To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Tiffany Carranza, City Clerk
Prepared By: Samantha Pascoe, Deputy City Clerk
TITLE:
Title
2021-2022 Redistricting Process - 5th Public Hearing with Proposed District Boundary Map
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Approve the second reading and final passage, and adopt 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.
Body
DISCUSSION:
Overview
The Public Hearing on March 8, 2022 is the fifth Public Hearing with a proposed district boundary map, an opportunity for the public to provide input on the content of the proposed map, and the second reading of the ordinance. City staff recommends, following consideration of public input, that the City Council adopt the ordinance which approves 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.
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 Tuesday, October 26, 2021, at 6:30 p.m., the City Council held its first Public Hearing without maps to receive input from the public regarding district boundaries for Councilmembers. 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., 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, at 6:30 p.m., 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 scheduled for Saturday, January 15, 2022 at Harvest Middle School Library and Las Flores Community Center Gym.
On Tuesday, January 25, 2022, at 6:30 p.m., 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. 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 Workshops 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.
On Tuesday, February 8, 2022, at 6:30 p.m., the City Council held its fourth Public Hearing with the proposed district boundary map “Plan A,” with an opportunity for the public to provide input on the content of the proposed map, and the proposed ordinance. City Council unanimously voted to introduce the ordinance.
Selection of District Boundary Map
The recommended action to be taken by City Council on March 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 - Ordinance with Exhibit A
ATCH 2 - Submitted Draft Maps from the Public
ATCH 3 - Completed Community of Interest Forms
ATCH 4 - Submitted Written Public Testimony
NOTIFICATION:
A public hearing notice was published in the Napa Valley Register on Friday, February 25, 2022.