CITY OF PLEASANTON
CITY COUNC! L MEETING MINUTES
February 3, 2022
This meeting was conducted in accordance with Governor Neyysom' s Executive Order N- 29- 20 and AB 361 COVID- 19 pandemic protocols.
SPECIAL MEETING
Mayor Brown called the teleconferenced special meeting of the City Council from various remote locations to order at the hour of 7: 01 p. m.
ROLL CALL
Present: Councilmembers Arkin, Balch, Testa, Mayor Brown
Absent: Councilmember Narum ( oined at 7: 28 p. m.)
PUBLIC COMMENT - None
PUBLIC HEARING
1. Receive input from the community regarding boundaries and composition of districts to be established for City Councilmember district- based elections pursuant to Elections Code Section 10010 and provide direction to the City' s demographer on any preferred configurations and changes to the draft maps
City Attorney Dan Sodergren reported this is the third of four public hearings about the transition from at- large to district- based elections and demographer Michael Wagaman will display potential maps for discussion.
Mr. Wagaman advised this meeting is a pivot point from conceptual ideas to physical map proposals.
He advised the City Council does not need to select a final plan tonight but reduce the current map options and provide input for any new options before a final adoption at the February 24 meeting. He advised the City Council will also need to discuss sequencing about which districts will first vote in 2022 and 2024. He explained the California Voting Rights Act ( CVRA) tends to favor having districts with a higher concentration of protected classes vote in higher turnout elections. He noted in this case the higher turnout election is 2024 and for Pleasanton, this applies to the Asian Pacific lslander ( APl) population.
Mr. Wagaman reviewed the criteria mandated by State law. He created six color- coded drafts along with having received seven maps from the community.
Mr. Wagaman presented the Green map and explained it mainly breaks the City up into quadrants with the four corners meeting at the intersection of Valley Avenue and Santa Rita Road for population balancing purposes. He advised the Green map splits both downtown and the Hacienda Business Park.
Mr. Wagaman presented the Blue map and explained it follows the notion of using school enrollment zones as a guide. He noted there was no direction on which set of school zones to focus on. He reported the high school and junior high school zones do not work well for election districts so his plan focuses on elementary school zones. He noted this map splits both Hacienda Business Park and downtown.
Mr. Wagaman presented the Purple map which uses Hopyard Road as a major dividing line. He advised this map does not separate the Hacienda Business Park but does split downtown. He explained this map aligns Ruby Hill with the area to the west.
Mr. Wagaman presented the Red map which uses Stoneridge Drive as a major dividing line. He explained this map splits both Hacienda Business Park and also downtown with it being the first instance of the downtown being split on a north- south basis instead of an east- west basis.
Mr. Wagaman presented the Orange map which uses the concept of drawing the whole Hacienda Business Park to the west into District 1. He explained this map also splits downtown.
Mr. Wagaman presented the Yellow map noting it is a less- rigid version of the quadrant- based Green map, incorporating school enrollment zones into how to split Hacienda Business Park, and noted it also splits downtown. He explained he can also discuss the public- submitted maps but cannot discuss the intent of the submitters and can only speak to their legality and practicality. ln response to Councilmember Testa, Mr. Wagaman suggested polling the City Council about the need to view publicly submitted plans beyond her request for discussion of the Combs, Katz, and Tor 2 maps.
ln response to Councilmember Arkin, Mr. Wagaman clarified the CVRA directly addresses race but the federal law is vague. He reported Pleasanton does not hit a demographic factor where it can have a majority- minority district, agreeing with her assertion the API population is dispersed throughout the City. He advised the CVRA' s protected class provisions will be relevant to this discussion again when they get to sequencing and which districts are picked to vote first in 2022 as opposed lo 2024.
Councilmember Arkin expressed interest in a discussion of the Combs map. Councilmember Balch agreed with the recommendation of presenting the Combs, Katz, and Tor 2 maps. ln response to Councilmember Balch, Mr. Wagaman advised the deviation from the largest district to the smallest district needs to be less than 10% and, ideally, around 5%. He explained he can discuss elements of a certain plan as opposed to analyzing the entire map. He noted there may be tegal concerns about some of the public maps taken in their entirety, but those maps may have an element the City Council likes. He confirmed the Waldron plan did not assign approximately 1, 100 residents to a district. He advised if the intent was to add this area into District 4 it would fit within the permissible deviations.
