CITY OF RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA
CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
August 16, 2023
The meeting was called to order at 7:42 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Present: Mayor Jerry Holloway, Mayor Pro Tempore Carol A. Gamble, Council Members L. Anthony Beall, Anne D.
Figueroa and Bradley J. McGirr (5). Absent: None (0). The Salute to the Flag was led by Mayor Pro Tempore Gamble.
Staff Present: Jennifer M. Cervantez, City Manager; Gregory E. Simonian, City Attorney; Cheryl Kuta, Assistant City Manager/Development Services Director; Stefanie Turner, Finance Director; Brendan Dugan, Public Works Director/City Engineer; Mihaela Kennedy, Captain; Amy Diaz, City Clerk.
1. PUBLIC COMMENTS
The following individual submitted eComments to the Council on matters within the jurisdiction of the City Council:
Chris Mclaughlin, City of Rancho Santa Margarita resident, noted he wished the City Council would have held some public hearings on whether to convert to Districts or not; he believes there is significant opposition in the City to making the transition and feels the residents were cut out of the process.
Chris Mclaughlin, City of Rancho Santa Margarita resident, noted he submitted a map proposal for five districts and included a suggested sequence of which districts should be on the ballot for the next couple of years.
2. NEW BUSINESS
2.1 FIRST PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER COMPOSITION OF DISTRICTS FOR COMMENCING THE PROCESS TO TRANSITION TO BYcDISTRICT
ELECTIONS
Mayor Holloway introduced Jennifer Cervantez, City Manager, who invited Justin Levitt, Demographic Consultant with National Demographics Corporation, to provide a PowerPoint presentation and report.
Mayor Holloway opened the item to City Council questions of staff.
Council Member Beall noted that on page 3 of the staff report it states, "Liability is determined only by the presence of rationally polarized voting;" Council Mernber Beall inquired if racially polarized voting is defined in the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) statue.
Mayor Holloway opened the public hearing.
City of Rancho Santa Margarita
City Council Special Meeting Minutes August16, 2023
The following individual addressed the Council on matters within the jurisdiction of the City Council:
Chris Mclaughlin, City of Rancho Santa Margarita resident, stated he submitted a map proposal and did the math on the deviation percentage and noted it is less than 1 0 percent; is not certain where the four districts and an Elected Mayor idea came from; provided an overview of his proposed map.
Mayor Holloway opened the item to Council discussion and deliberation.
Council Member Beall addressed the question by the public speaker regarding the notion of four districts and an elected Mayor, and confirmed that it is an option provided by the CVRA statue.
Gregory Simonian, City Attorney, provided an overview and timeline of the districting process.
Mayor Holloway thanked City staff for putting the meeting together after the power outage that occurred prior to the meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Holloway adjourned the meeting at 8:19 p.m. to the next regularly scheduled meeting of the City Council to be held on Wednesday, August 23, 2023, at 7:00 p.m., in the City Council Chambers, City Hall, located at 22112 El Paseo, Rancho Santa Margarita, California. 2