To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Tiffany Carranza, City Clerk
Prepared By: Tiffany Carranza, City Clerk
TITLE:
Title
2021-2022 Redistricting Process - 4th Public Hearing with Proposed District Boundary Map
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
(1) After receiving a presentation from the City’s consulting demographer regarding the 2021-2022 redistricting process for district-based elections of members of City Council, including presentation of a draft map of district boundaries, invite public input regarding the composition of district boundaries.
(2) Approve the first reading and introduction of an ordinance adopting the final map of district boundaries for district-based election of Councilmembers in accordance with the redistricting process for the 2020 Federal Decennial Census (California Elections Code Sections 21620-21630), and amending Napa Municipal Code Section 1.10.010 to implement the district-based elections. The ordinance will be brought back to City Council for final adoption at a public hearing on March 8, 2022.
Body
DISCUSSION:
Overview
The public hearing on February 8, 2022, is the third public hearing with a proposed district boundary map, with an opportunity for the public to provide input on the content of the proposed map, and the proposed ordinance. City staff recommends, following consideration of public input, that the City Council introduce the ordinance which adopts the “Plan A” District Boundary Map as the final map of district boundaries for district-based election of Councilmembers in accordance with the redistricting process for the 2020 Federal Decennial Census.
City staff has scheduled a public hearing on March 8, 2022 for Council to consider final adoption of the ordinance.
These district boundaries for Councilmembers will be first implemented for the November 2022 General Municipal Election.
Background
Each city with district-based elections is required to update (“redistrict”) the district boundaries every ten years, following the receipt of updated population data from each federal decennial census. Since the City of Napa has district-based elections for four Councilmembers, the City is required to redistrict the district boundaries prior to the next election of Councilmembers in 2022. Councilmember Districts 2 and 4 were on the ballot on November 3, 2020, and Councilmember Districts 1 and 3 will be on the ballot on November 8, 2022. Although the City recently established the district boundaries on May 5, 2020 for the November 2020 election, the boundaries are based on the 2010 federal census, which means the City must now update the boundaries through the redistricting process based on the 2020 federal census.
On October 26, 2021, the City Council held its first Public Hearing without maps to receive input from the public regarding district boundaries for Councilmembers. At the October 26, 2021 City Council meeting, City staff provided a presentation outlining the City’s community outreach plan for the redistricting process, and the City’s consulting demographer, Redistricting Partners, provided a presentation on the overall population changes within the City according to the 2020 federal census data, an overview of the legal requirements under the FAIR MAPS Act that must be considered when drawing district boundaries, and showcased the online mapping tool, DistrictR.
On Wednesday, December 1, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. in the evening, City staff held the first Community Workshop at Napa Valley College. This first Community Workshop was intended to allow the City’s demographer to provide information and guidance to members of the public regarding the parameters for drawing district boundary maps and give the public the opportunity to prepare and submit proposed maps for City Council’s consideration. Unfortunately, this initial Community Workshop was only attended by City staff, consultants, and County officials, and no draft map submissions were received from the public.
On Tuesday, December 14, 2021, the City Council held its second Public Hearing for the 2021-2022 redistricting process, which also marked the first public hearing with a draft district boundary map for consideration. During this public hearing, Redistricting Partners proposed one draft district boundary map, which reflected the current district lines adopted by Council on May 5, 2020, since no draft map submissions were received from the public prior to publication of the meeting agenda. However, as a part of the presentation on December 14, 2021, Redistricting Partners shared two draft map submissions received from the public after the publication of the meeting agenda (received on December 12, 2021, for ID 92819 and ID 92917) for input from the Council and community members.
On Thursday, January 6, 2022, at 6:00 p.m., City staff held the second Community Workshop virtually via Zoom where the City’s demographer provided information and guidance to members of the public regarding the parameters for drawing district boundary maps, and the public was provided an opportunity to prepare and submit proposed maps for City Council’s consideration. This virtual Community Workshop was attended by members of the public via Zoom and included a live demonstration of the online mapping tool, DistrictR, from the City’s demographer.
In light of a spike in the spread of COVID-19 in the community, and in effort to protect public health, the City cancelled the two in-person Community Workshops that were originally on Saturday, January 15, 2022 at Harvest Middle School Library and Las Flores Community Center Gym.
On Tuesday, January 25, 2022, the City Council held its third Public Hearing for the 2021-2022 redistricting process, which also marked the second public hearing with a draft district boundary map for consideration. During this public hearing, Redistricting Partners proposed one draft district boundary map, existing “Plan A”, which reflected the current district lines adopted by Council on May 5, 2020, and was posted on the City’s webpage at <https://www.cityofnapa.org/1013/Draft-Maps> on January 17, 2022. Additionally, as a part of the presentation on January 25, 2022, Redistricting Partners shared evaluations of draft map submissions received from the public via DistrictR as identified as Map IDs 92819, 92917, 96979, and 101095 for input from the Council and community members. After receiving additional public input during the hearing, the Council deliberated and reached unanimous consensus to direct staff to prepare the ordinance of Councilmember Districts using district boundary map “Plan A.”
On Sunday January 30, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. City staff held two additional Community Workshop virtually via Zoom where the City’s demographer provided information and guidance to members of the public regarding the parameters for drawing district boundary maps, and the public was provided an opportunity to prepare and submit proposed maps for City Council’s consideration. This virtual Community Workshop was attended by members of the public via Zoom and included a live demonstration of the online mapping tool, DistrictR, from the City’s demographer.
At the time of the publication of this staff report on February 4, 2022, the City has received a total of four (4) proposed district boundary maps from the public, which were submitted online via DistrictR and previously presented and reviewed in prior public hearings. All draft map submissions have been posted on the City’s website and entered into the public record.
Selection of District Boundary Map
The action taken by City Council on February 8, 2022, to select the District Boundary Map designated as Plan A, complies with the legal criteria and order of priority established by California Elections Code Section 21621, as summarized below.
• Substantially equal population of residents in each district (10% or less of overall deviation) based on census data.
• Compliance with the Constitutions of the United States and California, and with the Federal Voting Rights Act (“FVRA”). These criteria are satisfied by developing districts that have substantially equal populations, are not designed with discriminatory intent, do not result in discriminatory effects, and are not designed with race as the predominant consideration.
• Geographically contiguous, to the extent practicable. A district is not contiguous if it includes areas that: (a) meet only at the point of adjoining corners, or (b) are separated by water and not connected by a bridge.
• Geographic integrity of any local neighborhood or local community of interest shall be respected in a manner that minimizes its division, to the extent practicable. A “community of interest” is a population that shares common social or economic interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of its effective and fair representation.
• Boundaries should be easily identifiable and understandable by residents. To the extent practicable, districts shall be bounded by natural and artificial barriers, by streets, or by the boundaries of the City.
• Districts shall be geographically compact in a manner that nearby areas of population are not bypassed in favor of more distant populations, to the extent practicable.
Additionally, as a point of emphasis, district boundaries must not be adopted for the purpose of favoring or discriminating against a political party.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
For the 2021-2022 redistricting process, funding has already been appropriately budgeted within both the City Clerk’s Office and City Attorney’s Office for consulting services from community outreach advisors, a demographic firm, and legal counsel.
CEQA:
The City Clerk has determined that the recommended action described in this agenda report is not subject to CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - Plan A Draft Map (Posted on January 31, 2022)
ATCH 2 - Ordinance with Exhibit A
NOTIFICATION:
A public hearing notice was published in the Napa Valley Register on Friday, January 28, 2022.