CITY OF PACIFICA
COUNCIL AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT
3/28/2022
1 SUBJECT:
Adoption of an Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Pacifica Amending Title 2, Chapter 9, “District Elections” to Repeal and Replace Section 2-9.02 “City Council Districts Established” of the City of Pacifica Municipal Code to Adopt City Council District Boundaries Based on 2020 Census Data
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Move to Adopt the “Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Pacifica Amending Title 2, Chapter 9, “District Elections” by Repealing and Replacing Section 2-9.02, “City Council Districts Established” of the City of Pacifica Municipal Code to Adopt City Council District Boundaries Based on 2020 Census Data; and finding ordinance exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”).
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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Pursuant to California Elections Code Section 21607.1, public hearings were held on the following dates to conduct the redistricting process:
• January 10, 2022 at a regular meeting of the City Council - first public hearing held prior to the consideration of any draft maps.
• February 14, 2022 at a regular meeting of the City Council - second public hearing in the redistricting process, at which input from the community was received on what factors should be taken into consideration while evaluating district boundaries and the first hearing to consider any draft maps that were prepared or submitted. • February 28, 2022 at a regular meeting of the City Council - third public hearing in the redistricting process and second hearing at which draft maps were considered. • March 14, 2022 at a regular meeting of the City Council - fourth public hearing in the redistricting process, selection of the final district map and introduction of the proposed ordinance that is now in order for adoption. The Council selected the final district map and election sequencing with the intent of re-adopting the current Council District Map 505b and retaining the existing election sequencing for the existing districts.
The staff report from the March 14, 2022 public hearing is attached as Attachment A and provides additional detail in the background and discussion of the City's redistricting process and considerations.
The proposed ordinance amends Pacifica Municipal Code section 2-9.02 to repeal and replace the existing code provisions. The sequencing of the elections is found in Pacifica Municipal Code Section 2-9.04 and will remain unchanged. This provision provides for Districts 2, 3 and 5 to be elected in November 2022 and Districts 1 and 4 to be elected in November 2024.
This ordinance was introduced at the regular meeting of the City Council held on March 14, 2022
Next Steps
If the proposed Ordinance is adopted at tonight’s meeting, the City will transmit a copy of the fully executed Ordinance and the GIS shape files corresponding to the adopted final district map to the County of San Mateo Registrar of Voters / Elections Division by the April 17, 2022 deadline.
CEQA:
Introduction of this ordinance is exempt from environmental review as the adoption of this Ordinance does not qualify as a “project” pursuant to Public Resource Code section 21065 and CEQA Guidelines Sections 15320, 15378 and 15061(b)(3) since it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that adoption of the Ordinance would cause either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
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.
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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 agreement between the City and NDC, with the low-range cost being associated with concluding the redistricting process with a finding that the current districts are “still balanced.” Actual costs will reflect the "still balanced" option, NDC consultant's per-meeting participation for attendance at virtual meetings where public hearings for the redistricting process were held and the public map toolkit provided by NDC for the City of Pacifica.
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
ATTACHMENT LIST:
Attachment A: March 14, 2022 Staff Report (PDF)
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ORDINANCE NO. (ID # 4936)
ORDINANCE NO. _______
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PACIFICA AMENDING TITLE 2, CHAPTER 9, “DISTRICT ELECTIONS” BY REPEALING AND REPLACING SECTION 2-9.02, “CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS ESTABLISHED” OF THE CITY OF PACIFICA MUNICIPAL CODE TO ADOPT CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT BOUNDARIES BASED ON 2020 CENSUS DATA
WHEREAS, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 839-C.S. on December 17, 2018, to provide for the election of members of the City Council of the City of Pacifica bydistrict in five single-member districts and establish district boundaries for five City Council districts as defined in the voting district map 505b and set forth the election sequence of the five districts; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to California Elections Code 21601, following each federal decennial census for a city whose council is already elected using district-based elections, the council shall, by ordinance or resolution, adopt boundaries for all of the council districts of the city so that the council districts shall be substantially equal in population as required by the United States Constitution; and
WHEREAS, California Elections Code section 21600 et seq., requires, among other things, that following each decennial federal census, and using that census as a basis, the city council by ordinance or resolution, adopt boundaries for any or all of the council districts of the city so that the council districts shall be substantially equal in population as required by the United States Constitution (“redistricting”); and WHEREAS, pursuant to California Elections Code 21607.1(a), at a regular meeting held on January 10, 2022, the City Council held a public hearing where the public was invited to provide input regarding the composition of the City’s voting districts before any draft maps were drawn; and
WHEREAS, thereafter, at regular meetings held on February 14, 2022 and February 28, 2022, the City Council held public hearings pursuant to California Elections Code 21607, where the public was invited to provide input regarding the content of the draft maps that had been released at least seven (7) days before each meeting, and the City Council considered and discussed the same; and
WHEREAS, at a regular meeting held on February 28, 2022, the City Council discussed the draft maps and selected the final voting district map; and WHEREAS, at a regular meeting held on March 14, 2022, the City Council affirmed the final voting district map and set forth the introduction of this Ordinance for a first reading; and
WHEREAS, in compliance with Elections Code section 21607.1(b)(c) and (d), all of the public hearings were commenced at a fixed time after 5:30 p.m., on a weekday, and were accessible to persons with disabilities; and
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WHEREAS, in compliance with Elections Code section 21608(a), the Council took steps to encourage residents, including those in underrepresented communities and nonEnglish speaking communities, to participate in the redistricting public review process.
