After each decennial census, local governments must use new census data to redraw their district lines to reflect how local populations have changed. Federal law requires that districts be nearly equal in population.  The Fair Maps Act, Assembly Bill 849 (2019) requires cities and counties to engage their communities in the redistricting process by holding public hearings and/or workshops and doing public outreach, including to non-English-speaking communities.  

Due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and other events, the 2020 census count data was released later than originally anticipated.  When the final data was published, it showed only a modest increase in the City’s population, which suggested that the City might not need to go through a redistricting process.  However, various public interest groups, objected to bypassing the redistricting process.  Because the law does not specifically provide for bypassing the 10-year redistricting process, the City determined to proceed with the process.  New district maps must be adopted by the Council no later than April 17, 2022, for the November 2022 election.

California Elections Code sections 21601 et seq. sets forth the City Council public hearing process for establishing district boundaries. This process requires a minimum of four noticed public hearings during which the public has a right to provide input on proposed district boundaries. Specifically, the City must hold at least one “clean slate” hearing at which the public can provide input on district boundaries before any maps are prepared. Thereafter, the City must hold at least two more public hearings to consider draft maps and then a final public hearing to approve a map.  At or after the fourth public hearing the Council establishes the final map by adopting an ordinance.

The purpose of the first public hearing is to inform the public about the districting process and to hear from the community on what factors should be taken into consideration while creating district boundaries. The public is requested to provide input regarding communities of interest and other local factors that should be considered while drafting district maps. A “community of interest” is a “contiguous population that shares common social and economic interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of its effective and fair representation.” These may include a neighborhood or group that would benefit from being in the same district because of shared interests, views, cultures, histories, languages, and values and whose boundaries can be identified on a map.  Possible community features include, but are not limited to:

• Shared interests in schools, housing, community safety, transit, health conditions, land use, environmental conditions, and/or other issues.
• Common social and civic networks, including churches, mosques, temples, home-owner associations, and community centers, and shared use of community spaces, like parks and shopping centers.
• Racial and ethnic compositions, cultural identities, and households that predominantly speak a language other than English.
• Similar socio-economic status, including but not limited to income, home ownership, and education levels.
• Shared political boundary lines from other jurisdictions, such as school districts, community college districts, and water districts.

In creating the district boundaries, the City must ensure compliance with the following federal and state mandated criteria:

Federal Laws:

1. Each council district shall contain a nearly equal population (based on total population of residents as determined by the most recent Federal decennial Census and adjusted by the State to reassign incarcerated persons to the last known place of residence); and
2. Each council district shall be drawn in a manner that complies with the Federal Voting Rights Act. No council district shall be drawn with race as the predominate factor in violation of the principles established by the United States Supreme Court in Shaw v. Reno, 509 U.S. 630 (1993), and its progeny.

California Criteria for Cities (to the extent practicable and in the following order of priority):

1. Geographically contiguous (areas that meet only at the points of adjoining corners are not contiguous.  Areas that are separated by water and not connected by a bridge, tunnel, or ferry service are not contiguous).
2. Undivided neighborhoods and "communities of interest" (Socio-economic geographic areas that should be kept together for purposes of its effective and fair representation).
3. Easily identifiable boundaries.
4. Compact (do not bypass one group of people to get to a more distant group of people).
5. Prohibited: “Shall not favor or discriminate against a political party.”

Other Traditional Districting Principles:

1. Preserving the core of existing districts.
2. Minimize voters shifted to different election years.
3. Future population growth.
4. Respect voters' choices / continuity of representation.

Community Engagement:

The City has developed a comprehensive community engagement plan intended to maximize awareness, education and participation through each step of the redistricting process.  The City has created a webpage, https://ggcity.org/redistricting and has issued press releases and social media posts pertaining to this public hearing and the following additional hearings and workshop:

The website will be updated as the City proceeds with the redistricting process, including the provision of tools that would allow the public to draw and/or review draft maps.

It is recommended that the City Council:

• Receive a report on the districting process and permissible criteria to be considered to create district boundaries; and

• Conduct a public hearing to receive public input on district boundaries.