CITY OF PACIFICA
COUNCIL AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT
2/14/2022
1 SUBJECT:
Redistricting - Public Hearing #2 to Receive Input Regarding Proposed Draft District Map, Composition of Council District Boundaries, and Communities of Interest.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Receive report, conduct the second public hearing in the redistricting process, and:
(A) Consider and discuss the draft Council District Map published as Map 505b and other draft map submitted by member of the public;
(B) Receive public input on composition of Council District boundaries, communities of interest, and draft maps;
(C) Provide direction on any revisions to draft maps; and (D) Confirm the date of the third public hearing in the redistricting process.
STAFF CONTACT:
Sarah Coffey, City Clerk
650-738-7307
[email protected]
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
On December 17, 2018, the City Council of the City of Pacifica adopted Ordinance No. 839- C.S., establishing a district-based system for the election of members of the City Council by five districts, establishing the boundaries and identification number of each district and establishing the election order of each district. This ordinance added Chapter 9 “District Elections” to Title 2 of the Pacifica Municipal Code. By this action, the City of Pacifica changed from an at-large election system to a by district election system for the election of City Council members, established five voting districts to elect Councilmembers, adopted Map 505b defining City Council district boundaries and establishing the sequence of elections for each district with Districts 1 and 4 to be elected in November 2020 and Districts 2, 3 and 5 to be elected in November 2022.
Every ten years, after the federal census is complete, district lines must be reviewed and, if necessary, adjusted to keep the boundaries as nearly equal in population as possible, allowing for certain variances due to geography, topography, communities of interest, etc., as required by federal and California law. This process of reviewing the census data and adjusting the district boundary lines is called redistricting. The City of Pacifica has engaged National Demographics Corporation (NDC) to provide demographer services to assist in the process of redistricting. The redistricting process for the City of Pacifica must be completed by April 17, 2022.
In California, the process for redistricting is established by the Fair and Inclusive Redistricting for Municipalities and Political Subdivisions Act (“Act”). Under the Act, cities and counties must conduct certain outreach, maintain websites with publicly available information about draft maps and hold at least four public hearings on the issue.
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Under the Act, the council shall draw and adopt boundaries using the following criteria in the listed order of priority (Elections Code 21601(c) for general law cities):
1. Comply with the federal requirements of equal population and the federal Voting Rights Act
2. Geographically contiguous
3. Undivided neighborhoods and “communities of interest” (socio-economic geographic areas that should be kept together)
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 above prioritized criteria are met, other traditional districting principles may be considered, such as:
1. Minimizing the number of voters delayed from voting due to a change of their district;
2. Respecting voters’ choices / continuity in office
3. Future population growth
By law, the City must hold at least four public hearings that enable community members to provide input on the redistricting process. The process involves the following requirements:
● At least one hearing must occur before the City draws draft maps ● At least two hearings must happen after the drawing of draft maps ● The fourth hearing can happen either before or after the drawing of draft maps ● City staff or consultants may hold a public workshop instead of one of the required public redistricting hearings
Previously, the first public hearing in the redistricting process was held on January 10, 2022. At the January 10, 2022 Public Hearing, the Council received a presentation from NDC providing a general overview of the redistricting process, information regarding the federal and state requirements regarding the criteria in order of priority to be used to establish district boundaries, review of the existing district boundary map 505b with 2020 census data and received public input on what factors should be taken into consideration while creating district boundaries.
The January 10, 2022 public hearing was held prior to the consideration of any draft maps.
Tonight’s meeting is the second public hearing to consider this matter. The purpose of this public hearing is to hear from the community on what factors should be taken into consideration while evaluating district boundaries such as input on neighborhoods and communities of interest, and to consider any draft maps that have been submitted or prepared.
A community of interest under the relevant Elections Code for cities (Section 21601(c) / 21621(c)] is “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:
A. School attendance areas;
B. Natural dividing lines such as major roads, hills, or highways; C. Areas around parks and other neighborhood landmarks; D. Common issues, neighborhood activities, or legislative/election concerns; and E. Shared demographic characteristics, such as:
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(1) Similar levels of income, education, or linguistic isolation; (2) Languages spoken at home; and
(3) Single-family and multi-family housing unit areas.