Councilmember Narum joined the meeting at 7: 28 p. m
Mayor Brown advised she would like to see the Katz and Combs plans discussed. Councilmember Narum agreed to further discuss the Combs and Katz maps.
Mr. Wagaman presented the Combs map. He noted it uses Stoneridge Drive as a divider like the Red map while Districts 3 and 4 are drawn similar to the Yellow map. He advised the shape of District 2 is unlike any in his maps. He noted the Combs map can be a great example of how the City Council may like half of one map but not the other half and potentially combine them. ln response to Councilmember Balch, Mr. Wagaman confirmed the Combs plan would be legally compliant.
Mr. Wagaman presented the Katz map and explained it is legally compliant. He advised the Hacienda Business Park is kept intact similar to the Purple map but noted the Katz map' s District 3 goes much further east to include Birdland and Pleasant Valley. He noted District 2 also extends eastward and City Council Minutes Page 2 of 9 February 3, 2022
added, due to the census data, the area between downtown and the City' s southern border is challenging to split.
Mr. Wagaman presented the Tor 2 map. He reported it goes beyond the accepted deviations which would require District 4 to be enlarged. He noted the Tor 2 map is unlike any of the others for keeping the entire area west of lnterstate 680 together from the City' s northern border to its southern border. ln response to Councilmember Balch, Tom \ Mllis of Olson Remcho LLP, clarified the CVRA does not require the petitioners for these districts to show there can be a majority- minority district in the City. He explatned this is why the legal threshold for the City being forced to convert to districts is so low. He clarified all the petitioners must show is racially polarized voting and it is simple to show that people of different classes or races vote differently. He clarified the nuance where the Federal Voting Rights Act focuses on whether race should be considered in drawing districts as opposed to the CVRA saying race should be considered in whether to go to districts. He confirmed for the Federal Voting Rights Act to enter into the equation, a protected class has to show it can form a majority- minority district. He advised no protected class meets this threshold in Pleasanton so race should not be a predominant factor when drawing the lines. He confirmed going fonruard with districting remains the best course of action.
Mayor Brown opened the public hearing
Jan Batcheller reported few feel the need to divide downtown but admitted it is the prudent action. She noted all of the other maps are more confusing than the consultant' s Green map which she feels is the fairest and most unbiased option. She endorsed the first map but suggested moving the dividing line from Main Street to First Street so the business district is in a single district, and moving the dividing line from Las Positas Boulevard to the parallelArroyo Macho to keep housing intact.
Sandy reported the map she submitted was not included. She advised she liked the Hall map and requested having it shown. She expressed confusion over which maps were being shown at which times while viewing the presentation.
ln response to Sandy, Mr. Wagaman reported not seeing her map and recommended she resubmit it.
He clarified at the February 24 meeting all maps will remain under consideration but the list will be expanded based on tonight' s refined direction.
ln response to Mayor Brown, Mr. Wagaman explained he typically would ask the City Council at this third meeting to declare maps or parts of maps they like for direction.
Jarod Buna noted it is a tough position to be in. He advised the state and federal courts will provide clear guidance on how to handle the unique situation of representatives picking their voters. He commended the guidance being provided to the City Council. He urged against odd shapes to accommodate communities of interest and endorsed the Green and Purple maps.
Jill Buck repofted several resident- produced maps break up her Del Prado neighborhood. She commended Mr. Wagaman' s maps, particularly the Green and Purple maps, for using arterial roads for boundaries. She noted the Green map' s simplicity. She advised the Combs and Katz maps use residential streets for district borders and noted it can be confusing and split neighborhoods like hers.
She noted Del Prado is a community of interest. She encouraged the City Council to stick to Mr.
Wagaman' s maps, particularly the Green followed by the Purple.
Mayor Brown closed the public hearing.
