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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinances_2931 ORDINANCE NO. 2931 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF REDLANDS AMENDING CHAPTER 2.03 OF THE REDLANDS MUNICIPAL CODE ADJUSTING THE COUNCIL MEMBER ELECTORAL DISTRICT BOUNDARIES WHEREAS, Ordinance No. 2931 would amend Chapter 2.03 of the Redlands Municipal Code adjusting Council Member electoral district boundaries; and WHEREAS, the U.S. Census Bureau("Bureau") is required by Article 1, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution to conduct an accurate count of the population every ten years; and WHEREAS,California Elections Code Section 21600 et seq. requires that"following each federal decennial census for a city whose council is already elected using district-based elections, the council shall,by ordinance or resolution, adopt boundaries for all of the council districts of the city so that the council districts shall be substantially equal in population as required by the United States Constitution;" and WHEREAS, the City Council held public hearings on September 27, 2021, January 18, 2022, February 15, 2022, and March 1, 2022 with a community forum held on September 29, 2021, to present information from the City's demographic consultant relating to the redistricting process and state and federal redistricting criteria and communities of interest, including the California Elections Code,the Voting Rights Act and the United States Constitution,heard public testimony, and directed staff and the City's demographic consultant to prepare draft district plans for consideration; and WHEREAS,pursuant to the provisions of the Fair Maps Act of 2019, as amended in 2020 and codified at California Elections Code section 21600 to 21609, after giving consideration to those provisions and applicable decisions of the courts, the City Council hereby adjusts, changes, and establishes the boundaries of the City Council electoral districts as set forth on the Preferred Map considered by the City Council at its public hearing on March 1,2022,and reflected in Exhibit "A" hereto, and they shall constitute and are hereby established as the boundaries of the City Council districts of the City of Redlands for subsequent elections until further readjustment is required by law; and WHEREAS, notwithstanding any other provision of this Ordinance, and pursuant to California Elections Code section 21606, subdivisions (a) and (b), each of the City Council Members in office at the time this Ordinance takes effect shall continue in office until the expiration of the full term to which he or she was elected and until his or her successor is qualified, and any vacancy in a term currently underway shall be filled based on the districts in effect at the time the current Council Members were elected; and WHEREAS, all information in the staff reports, maps, presentations, City Council discussion and public testimony referenced above is hereby incorporated into this decision and serves as evidentiary basis for these findings and legislative decision; and I 1:\Ordinances\Nos 2900-22999 in Word\2931 Amending Chapter 2.03 Council Member Electoral District Boundaries..—.docx WHEREAS, at the public hearing of March 1, 2022, after considering the verbal and written testimony and comments of the members of the public, the City staff, and the City's consultant who was retained in connection with the establishment of the districts, among the reasons articulated for the selection of the Preferred Map to be identified as the City Council's selected map for purposes of this Ordinance were the following: 1. Compliance with the federal requirements of equal population and the Voting Rights Act 2. Geographically contiguous 3. Undivided neighborhoods and "communities of interest" (socio-economic geographic areas that should be kept together) 4. Easily identifiable boundaries 5. Compact(do not bypass one group of people to get to a more distant group of people) 6. Shall not favor or discriminate against a political party 7. Minimize the number of voters delayed from voting in 2022 to 2024 due to redistricting 8. Respect voters' choices/continuity in office 9. Future population growth NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REDLANDS DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Section 2.03.030 of the Redlands Municipal Code, titled"Establishment of City Council Electoral Districts,"is hereby amended to read as follows: "2.03.030: ESTABLISHMENT OF CITY COUNCIL ELECTORAL DISTRICTS: A. Members of the City Council shall be elected on a by-district basis from the five Council districts as hereby established in the City of Redlands. The boundaries and identifying number of each district shall be as described on the Council district map attached to the ordinance codified in this chapter as Exhibit"A"and incorporated herein by this reference. B. The Council districts specified in subsection A of this section shall continue in effect until they are amended or repealed in accordance with law." Section 2. The adoption of this Ordinance is exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act("CEQA")pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the State Guidelines implementing CEQA, which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This Ordinance relates exclusively to the organizational or administrative activities of the City and will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment. Therefore,there is no possibility that adopting this Ordinance will have a significant effect on the environment. Further, and additionally, the City Council finds this Ordinance to be categorically exempt pursuant to Section 15320 of the CEQA Guidelines (Class 20, changes in 2 1:\Ordinances\Nos 2900-2999 in Word\2931 Amending Chapter 2.03 Council Member Electoral District Boundaries..—doex organization of local government agencies) because the changes do not change the geographical area in which previously existing powers of the City are exercised. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required. Section 3. This Ordinance is adopted following four noticed public hearings as required by Election Code section 61607.1. Section 4. The Mayor shall sign this Ordinance and the City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Ordinance and shall cause it, or a summary of it, to be published once in the Redlands Daily Facts, a newspaper of general circulation-within the City, and thereafter, this Ordinance shall take effect as provided by law. Paul T. Barich,Mayor ATTEST: e Donaldson, City Clerk 3 I:\Ordinances\Nos 2900-2999 in Word\2931 Amending Chapter 2.03 Council Member Electoral District Boundaries.._.docx I, Jeanne Donaldson, City Clerk, City of Redlands, hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance was duly adopted by the City Council at the regular meeting thereof,held on the 15th day of March 2022,by the following vote: AYES: Councilmembers Tejeda, Davis, Guzman-Lowery, Gallagher; Mayor Barich NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None C) Je Donaldson, 6ty Clerk 4 L•\Ordinances\Nos 2900-2999 in Word\2931 Amending Chapter 2.03 Council Member Electoral District Boundaries.._docx EXHIBIT A City of Redlands Voting Districts 2022 ,, a � 'D i � 1District 1 Distract 2 District 3 District 4 District 5 J11