Agenda Report
Fullerton City Council
MEETING DATE: MARCH 8, 2022
TO: CITY COUNCIL
SUBMITTED BY: JEFFREY W. COLLIER, ACTING City Manager
PREPARED BY: LUCINDA WILLIAMS, CITY CLERK
SUBJECT: REDISTRICT FULLERTON - FOCUS MAP RECOMMENDATIONS
SUMMARY
City Council review of redistricting focus maps recommended by the Redistricting Advisory Commission and selection of a final map for approval on March 29, 2022.
RECOMMENDATION
Conduct public hearing to consider recommended draft maps and receive public input on district boundaries and draft maps.
Select final map for approval at the March 29, 2022 City Council public hearing.
BUDGET POLICY PRIORITY STATEMENT
This item matches the following Budget Policy Priority Statement:
Fiscal and Organizational Stability.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
DISCUSSION
Background
Cities with by-district election systems must use new census data to review and, if warranted, draw new district lines to reflect population changes every ten years. This redistricting process ensures all districts have balanced populations and comply with current state and federal election laws. Cities with November 2022 general municipal elections must complete their redistricting process by April 17, 2022.
In 2021, the City issued requests for proposals for demographic and community engagement services and selected National Demographics Corporation (NDC) for demographic services and Tripepi Smith for community engagement services.
The City adopted its current district boundaries in 2016, based on 2010 census data as required by law. The City must now redraw districts using the 2020 census data and in compliance with the FAIR MAPS Act adopted by the California Legislature as AB 849, effective January 1, 2020.
Under the Act, the legislative body shall draw and adopt boundaries using the following criteria, listed in order of priority (Elections Code 21601(c)):
Comply with the federal requirements of equal population and the Voting Rights Act Geographically contiguous
Undivided neighborhoods and “communities of interest” (socio-economic geographic areas that should stay together) Easily identifiable boundaries
Compact (do not bypass one group of people to get to a more distant group of people) Shall not favor or discriminate against a political party.
After meeting the prioritized criteria, a legislative body may consider other traditional districting principles, such as:
Minimize the number of voters delayed from voting in 2022 to 2024 Respect voters’ choices / continuity in office
Future population growth.
By law, the City must hold at least four public hearings that enable community members to provide input on drawing of district maps.
At least one hearing must occur before the City draws draft maps.
At least two hearings must occur after drawing draft maps.
The fourth hearing may occur either before or after drawing draft maps.
The City may hold a public workshop instead of one of the required public redistricting hearings.
To increase the accessibility of these hearings, cities 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 City Council consolidates a redistricting hearing with another local government meeting, the redistricting hearing portion must begin at a pre-designated time.
The City should make local public redistricting hearings accessible to people with disabilities.
Election Codes Section 21601(c) and 21621(c) define a community of interest as “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:
School attendance areas
Natural dividing lines such as major roads, hills or highways Areas around parks and other neighborhood landmarks
Common issues, neighborhood activities or legislative / election concerns Shared demographic characteristics, such as:
Similar levels of income, education or linguistic insolation Languages spoken at home
Single-family and multi-family housing unit areas.
Timeline
City Council opted to form a Redistricting Advisory Commission to conduct the first two redistricting public hearings. The Commission held an orientation meeting on October 26, 2021, the first public hearing on December 15, 2021 and a second public hearing on February 23, 2022.
The City hosted three community workshops in January and February 2022, with two evening workshops and one Saturday morning event. The City held all workshops virtually to accommodate COVID-19 health regulations and protocols in place at that time.
At the February 23, 2022 Public Hearing, the Commission received reports from the community engagement team and demographer. The Commission reviewed draft maps, accepted public testimony and recommended three draft maps for City Council consideration.
The following timeline outlines the past and upcoming milestones for the redistricting process:
Date
Legislative Body
Event
September 9. 2021
City Council
Form Commission / Timeline
October 5, 2021
City Council
Commission Appointments
October 26, 2021
6:00 p.m.
Redistricting Advisory Commission
Orientation Meeting
December 15, 2021
6:30 p.m.
Redistricting Advisory Commission
First Public Hearing
January 13, 2022
6:00 p.m.
Workshop
Redistricting Workshop #1
January 29, 2022
10 a.m.
Workshop
Redistricting Workshop #2
February 10, 2022
6:00 p.m.
Workshop
Redistricting Workshop #3
February 23, 2022
6:30 p.m.
Redistricting Advisory Commission
Second Public Hearing
March 8, 2022
6:30 p.m.
City Council
Third Public Hearing
March 29, 2022
6:30 p.m.
City Council
Fourth Public Hearing. Introduce Ordinance
April 5, 2022
6:30 p.m.
City Council
Second Reading of Ordinance
April 17, 2022
n/a
Map Submittal Deadline
November 8, 2022
n/a
Election Day
Draft Maps
The City received 11 public draft map submissions by the February 10, 2022 deadline. Public Draft Map 105 has two versions – one based on the submitter’s drawing and one matching the submitted calculations. In addition, the demographer submitted three draft maps based on public input received at public hearings and workshops for discussion. The City also received three Community of Interest submissions. Staff included all draft maps and Community of Interest submissions as attachments to this report.
The City has posted all presentation materials, workshop notes and links to meeting video on the City’s redistricting website. Staff and consultants continued with outreach and engagement efforts to encourage community input and participation in the workshops.
At its February 23, 2022 meeting, the Redistricting Advisory Commission recommended the following draft maps for City Council consideration:
NDC Map 114 by 5 – 2 vote (Opposed: Jaramillo, Vallejo) Public Map 111 and NDC Map 112 by 6 – 1 vote (Opposed: Seminara).
The Commission also voted on a motion to recommend Public Map 110. That motion failed 5 – 2 (In favor: Jaramillo, Vallejo).
City Council Action
City Council will receive a presentation on the redistricting outreach process and hear a report from the demographer at its March 8, 2022 meeting. Following those presentations, staff requests that City Council conduct a public hearing to consider recommended draft maps and receive public input on district boundaries and draft maps. After taking public testimony, City Council should select a final map for approval at the March 29, 2022 City Council meeting. Staff will post the final map on the City’s website for at least seven days before adoption in accordance with the Fair Maps Act.
Next Steps
City Council will hold a final public hearing on March 29, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. in the Fullerton Council Chamber to consider introduction of an ordinance to adopt the final map.
City Council will hold the second reading and adoption of the ordinance at its April 5, 2022 regular meeting.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 – Outreach Presentation
Attachment 2 – Demographer Presentation / Focus Maps
Attachment 3 – Current District Map and Demographics
Attachment 4 – Submitted Draft Maps and COI Comments
Attachment 5 – Workshop Notes
Redistrict Fullerton
March 8, 2022 - Page 2