
Staff Report (ID # 4573) Meeting of April 5, 2022
Updated: 3/29/2022 3:32 PM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 3
At Redistricting Public Hearing #4, held on March 1, 2022, the Fremont City Council selected NDC Redrawn Map 91064, as its priority map and directed NDC to make minor revisions.
This map is being considered for adoption by the City Council through a resolution following a Public Hearing.
Proposed Map for Adoption- NDC Redrawn Map 91064 Revised 3-6-22 Based on City Council feedback at Redistricting Public Hearing #4, NDC has made the minor revision requested to the selected priority map, NDC Redrawn 91064 Map. The NDC Redrawn 91064 Map- Revised 3-6-22, attempts to straighten the boundary line between District 3 and District 4 around the Sundale neighborhood.
A full summary of proposed changes to be made to the current Council District Boundary Map, upon the adoption of proposed NDC Redrawn Map 91064- Revised 3-6-22, is attached to this report.
Per Elections Code Section 21628(d)(1), the City is required to publish Draft Maps on the internet for at least seven days before being adopted as a final map by the City Council. The NDC Redrawn Map 91064 Revised 3-6-22 was posted on the City’s redistricting website on March 10, 2022. Staff is recommending the adoption of the NDC Redrawn Map 91064 Revised 3-6-22 as it was drawn considering public comment. NDC Redrawn Map 91064, Revisdd 3-6-22 meets state and federal law requirements, and has a total population deviation across districts of 7.62%.
Official City Council District Map Adoption by Resolution At the fourth public hearing, staff presented a draft ordinance to make changes Fremont Municipal Code Section 2.05.130 which established the City Council voting districts by describing the boundaries of each district. The proposed amendment removes the existing district boundaries from the Fremont Municipal Code and provides for the new boundaries to be established by a map adopted by resolution of the City Council.
Upon the second reading and approval of the ordinance, Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the attached resolution to adopt a redrawn Official City Council District Map and fulfill the requirements of the 2021 Redistricting Process.
FISCAL IMPACT: None.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: None.
ATTACHMENTS:
• Draft Resolution Adopting District Map
• NDC Redrawn 91064 Map-Revised 3-6-22
• Summary of Changes made to Current Council District Map proposed by NDC Redrawn Map 91064 Revised 3-6-22
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Conduct a public hearing to receive additional public input on communities of interest and district boundaries.
Staff Report (ID # 4573) Meeting of April 5, 2022
Updated: 3/29/2022 3:32 PM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 4
2. Adopt resolution to select a redrawn Official City Council District Map.