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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-07-13 - AGENDA REPORTS - LACO CA REDISTRICTING CMSN RECOMMENDATIONS (2)10 Agenda Item: 10 CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AGENDA REPORT CONSENT CALENDAR CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: DATE: July 13, 2021 SUBJECT: LOS ANGELES COUNTY AND CALIFORNIA REDISTRICTING COMMISSIONS DEPARTMENT: City Manager's Office PRESENTER: Masis Hagobian RECOMMENDED ACTION City Council approve the recommendation of the City Council Legislative Committee to submit the following recommendations to the California Citizens Redistricting Commission and Los Angeles County Citizens Redistricting Commission: A. City of Santa Clarita be placed within only one Congressional, State Senate, State Assembly, County Supervisorial District, and Board of Equalization district and not divided among two or more districts. B. Santa Clarita Valley be placed within only one Congressional, State Senate, State Assembly, County Supervisorial District, and Board of Equalization district and not divided among two or more districts. C. City of Santa Clarita and Santa Clarita Valley be placed within compact districts, which should include other communities of north Los Angeles County, including the Antelope Valley, and northwest communities of the San Fernando Valley. BACKGROUND Every ten years, following the release of the Federal Decennial Census data, California must redraw the boundaries of its Congressional, State Senate, State Assembly, and State Board of Equalization districts to reflect new population data and shifting populations. For these aforementioned districts in California, an independent commission, known as the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CCRC), draws the new districts. California voters authorized the creation of the CCRC when they passed the Voters First Act, which appeared as Proposition 11 on the November 2008 ballot. Initially charged with drawing Page 1 Packet Pg. 174 10 State Senate, Assembly, and Board of Equalization Districts, the CCRC received authority from California voters in November 2010 to draw Congressional districts, in addition to the state districts previously authorized. The 14-member CCRC is made up of five Republicans, five Democrats, and four not affiliated with either of those two parties, but registered with another party or as decline -to -state. The CCRC is charged with drawing the district lines in conformity with strict, nonpartisan rules, designed to create districts of relatively equal population that will provide fair representation for all Californians. The CCRC must hold public hearings and accept public comment. After hearing from the public and drawing the maps for the House of Representatives districts, 40 State Senate districts, 80 Assembly districts, and four Board of Equalization districts, the CCRC must vote on the new maps to be used for the next decade. To approve the new maps, the maps must receive nine "yes" votes from the CCRC, three "yes" votes from members registered with the two largest parties, and three "yes" votes from the other members. In developing the new districts, the CCRC must follow the criterion below, as established in the Voters First Act: • Districts must comply with U.S. Constitution, and each district shall have a reasonably equal population. • Districts shall comply with the Voting Rights Act to ensure that minorities have an equal opportunity to elect representatives of their choice. • Districts shall be contiguous so that all parts of the district are connected to each other. • Districts must respect the boundaries of cities, counties, neighborhoods, and communities of interest, and minimize their division, to the extent possible. (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. Communities of interest shall not include relationships with political parties, incumbents, or political candidates) • Districts should be geographically compact, that is, have a fairly regular shape. • Where practicable each Senate District should be comprised of two complete and adjacent Assembly Districts and Board of Equalization districts shall be composed of ten complete and adjacent State Senate Districts. • Districts shall not be drawn to favor or discriminate against an incumbent, candidate, or political parry. Following the 2010 Federal Census, the City Council approved the following comments to submit to the CCRC at the regular meeting on April 26, 2011: Page 2 Packet Pg. 175 iE, A. City of Santa Clarita be placed within only one Congressional, State Senate, Assembly, and Board of Equalization district and not divided among two or more districts. B. Santa Clarita Valley be placed within only one Congressional, State Senate, Assembly, and Board of Equalization district and not divided among two or more districts. C. The City of Santa Clarita and Santa Clarita Valley be placed within compact districts, which should include other communities of north Los Angeles County and/or the northwest communities of the San Fernando Valley. In the past, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (Board of Supervisors) appointed an advisory Boundary Redistricting Committee to study proposed changes to the Supervisorial District boundaries. The Board of Supervisors could make revisions before adopting the final redistricted boundaries. However, in 2016, Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 958 (Chapter 781, Statutes of 2016), which established the Los Angeles County Citizens Redistricting Commission (LACCRC) and requires Los Angeles County to assemble an independent commission following the Federal Decennial Census to adjust the Supervisorial District boundaries, in accordance with specified criteria. The LACCRC is comprised of 14-members and shall be made up of political party preferences as proportional as possible to the total number of registered voters with each political parry in Los Angeles County, as prescribed in Senate Bill 958. Additionally, the LACCRC must hold public hearings and accept public comment. After hearing from the public and drawing the maps for the Supervisorial District boundaries, the LACCRC must vote on the new maps to be used for the next decade. To approve the new maps, the maps must receive nine "yes" votes from the LACCRC. In developing the new boundaries, the LACCRC must follow the criterion below, as established in Senate Bill 958: • Districts must comply with U.S. Constitution, and each district shall have a reasonably equal population. • Districts shall comply with the Voting Rights Act to ensure that minorities have an equal opportunity to elect representatives of their choice. • Districts shall be contiguous so that all parts of the district are connected to each other. • The integrity of any city, local neighborhood, or local community of interest shall be respected in a manner that minimizes its division to the extent possible. (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. Communities of interest shall not include relationships with political parties, incumbents, or political candidates.) Page 3 Packet Pg. 176 • Districts should be geographically compact, that is, have a fairly regular shape. The City collaborates on regional issues, including transportation planning, homelessness, public safety, emergency preparedness and response, and water quality and supply with surrounding unincorporated areas directly adjacent to the City and the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale. Specifically, the City serves on the North Los Angeles County Transportation Coalition (NCTC) with the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale to develop regional policies and implement projects and programs to address critical transportation issues, promote economic development, and maximize transportation funding opportunities, including Measure M (2016) and Senate Bill 1 (Chapter 5, Statutes of 2017), in the north Los Angeles County region. Additionally, similar to the City, the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale contract with Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and Fire Department and work together on emergency preparedness through the Los Angeles County Disaster Management Area B planning group, which is of critical importance due to the region's history of wildfires and flooding. Finally, the City serves on the Santa Clara River Watershed Area Steering Committee with other regional bodies and surrounding communities, including the Agua Dulce Town Council and Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency to develop funding plans and recommendations to provide water quality, water supply, and community enhancement benefits to the Santa Clarita Valley region. Regional collaboration between these unincorporated areas and cities meet the LACCRC criteria with respect to Supervisorial Districts retaining communities of interest that share common social and economic interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of its effective and fair representation. ALTERNATIVE ACTION Other direction, as provided by the City Council. FISCAL IMPACT The resources required to implement the recommended action are contained within the City of Santa Clarita's adopted FY 2021-22 budget. Page 4 Packet Pg. 177