Title
Staff Report for Adoption of 2012 City Council Member Districts
Staffreport
RECOMMENDATIONS
The proposed changes to the Council district boundaries have been reviewed by the City Council, and two community meetings have been held to gather input on the proposed new Council district boundaries. The Council is requested to pass-to-print the ordinance establishing the new Council district boundaries.
BACKGROUND
The process for the redistricting of City Council district boundaries began in May 2011 with the City Council Rules and Communications Committee review of the 2010 federal census data and legal requirements for redistricting.
At the September 19, 2011 City Council meeting, the Council reviewed two draft maps recommended for consideration by the Rules and Communications Committee: one in which the variance was within ± 4%, and the other with a variance within ±2%. The Committee also had expressed a preference for the 4% variance map, as it required less disruption to the existing district boundaries. The City Council approved the draft Council District map with the population variance within ±4% for presentation at the two community redistricting meetings in October.
Two community redistricting meetings were held: on October 13th, at the San Leandro Main Library, and on October 19th, at the Marina Community Center. The meetings were advertised on the City website, and a press release was issued. Ten people attended the first meeting; two attended the second. There was general support for the redistricting proposal that was presented, and no opposition expressed.
Current Agency Policies
· Section 230 of the San Leandro City Charter requires district boundaries to be reviewed whenever the results of the federal census show an increase of five percent (5%) or more since the last redistricting.
Previous Actions
· July 18, 2011 - the City Council adopted the criteria, timeline and public outreach plan for the 2011 redistricting process.
· September 19, 2011 - the Council recommended Draft map with population variance within ±4% for presentation at the two Community redistricting meetings in October 2011.
Committee Review and Actions
· May 26, 2011 - the City Council Rules and Communication Committee reviewed the 2010 census data, and discussed the process, criteria and timeline for drawing the Council district boundaries.
· June 23, 2011 - The Committee discussed and forwarded a recommendation to the City Council to schedule adoption of a proposed redistricting timeline, criteria and community outreach plan. The Committee requested that, using the Council-approved criteria, staff create two draft district maps: one that reflected a less than 5% variance from the target population of 14,158, and one with a less than 2% variance.
· July 25, 2011 - The Committee reviewed the two draft district maps: one in which the variance was within ± 4%, and the other with a variance within ±2%. The Committee recommended the Council schedule review and discussion of the two draft district maps, and indicated preference for the 4% variance map.
Summary of Public Outreach Efforts
· A redistricting webpage was created for the City website
· A press release was issued, advertising the dates of the two October community redistricting meetings
Fiscal Impacts
None.
Budget Authority
n/a
ATTACHMENTS
None.
PREPARED BY: Marian Handa, City Clerk, City Manager's Office
Tom Liao, Planning and Housing Manager, Community Development Department