City Council Minutes Page 3 of 9 February 3. 2022
Mr. Wagaman clarified state law lays out the criteria for dividing the City and advised they are listed in a ranked order. He noted sometimes it is a balancing act, but the City Council has to think about the lower- ranked criteria later than others.
ln response to Mayor Brown, Mr. Wagaman suggested polling the City Council and asking which plans have a consensus and then narrowing them down for potential refinements.
Councilmember Balch noted it would do the City Council justice to go through all six of Mr. Wagaman' s maps along with the Combs and Katz maps.
Councilmember Balch expressed support for the Green map. He noted it is simple and compact and simply divides the Hacienda Business Park using only main streets in Hacienda Drive and Stoneridge Drive. He echoed Ms. Batcheller' s comments about possibly using Arroyo Macho instead of Las Positas Boulevard, noting it would also help reduce the deviation between Districts 1 and 2. He expressed concerns about using First Street as a divider instead of Main Street because of how heavily Second Street utilizes Lions Wayside Park. He advised he did not expect such a simplistic map to come about from all of the complicated parameters.
Councilmember Balch expressed hope the dais can set a precedent for future City Councils that will be responsible for redistricting. He advised future City Councils can probably take the Green map 10 years from now and massage it a little to account for population growth.
Councilmember Arkin liked the compactness of the Green map but noted she does not like the population equality variances.
Councilmember Testa reported the Green map is also in the middle of her preferences.
Councilmember Narum commended the Green map for being so orderly. She noted many of the Regional Housing Needs Allocation ( RHNA) sites are in Districts 1, 2, and 3 which will help balance the populations over time contrasted against the larger District 4. She commended using arterial roads and not neighborhood roads as dividing lines and noted it is her favorite map of the six.
Mayor Brown advised she likes the Green map but it is not her favorite. ln response to Mayor Brown, Mr. Wagaman clarified compactness does not refer to the physical geographical size of a district but rather its shape and explained the Green map is the most compact.
He advised state law dictates compactness means not bypassing one population to get to another population.
Mayor Brown echoed Councilmember Balch in questioning the need to have the bend through downtown on the Green map instead of perfectly following Main Street. She advised there is a decent variation in the size of District 3 compared to District 4.
Councilmember Balch liked how the Blue map works east of Hopyard Road but noted the Ken Mercer Sports Park is disconnected from Woodthrush Road while also splitting the Gates and Birdland communities. He expressed concern about the hook at the top of District 4. He noted the split in Hacienda Business Park makes sense if it is mirroring school districts but is not as elegant as in the Green map. He also expressed concerns about the curved line separating Districts 2 and 4 following the Arroyo Valle and noted t is not one of his top maps.
Councilmember Arkin noted the Blue map still has a bit of a deviation in populations but advised it is better than the Green map. She explained this map is based on school boundaries and the Gates is in a different zone than Ken Mercer Sports Park. She advised the Gates map should be included with Birdland and noted it is a good map in terms of compactness.
City Council Minutes Page 4 of 9 February 3, 2022
Councilmember Testa advised it is appealing how the Blue map follows school boundaries but noted it is not one of her favorites.
Councilmember Narum reported the Blue map is not one of her favorites. She advised the Pleasanton Unified School District ( PUSD) is also looking at redrawing its maps. She echoed Councilmember Balch' s comment in opposition to the narrow extension on the north side of District 4 and advised there is also an odd narrow point on the east side of District 1. She noted the map is not as clear as others.
Mayor Brown noted the Blue map does not split Main Street which was a City Council preference. She advised District 3 covers too varied of an area spanning the entire southern half of the City and its divergent interests. She noted she likes the separation of Hacienda Business Park in general. She negatively noted the same narrow strips as Councilmembers Narum and Balch and advised the map is not clean enough.
Councilmember Arkin reported she is not a big fan of the Purple map due to population disparities. She noted Mayor Brown' s points about the Blue map' s sprawling District 3 also apply to the Purple map.
She advised any map will be problematic for her if a district spans the entire length of the City either east to west or north to south. She emphasized that having all of downtown in one district is not a good idea.
Councilmember Testa advised the Purple map is not a favorite and does not have any significant issues with it but noted other maps are better. She commended the arterial road dividing lines.
Councilmember Narum noted there are better choices than the Purple map.
