Title
Staff Report for a City of San Leandro City Council Motion to Adopt the Timeline, Criteria and Outreach Plan for City Council Redistricting (reviews, discusses and adopts the criteria, timeline and community outreach plan for the 2022 Council redistricting)
Staffreport
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The 2020 federal census data used to redraw legislative voting districts for San Leandro was released in August 2021. The population growth reflected in the census data requires that the City Council undertake redistricting of its district boundaries. This report provides a suggested process and timeline for redistricting.
The City Council Rules Committee received proposed timeline criteria and an outreach plan for the development and approval of new Council district boundaries.
Staff recommends that the City Council review, discuss the information provided, and adopt the criteria, timeline and public outreach plan to be used in the redistricting process.
BACKGROUND
Section 230 of the City of San Leandro Charter requires district boundaries to be drawn whenever the results of the federal census show an increase of five percent (5%) or more since the last redistricting. The City Council last approved new Council district boundaries in 2011, following the 2010 federal census. The 2020 census data, released in August 2021, reveals population growth of 7.13% Citywide, triggering the Charter requirement for the Council’s review of its district boundaries.
DISCUSSION
A comparison of the 2010 and 2020 census population figures by Council district is attached. According to the 2020 census, the Citywide population is 91,008; making the target, or average, district population 15,168 for each of the six Council districts. The attached chart shows the Council district with the lowest population at 5.92% below the target, and the district with the highest population at 3.26% above the target, while three of the other four districts are all within 2%. District 6 is 2.72% above the target.
If the Council desires bringing the population of the Council districts closer to the target, criteria should be recommended for staff’s use in developing redistricting proposals for consideration by the full City Council. Staff suggests developing up to three redistricting proposals, based on the approved criteria.
Criteria for Drawing District Boundaries
In determining the criteria to be used for drawing Council district boundaries, the Committee should consider first and foremost San Leandro City Charter Section 230.
“The boundaries of Council Member districts shall be the boundaries existing upon the effective date of this Charter, until changed by ordinance of the Council. Within one year after publication of the results of each federal census, and within one year after a determination that the population of the City has changed by five percent or more since the most recent division of the City into districts, the Council by ordinance shall divide the City into six districts numbered one through six. Each district shall consist of geographically compact contiguous territory and shall contain, as nearly as possible, equal numbers of residents. District boundaries shall approximate election precinct boundaries established by the Board of Supervisors of the County of Alameda. No change in district boundaries shall operate to disqualify an incumbent from office before the expiration of the term for which such person was elected or appointed.
2011 Redistricting Criteria
The City last adjusted its Council district boundaries in 2011, following the release of the 2010 federal census data. On June 23, 2011, the City Council Rules & Communications Committee reviewed criteria for setting of the Council district boundaries, and recommended the following criteria for drawing new districts:
- Population of districts as equal as possible within a 5% variance between districts
- Respect neighborhood boundaries;
- Respect school district boundaries;
- Use natural and man-made boundaries as borders;
- Keep new districts as similar to old districts as possible;
- Consider the historic configuration of the neighborhoods.
- Consider the topography, geography, cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity, and compactness of territory; and
- Consider communities of interest of the districts.
This criteria is similar to Cal. Elections Code section 21621(c). However, the City Council cannot consider this past criteria or Cal. Elections Code section 21621(c) criteria, because pursuant to California Elections Code section 21621(e):
Subdivision (c) does not apply to a charter city that has adopted comprehensive or exclusive redistricting criteria in its city charter. For purposes of this subdivision, “comprehensive or exclusive” means either that the city’s charter excludes consideration of redistricting criteria other than those that are identified in the city charter or that the city’s charter provides two or more traditional criteria for redistricting other than the requirement that districts be equal in population.
San Leandro Charter Section 230 provides two traditional criteria for redistricting other than the requirement that districts be equal in population: Each district must consist of geographically compact contiguous territory and District boundaries shall approximate election precinct boundaries established by the Board of Supervisors of the County of Alameda.
Proposed Process and Timeline
|
DATE |
ACTION |
|
August 2021 |
City received Census 2020 redistricting data |
|
January 26, 2022 |
City Council Rules Committee • reviewed redistricting information • made recommendations re: redistricting criteria, process and timeline • discussed community outreach/noticing plan |
|
February 7, 2022 |
Council should discuss approval of redistricting timeline criteria and outreach and draft District Maps presented for review and input |
|
February 12, 2022 February 15, 2022 February 17, 2022 |
Workshop Meetings to receive input on draft District Maps |
|
February 23 2022 |
City Council Rules Committee • review draft district maps • recommend the Council schedule review and discuss the draft district maps, and recommend map preference. |
|
March 7, 2022 |
City Council Public Hearing on final redistricting plan (ordinance passed to print) |
|
March 14, 2022 |
City Council adopts final redistricting plan |
|
April 15 ,2022 |
City submits final redistricting plan to Alameda County ROV |
|
November 8, 2022 |
City Council election with new map |
The new Council district boundaries will be used for the City’s November 2022 General Municipal Election. The Alameda County Registrar of Voters has set a deadline of April 17, 2022 for submission of the City’s new district boundary data.
Previous City Council Action
The City Council last adjusted its City Council district boundaries on December 5, 2011, by adoption of Ordinance No. 2011- 012
City Council Rules Committee Review
The City Council Rules Committee discussed this item at its January 26, 2022 meeting.
Public Outreach
The Rules Committee discussed how best to engage the community in the redistricting process, and recommended the following:
• Information on redistricting process, and draft district maps, posted on the City website, and invite comments from the public
• Community Workshops
• Email draft district maps to communities of interest, such as homeowners associations
The Committee forwarded a recommendation to the City Council to schedule the adoption of the redistricting criteria, timeline and a community outreach plan.
Attachments
• Census Population Differences: 2010 and 2020
• Map-Census 2010-2020 population changes
PREPARED BY: Leticia I. Miguel, City Clerk