Inclusiveness, Community Engagement, and Governmental Processes Committee TO: INCLUSIVENESS, COMMUNITY DATE: DECEMBER 7, 2022
ENGAGEMENT, AND GOVERNMENTAL
PROCESSES COMMITTEE
FROM: CITY CLERK WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: RESHAPE RIVERSIDE REDISTRICTING UPDATE
ISSUE:
Review and Discuss the Reshape Riverside Redistricting Update.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the Inclusiveness, Community Engagement, and Governmental Processes Committee:
Receive and file an update on the Reshape Riverside Redistricting Plan; Consider “Community of Interest Testimony”’ and Draft Redistricting Maps; Direct Redistricting Partners (the City’s contracted demographer) to make revisions or adjustments to any of the map submissions; and Select a map or maps to refer to City Council for further deliberation; or Provide further direction to Redistricting Partners and City staff as the Inclusiveness, Community Engagement, and Governmental Processes Committee deems appropriate while implementing the City's Reshape Riverside Redistricting Plan.
BACKGROUND:
Section 402 of the Riverside City Charter requires the City Council, by ordinance, to divide the city boundaries into seven wards, review the boundary limits of the wards every ten years, and adjust, by ordinance, those boundaries to provide for a substantially equal number of residents in each Ward. The City must adopt the adjusted ward boundaries no later than August 2023.
On January 11, 2022, after considering various redistricting approaches, the City Council determined that the Inclusiveness, Community Engagement, and Governmental Processes Committee (ICGC) should oversee and advise staff on the Redistricting process and approved the tentative timeline for the City's Reshape Riverside Redistricting Outreach Plan.
On August 3, 2022, the ICGC hosted its first public hearing. During the hearing, the Committee received public testimony. It directed staff to add two in-person Saturday meetings to the City's outreach plan, to accommodate working members of the community who could not attend the meetings during the week.
On October 5, 2022, the ICGC conducted its second public hearing. During the hearing, the Committee received a report on the outreach efforts, received public testimony, and reviewed four maps introduced for their consideration. Two of the four maps (Draft A and B) were drafted by Redistricting Partners, a community member submitted Draft C via the DistrictR tool, and Draft D was submitted by the Brown and Black Redistricting Alliance.
On November 2, 2022, the ICGC held a public meeting to receive a report on the outreach efforts, heard public testimony, and reviewed six draft maps for their consideration. The maps are listed below with key factors noted.
Draft Map A: Minimal neighborhood splits (Redistricting Partners) Draft Map A2: Casa Blanca kept whole
Draft Map B: Minimal changes (Redistricting Partners)
Draft Map C: DistrictR 141291 (Community Member Submitted) Draft Map C2: Casa Blanca kept whole (Redistricting Partners) Draft Map D: Brown and Black Redistricting Alliance (Community Member Submitted) After discussion, the committee voted to withdraw draft map C from consideration and instructed Redistricting Partners to modify Draft Map D, keeping the Arlanza Community whole.
DISCUSSION:
Draft Map D2, submitted by Redistricting Partners, is an edited version of Draft Map D (authored by the Brown and Black Redistricting Alliance), keeping the Arlanza neighborhood together. Slight adjustments were made to the adjacent Ward boundaries to accommodate the population change.
Total Deviation: 5.8%
Eighteen neighborhoods were kept together (Presidential Park, Downtown, Eastside, and Arlington Heights were slightly split due to the neighborhood lines and census geography data not lining up) While the Arlanza neighborhood is kept together, a portion of La Sierra Hills was split due to an oddly shaped census block.
Nine neighborhoods split
Public members submitted five Communities of Interest (COI) testimonies for the Committee’s review and consideration:
ID 159240 Northside
ID: 148396 8231 Modified
ID 149695 West Corner
ID 149694 Denbo1986
ID 149494 JLW01
Upon review, the Committee may consider providing Redistricting Partners some guidance on changes or to use (uplift) one or more of the COI testimonies as a draft map for future consideration. The agenda will be revised to accommodate COI submissions received after publishing this report but submitted at least 7 days prior to the meeting.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
The City’s Redistricting Plan contributes to the City Council’s Envision 2025 Strategic Plan Priority and Goals as follows:
Community Well-Being – Ensuring safe and inclusive neighborhoods where everyone can thrive with the following goal:
Goal 2.4 - Support programs and innovations that enhance community safety, encourage neighborhood engagement, and build public trust.
High Performing Government – Providing world-class public service that is efficient, accessible, and responsible to all, with the following goals:
Goal 5.2 - Utilize technology, data, and process improvement strategies to increase efficiencies, guide decision making, and ensure services are accessible and distributed equitably throughout all geographic areas of the City.
Goal 5.3 - Enhance communication and collaboration with community members to improve transparency, build public trust, and encourage shared decision-making.
The proposed Redistricting format, public outreach, and marketing strategy align with the Envision 2025 Cross-Cutting Threads as follows:
Community Trust – The establishment of a redistricting format and outreach strategy that includes workshops in every ward to draft new ward boundaries utilizing resident-led participation, soliciting public input, creating sound policy, and includes community engagement in the decision-making process.
Equity – Community members will utilize interactive tools. Some may participate in a redistricting commission to ensure that newly established ward boundaries comply with federal and state laws that encourage equity for all stakeholders.
Fiscal Responsibility – Riverside is a prudent steward of public funds and ensures responsible management of the City's financial resources while providing quality public services to all. The City Clerk's Office is committed to exploring services provided internally instead of using consultants and to looking for creative ways to reduce the redistricting program’s and outreach efforts’ fiscal impact.
Innovation– The redistricting website will host interactive tools promoting collaborative public partnerships with redrawing ward boundaries. Riverside's Redistricting Framework includes a marketing strategy that will consist of using non-English languages, including American Sign Language.
Sustainability & Resiliency – Riverside is committed to meeting the present needs without compromising the needs of the future and ensuring the City's capacity to persevere, adapt and grow during fluctuating times alike. Reviewing the ward boundaries every ten years is essential to maintain sustainable and resilient representation for a more sustainable future.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this report.
Prepared by: Donesia Gause, City Clerk
Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
Attachments:
Advisory Committee on Redistricting Presentation
Draft Maps A, A2, B, C2, D and D2 including Street Overlay COI - ID 159240 Northside
COI - ID: 148396 8231 Modified
COI - ID 149695 West Corner
COI - ID 149694 Denbo1986
COI - ID 149494 JLW01
Reshape Riverside Redistricting Update ● Page 2