Mayor Brown noted the population splits by district in the Purple map. She advised it is not her favorite, noting the geographically expansive District 3.
Councilmember Balch reported he is okay with the Purple map but noted there is validity to the argument against the physical size of District 3. He advised the only way to traverse District 3 on this map is Bernal Avenue which is the northern dividing line. He commended using Anoyo Mocho as the dividing point between Districts 1, 2, and 4, as opposed to a point on Las Positas Boulevard. He explained it is a good dividing point because there are houses between the Arroyo Macho and Las Positas Boulevard which would be on a district island if the street is used as the divider. He likes that the Purple map connects the Gates. He disapproved of using the small residential streets around the Alameda County Fairgrounds as district dividers.
ln response to Mayor Brown, Mr. Wagaman clarified the fairgrounds are County property but are part of the incorporated boundaries of the City, unlike some other pockets he carved out. City Attorney Sodergren concurred his understanding that it is county- owned land but within the City limits.
Councilmember Testa advised the Red map was not her favorite and advised others are better.
Councilmember Narum advised she would require some changes to the Red map to send it forward.
She explained the area north of the Merritt property and west of l- 680 should be part of District 1 She noted it would be inappropriate to have Foothill High School and Muirwood Community Park outside of District 1 in this model. She advised the split extending District 2 into downtown seems odd.
Councilmember Balch advised the Red map is good and likes the alignment of Arroyo Mocho with Stoneridge Drive. He agreed with Councilmember Narum' s comments about the space around Foothill High School. He advised the extension of District 2 into downtown seems odd, particularly considering it is already above the average district size. He noted three districts meet at one downtown intersection with this map. He advised the railroad tracks make a good divider between the Jensen Tract and City Council Minutes Page 5 of 9 February 3, 2022
downtown. He commended that it does not divide the Del Vista or Del Prado neighborhoods and that it is a workable map.
Councilmember Arkin agreed with Councilmembers Balch and Narum about the Red map. She agreed the area north of the Merritt property should be in District 1 and the extension of District 2 into downtown is odd. She advised the map was not at the top of her list but did fall in the middle and needs modifications. She commended the low population deviations. ln response to Councilmember Arkin, Mr. Wagaman clarified the City Council needs to use the current United States census data for determining if the districts are of equal size. He explained they can intentionally leave one district a little smaller due to anticipated groMh so long as the district is within the acceptable deviation limit. He advised the difference between a 0% and a 5% deviation for Pleasanton is about 1, 000 people.
Councilmember Arkin noted it is unknown when growth may occur making it hard to take into consideration.
Mayor Brown advised the Red map has some odd flags of land including the Muirwood area which fits into District 1 and the extension of District 2 into downtown. She noted the map may need a lot of massaging and believes there are better maps.
Councilmember Narum reported District I seems to be smaller on many of the maps noted she is fine with this considering many of the Housing Element projects are in this area.
Councilmember Narum placed the Orange map in the middle of her preferences. She commended the alignment of Districts 1 and 2 along the Arroyo Mocho. She advised the Jensen Tract seems odd being in District 2 instead of District 3 with Valley Avenue as a boundary. She noted the knob protruding from District 4 into District 3 looks odd but the Jensen Tract is a larger concern for her with this map.
Mr. Wagaman noted the knob is part of an oddly- shaped census block and advised the portion of the City south of downtown is hard to divide due to the census blocks. ln response to Mayor Brown, Mr. Wagaman reported the census has the Block Boundary Suggestion Program but it tends to happen in the sixth year of a 1O- year census period. He advised an oddly- shaped census block is also the reason for the hook atop District 4 in the Blue map discussed earlier.
Councilmember Balch advised the Orange map has an oddly- shaped District 4 noting residents should not have to drive past one district to get to another as it relates to the Jensen Tract. He echoed Councilmember Narum' s support of the Arroyo Mocho serving as a divider due to the houses between it and Las Positas Boulevard. He advised the portion of District 4 in the center of the City, including Pleasant Valley, feels disjointed as does the area jutting out into District 3 mentioned by Councilmember Narum. He noted this map is in the middle of his preferences. ln response to Mayor Brown, Mr. Wagaman confirmed an assessment of swapping the Jensen Tract and the portion of District 4 in the center of the City is the sort of direction he is looking for as he aims to refine options. He noted the Jensen Tract has about 1, 000 residents and the portion of District 4 in question has about 3, 500 so District 4 would have to extend significantly into District 2 for balance.