The City has a webpage dedicated to the redistricting process which can be found here:
www.cityofpacifica.org/Redistricting <http://www.cityofpacifica.org/Redistricting> City staff has also made efforts to conduct outreach to the public to provide information on the City’s redistricting process including the following:
• Public Hearing Notice for the January 10, 2022 public hearing was posted at City Hall on January 4, 2022 and published in the Pacifica Tribune on January 5, 2022. • Following the January 10, 2022 public hearing, public mapping kits in English and Spanish were posted to the City website and available at City Hall. • Public Hearing Notice for the February 14, 2022 Public Hearing #2 was posted at City Hall on January 21, 2022 and published in the Pacifica Tribune on January 26, 2022 and February 2, 2022.
• Information on redistricting and soliciting public input and submission of draft maps for the redistricting process were published in the City of Pacifica’s “Connect With Pacifica” weekly e-newsletter and distributed by email on January 21, 2022, January 28, 2022 and February 4, 2022.
• Information on redistricting and soliciting public input and submission of draft maps in reference to the February 14, 2022 Public Hearing was also published to the City’s NextDoor and Facebook social media feeds on February 2, 2022.
Public comments, draft maps and input regarding redistricting can be sent to the City via email to [email protected]; please indicate “Redistricting” in the subject line.
Draft Maps
The community was encouraged to submit proposed maps prior to tonight’s public hearing for Council’s initial consideration and discussion.
A. Map 505b
Map 505b (Attachment A) is the existing district boundary map which was adopted on by Ordinance No. 839-C.S. on December 17, 2018 by the City Council, establishing the current district-based system for the election of members of the City Council. NDC has completed its analysis of the 2020 census data and map 505b and has determined that the map is population balanced as all of the Council districts only deviate by a total of
1.87%. The analysis are attached for reference as Attachment B. Additionally, the map would meet the criteria specified in Elections Code section 21601(c). Thus, the Council could consider the existing map 505b for re-adoption at the end of the redistricting process.
B. Draft Map Proposed By Member of the Public (Draft District Map 506) One submitted district map from an individual member of the public was received for consideration at the February 14, 2022 Public Hearing. The draft map was posted to the City’s redistricting webpage upon its receipt on February 8, 2022 and is attached as Attachment C for reference. The submitter included with the proposed map the following factors that were considered in the proposal:
• Each district extends to the West border and gets a piece of the coastline; • Each district also extends ‘up the hill’ or to the Eastern boundary of Pacifica, although zone 5 is a little limited on the East;
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• Each district attempts to keep neighborhoods together within the limits of the somewhat oddly shaped population units;
• Each district tries to cluster around E-W main highways, like Hickey, Manor, Sharp Park, Crespi, and Linda Mar.
Next Steps
Additional public hearings are scheduled to be held on February 28, 2022 and March 14, 2022.
The proposed process timeline to complete the map adoption process includes:
• Public Hearing #1 January 10, 2022 - review process and laws, review 2020 census data, receive input on composition of districts
• Public Hearing #2 February 14, 2022 - review draft maps • Public Hearing #3 February 28, 2022 - selection of final map and election sequencing and introduction of ordinance
• Public Hearing #4 March 14, 2022 - Final adoption of ordinance At the February 28, 2022 public hearing, oral and written testimony will be solicited to receive additional public input on the draft maps and staff will present the introduction of an ordinance to propose a selected map and district election sequencing for adoption.
RELATION TO CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND WORK PLAN:
The process of evaluating City Council districts with respect to updated 2020 census data and consideration of redistricting is consistent with the following Council adopted Goals:
“A Connected Community” includes taking actions to restore trust in City government, expanding communication and building community.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The fiscal impact of engaging NDC as the consulting demographer ranges from $3,500 to a notto-exceed amount of $45,000 per the attached agreement, with the low-range cost being associated with concluding the redistricting process with a finding that the current districts are “still balanced.”
Additional costs for the redistricting process that are not reflected in the agreement not-toexceed cost include city attorney legal expenses, publication expenses related to notices of public hearings associated with the redistricting process, printing and publication expenses for additional informational community outreach and advertising, and translation costs for meetings or printed materials, if necessary. The primary expense related to redistricting would be the engagement of the demographer per the attached agreement. Expenses for redistricting would be budgeted under the general fund City Manager - Election Expenses fund
01.200210.52331.0000.000.
ORIGINATED BY:
City Clerk
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ATTACHMENT LIST:
Attachment A: Existing District Map 505b (PDF)
Attachment B: NDC 2020 Census Data Analysis - Map 505b (PDF) Attachment C: Draft District Map 506(PDF)