Agenda Report
Fullerton City Council
MEETING DATE: MARCH 29, 2022
TO: CITY COUNCIL
SUBMITTED BY: JEFFREY W. COLLIER, ACTING CITY MANAGER
PREPARED BY: LUCINDA WILLIAMS, CITY CLERK
SUBJECT: REDISTRICT FULLERTON - FINAL REDISTRICTING MAP
SUMMARY
Final selection of redistricting map and introduction of ordinance to formally adopt selected map.
RECOMMENDATION
1. Conduct public hearing to receive additional public input on district boundaries and draft map.
2. Introduce Ordinance No. XXXX for first reading by title only and waive further reading of the ordinance.
ORDINANCE NO. XXXX – AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FULLERTON, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING A VOTING DISTRICT MAP
3. Affirm District 3 and District 5 Council Member elections will appear on the November 2022 General Municipal Election ballot. (Districts 1, 2 and 4 will appear on the November 2024 General Municipal election ballot.)
BUDGET POLICY PRIORITY STATEMENT
This item matches the following Budget Policy Priority Statement:
Fiscal and Organizational Stability.
FISCAL IMPACT
No fiscal impact.
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 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 Code Sections 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 a 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, a 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, holding 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 (Maps 111, 112 and 114) for City Council consideration.
City Council held a public hearing on March 8, 2022. City Council received reports from the community engagement team and demographer. City Council then reviewed draft maps, accepted public testimony and selected recommended Map 114 as the final map for consideration at the next public hearing.
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
5:30 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 provided tools for members of the public to submit and analyze proposed maps and made the tools available throughout the entire process.
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 for discussion based on public input received at public hearings and workshops. The City also received three Community of Interest submissions.
The City received one additional draft map (Draft Map 115) between the March 8, 2022 meeting and the March 19, 2022 deadline.
Staff has 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 continue with outreach and engagement efforts to encourage community input and participation in the workshops.
At the February 23, 2022 Redistricting Advisory Commission meeting, the 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
At the March 8, 2022 City Council meeting, City Council voted 3 – 2 (Opposed: Silva, Zahra) to select Recommended Map 114 for approval. A motion to select Recommended Map 112 failed.
City Council will receive a presentation on the redistricting outreach process and hear a report from the demographer at its March 29, 2022 meeting. Following those presentations, staff requests City Council conduct a public hearing to receive public input on district boundaries and draft maps and introduce an ordinance to adopt a final map. Staff also requests City Council affirm the election sequence for the 2022 and 2024 elections.
Next Steps
City Council will hold a final public hearing on April 5, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. in the Fullerton Council Chamber for second reading and adoption of an ordinance to adopt the final map.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 – Presentation
Attachment 2 – Draft Ordinance
Attachment 3 – Current District Map and Demographics
Attachment 4 – Submitted Draft Maps and COI Comments
Attachment 5 – Workshop Notes
Redistrict Fullerton
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