Mayor Brown advised it would be worth discussing.
Councilmember Arkin repofted the Orange map was one of her top options. She commended the population balance and handling of communities of interest. She agreed the City Council should look into the tweak just discussed between Districts 2 and 4 around the Jensen Tract. She noted the map may be as perfect as the City Council can get if this change works.
City Council Minutes Page 6 of 9 February 3. 2022
Councilmember Testa stated she likes the Orange map and if the concerns are addressed it is a good possibility.
Mayor Brown advised the Orange map is not as simple as the Green map but sees almost fair quadrants. She explained the City Council would just need to balance out the Jensen Tract issue, noting District 4 is already the largest on the Orange map.
Councilmember Balch advised he dislikes the Yellow map' s split of the Hacienda Business Park' s along school zone lines. He noted the boundary is difficult to explain and not every resident has a child in elementary school. He advised there is a challenge with the anvil- shaped top of District 4 along with how it tracks around Main Street.
Mayor Brown noted District t has an odd protrusion into District 3 south of the Merritt property Councilmember Balch agreed the dais has good comments along the Merritt property indentation but advised he could see how it connects in this manner, especially in light of likely growth areas. He noted he does not think downtown residents would appreciate the carve- out and ranked it near the bottom of the options from his perspective.
Councilmember Arkin agreed the Yellow map is not a favorite and noted parl of it looks genymandered.
She advised the Hacienda Business Park split is problematic and does not look compact. She noted Mr. Wagaman advised the splits around the Merritt property are legal. She agreed with Councilmember Balch about the anvil- shaped hat on District 4 seeming out of place.
Councilmember Testa reported the Yellow map is not her favorite.
Councilmember Narum reported the Yellow map is her least favorite for many of the reasons stated by the dais. She noted the section of District 1 below the Merritt property consists of a couple of neighborhoods extending down Foothill Road so people would think it is reasonable. She noted this component is not a negative for her but the map is her least favorrte.
Mayor Brown concurred and called to eliminate the Yellow map Councilmember Arkin thanked all of the residents who drew maps reflecting their interest in the process. She advised the Combs map is compact with a low population deviation, Main Street is split sensibly, and the map follows many communities of interest. ln response to Councilmember Arkin, Mr. Wagaman could not explain the need for the point at the top of District 4 and could not speak to the designer' s intent. He advised the point splits the Willow West neighborhood and only contains 28 residents so it could be easily adjusted if so desired.
Councilmember Arkin advised she would add this tweak to the Combs map, noting District 2 is smaller than District 4. She noted this is one of her top options.
Councilmember Testa confirmed her approval of the Combs map and noted the modification is a good one. She advised it was interesting to learn earlier the bump in District 4 was from an oddly- shaped census block and was impressed a community member knew to include it.
Councilmember Narum advised she likes the Combs map but echoed Ms. Buck' s public comments about splitting the Del Prado neighborhood and explained it is a community of interest. She advised the map fails for her a bit unless it can be adjusted to keep Del Prado intact.
Mayor Brown expressed support for the suggestion and advised there is no goal to split a neighborhood.
City Council Minutes Page 7 of 9 February 3 2022
Councilmember Balch reported he used to live in the Del Prado neighborhood and confirmed it is a community of interest. He advised in addition to the Del Prado split and District 4 point, he also has a challenge with the dog- eared Hacienda Business Park split. ln response to Councilmember Balch, Mr. Wagaman reported the census block causing the dogeared split of Hacienda Business Park has almost 1, 600 people but will follow the direction to explore moving it into District 1 to even out the Hacienda Business Park split.
Councilmember Balch suggested exploring removal of the census block from District 1 to follow Stoneridge Drive for simplicity and to prevent potential residential confusion over which district they live in.
Councilmember Arkin agreed with the Stoneridge Drive boundary and not splitting Del Prado. She advised the Combs map could be a good one with a few adjustments.