These steps include, but are not limited to 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.
• Public Hearing Notice for the February 28, 2022 Public Hearing #3 was posted at City Hall on February 11, 2022 and published in the Pacifica Tribune on February 16, 2022 and February 23, 2022, published in Spanish in El Reportero on February 25, 2022 and published in Chinese in the World Journal on February 24, 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.
• Draft maps for consideration at the February 28, 2022 Public Hearing were published on the City’s Redistricting webpage
(www.cityofpacifica.org/Redistricting) on February 20, 2022.
WHEREAS, pursuant to Elections Code section 21608(c), the City established a redistricting website which provided a schedule with the date, time, and location for any public hearing relating to redistricting on the internet at least five days before the hearing and also provided access to redistricting data and for the purposes of drawing draft maps and paper mapping tools; and
WHEREAS, a fourth public hearing is scheduled to be held at a regular meeting of the City Council on March 14, 2022, to review and consider additional public input related to the selection of final district map and the introduction of this proposed ordinance with adoption of the ordinance anticipated to take place at a regular meeting on March 28, 2022; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Elections Code section 21608(d)(1), all draft maps considered by the Council were published on the City’s redistricting website at least seven days before being considered for adoption as a final map by the Council.
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NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PACIFICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Recitals. The City Council hereby finds that the foregoing recitals are a true and accurate and are incorporated herein by reference.
Section 2. California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Determination.
Adoption of this Ordinance is exempt from environmental review as the adoption of this Ordinance does not qualify as a “project” pursuant to Public Resource Code section 21065 and CEQA Guidelines Sections 15320, 15378 and 15061(b)(3) since it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that adoption of the Ordinance would cause either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
Section 3. Code Amendment. Title 2, “Administration”, Chapter 9,“District Elections” is amended by repealing Section 2-9.02, “City Council Districts” in its entirety and replacing it to read as follows:
“2-9.02. - City Council Districts.
Five City Council districts are hereby adopted in the City of Pacifica. The boundaries and identifying number of each district for the City Council elections shall be as described on the Council District Map 505b included and incorporated below:
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Section 4. Authorization for Technical Adjustments. The City’s demographer, National Demographics Corporation (NDC), is hereby authorized to make non-substantive technical adjustments to Map 505b to finalize the Map as necessary and to prepare a GIS shapefile which identifies the Council district boundaries consistent with Map 505b as well as census Pacifica City Council 8
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blocks and tracts, as may be necessary, in a form approved by the City Clerk and City Attorney.
Section 5. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining portions of this Ordinance shall nonetheless remain in full force and effect. The Council of the City of Pacifica hereby declares that it would have adopted each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Ordinance, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions of this Ordinance be declared invalid or unenforceable.
Section 6. Effective Date.
This Ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after adoption as provided by Government Code section 36937.
Section 7. Publication; Certification.
The City Clerk shall attest to the adoption of this Ordinance and cause the same to be published in accordance with State law. The City Clerk is also authorized and directed to file this Ordinance, Map 505b, the census blocks and tracts, the GIS shapefile, and any other documents, as may be necessary, to effectuate the adoption of Map 505b with the San Mateo County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor-Registrar of Voters. In the case of any parcels that are split across Council district boundaries, the County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor-Registrar of Voters shall apply a uniform methodology to adjust the boundary line to a border of the parcel without materially affecting the population within each affected district.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this ____day of March 2022, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT
__________________________
Mary Bier, Mayor
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
________________________________ ___________________________ Sarah Coffey, City Clerk Michelle Kenyon, City Attorney Pacifica City Council 9
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(ID # 4936) at 3/28/2022 7:00 PM City Council Regular Meeting