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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Resolution 14468 (District Elections Criteria) RESOLUTION NO. 14468 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL SPECIFYING THE CRITERIA TO GUIDE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ELECTORAL DISTRICTS AND TO FURTHER SPECIFY THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSED MAPS BY THE PUBLIC WHEREAS, on January 16, 2018, the City Council of the City of San Rafael (“City”) adopted Resolution No. 14453, stating its intention to adopted district -based elections pursuant to Elections Code section 10010 and the California Voting Rights Act; and WHEREAS, the City has retained an experienced demographer and special legal counsel to assist the City in establishing a by-district electoral system; and WHEREAS, on February 5, 2018, and February 20, 2018, the City Council received presentations from its special counsel concerning the current demographics of the City under the 2010 census and American Community Survey, and the procedures and legal and policy criteria governing districting, and received public comment regarding appropriate criteria; and WHEREAS, on February 5, 2018, and February 20, 2018, the City Council further conducted duly noticed public hearings at which it received testimony from the public regarding appropriate districting criteria; and WHEREAS, the City Council has fully considered the presentations of its consultants and all of the public comments received; and WHEREAS, the City Council now wishes to adopt criteria to guide the establishment of electoral districts consistent with legal requirements, including reasonably equal population and Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act, and which address other concerns and considerations important to the City; and WHEREAS, the City has made available on its website materials, including an online mapping program, that are designed to enable members of the public to submit proposed district maps for consideration by the Council; and WHEREAS, in adopting Resolution No. 14453, the City Council also adopted a timeline for the consideration of proposed maps; and WHEREAS, to facilitate full consideration of proposed maps at public hearings scheduled for March 5, 2018, March 19, 2018, and April 16, 2018, the Council wishes to adopt a deadline for submission of proposed maps from the public; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the above recitals are true and correct; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council hereby adopts the criteria identified in Exhibit A to this Resolution as criteria to guide the establishment of electoral districts to be implemented beginning with the November 2020 City Council elections; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City’s redistricting/demographic consulting firm, acting under the supervision of the City Manager, is hereby authorized and directed to formulate one or more electoral district plan scenarios based upon the criteria specified in Exhibit A for review by the public and by the City Council at three public hearings (or more if necessary), in accordance with the adopted timeline; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council hereby adopts a deadline of March 8, 2018, for submission of proposed maps by the public for consideration by the City Council at future public hearings; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Manager shall consult with legal counsel to resolve all legal issues necessary to give effect to this Resolution. I, LINDSAY LARA, Interim City Clerk of the City of San Rafael, hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was duly and regularly introduced and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of San Rafael, held on Tuesday, the 20th of February 2018, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: Councilmembers: Colin, McCullough & Mayor Pro Tem Bushey NOES: Councilmembers: None ABSENT: Councilmembers: Gamblin & Mayor Phillips _____________________________ Lindsay Lara, Interim City Clerk EXHIBIT A Specification of Criteria to Guide the Establishment of Electoral Districts 1. The boundaries of the electoral districts shall be established so that the electoral districts are equal in population as defined by law. 2. The boundaries of the electoral districts shall not be gerrymandered in violation of the principles established by the United States Supreme Court in Shaw v. Reno, 509 U.S. 630 (1993), and its progeny. 3. The boundaries of the electoral districts shall be established so that the electoral districts do not result in a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen to vote on account of race or color as provided in Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act. 4. The boundaries of the electoral districts shall observe communities of interest as identified in public comment or identified by the city council, including, but not limited to social interests; historical areas; industrial or service industry interests; residential and commercial areas, the location of city facilities and historical sites, and the like, insofar as practicable. 5. The boundaries of the electoral districts shall be compact, insofar as practicable. 6. The boundaries of the electoral districts shall be created to contain cohesive, contiguous territory, insofar as practicable. A district shall not be determined to be non-contiguous within the meaning of this criterion if it is connected by Census blocks comprised of water, and the Council may also take into account the existence of numerous unincorporated islands within the boundaries of the City that are not part of incorporated San Rafael in assessing contiguity. 7. The boundaries of the electoral districts may observe topography and geography, such as the existence of mountains, flat land, forest lands, man-made geographical features such as highways, major roadways and canals, etc., as natural divisions between districts, insofar as practicable. 8. Unless otherwise required by law, the electoral districts shall be created using whole census blocks, insofar as practicable. 9. The boundaries of the electoral districts may avoid the “pairing” of incumbents in the same electoral district, insofar as this does not conflict with the constitution and laws of the St ate of California and the United States. 10. The boundaries of the electoral districts shall comply with such other factors which become known during the districting process and are formally adopted by the City Council.