Councilmember Balch reported he dislikes the bump in District 4 created by the unusual census block around Bonde Ranch.
Mayor Brown advised the Bonde Ranch area looks out of place. She agreed with using Stoneridge Drive to separate Districts 1 and 2 on the Combs map, noting there are no housing developments cross Stoneridge Drive. She also agreed with removing the point at the top of District 4 and recommended the map should consider not separating Del Prado and Valley Ranch.
Mr. Wagaman noted the census block in question for Del Prado and Valley Ranch includes 2, 200 people which is a substantial chunk of the population. He described the potential ripple effects on the shape of District 2 and others due to moving this section and the one north of Stoneridge Drive. He noted he will work with it but cautioned he may encounter challenges.
Mayor Brown advised there are many positives about the Combs map despite the rough edges of some districts. She suggested some of the neighborhoods in the City' s northeast corner could be moved into District 2 for balancing the Combs map.
Councilmember Balch agreed with the suggestion by Mayor Brown shifting the Heritage Valley, Rosewood, and lronwood neighborhoods from District 4 to District 2 to help balance the Combs map.
Councilmember Testa clarified the Katz map is not at the top of her favorites list but in the mid- range.
Councilmember Narum noted the Katz map splits the Gates neighborhood which is of concern to her.
She advised the map uses Del Valle Parkway as a dividing line but noted it is a residential street that would split a neighborhood. She noted there here are residential streets and not main streets separating Districts 1 and 2. She advised she likes some things about the map but would ask for tweaks to not separate neighborhoods.
ln response to Mayor Brown, Mr. Wagaman confirmed the boundary between Districts 1 and 3 follows Arbor Drive. Mayor Brown advised Arbor Drive would be in the middle of a neighborhood.
Councilmember Narum expressed concern about going down the middle of a neighborhood.
Mr. Wagaman reported this is another end of the unusually shaped census block which is also creating the bubble for Bonde Ranch on its other end.
Councilmember Balch advised the Green map is still looking nice with the quadrants. He explained it is the inverse of the Orange map with an odd triangle in the center of the City only coming from the opposite direction. He commended the map using the canal between Valley Trails and Del Prado. He City Council Minutes Page 8 of 9 February 3. 2022
advised the map is using Las Positas Boulevard as a dividing line when his stated preference is to use Arroyo Mocho. He explained maps using Sunol Boulevard to keep the east side intact to avoid the cauliflower ear dilemma.
Councilmember Arkin agreed with the dais about the Katz map noting it was somewhere in the middle of her list. She expressed concerns over neighborhood divisions and noted the City can do better with some of the other maps.
Councilmember Testa advised she initially recommended the Katz map but now shares the concerns that have been raised.
ln response to Mayor Brown, Mr. Wagaman advised he did not hear uniform positive feedback but the most positive comments came about the Green, Orange, and Combs maps. He agreed all three will require adjustment at the City Council' s direction so they will be refined for the next meeting. He acknowledged strong interest by the City Council in keeping neighborhoods whole but advised this can lead to higher deviations.
Councilmember Balch advised he recalled the Red map also seemed to have strong support with adjustments.
Mr. Wagaman stated he did not include the Red map because the changes are comparable to the Combs map so the result will probably be a blend of the two.
Councilmember Narum advised her expectation that the Red map is included in the list and noted she would like to see it progress. She advised a blend of the Red map and the Combs map would suffice. ln response to Mayor Brown, Mr. Wagaman advised there are only 28 people in the shark fin point atop the Combs' maps District 4 so it is an easy fix. He clarified District t has a similar shape in both the Red and Combs maps. He noted if he makes the requested modifications to the Combs map it starts to look a lot like the Red map.
Mayor Brown noted the neighborhoods off Sunol Boulevard all have similar characteristics so they can be in the same district.
Mr. Wagaman confirmed February 24 is the date of the City Council meeting to select a final plan. His goal is to have the maps available to post on the City' s website no later than seven days before the meeting and will try to have them done earlier.
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Brown adjourned the special meeting at 9: 13 p. m ly
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City Council Minutes Page 9 of 9
Clerk
February 3. 2022