RES-11178 Criteria to Guide Electoral Districts & Deadline for Amended Maps by the PublicRESOLUTION NO. 11178
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF ORANGE SPECIFYING THE
CRITEffiA TO GUIDE THE ESTABLISHMENT
OF ELECTORAL DISTRICTS AND TO FURTHER
SPECIFY THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF
AMENDED MAPS BY THE PUBLIC.
WHEREAS, on Apri123, 2019 the City Council of the City of Orange ("City") adopted
Resolution No. 11155, stating its intention to adopted district-based elections pursuant to
Elections Code section 10010, Government Code section 34886, and the California Voting
Rights Act; and
WIIEREAS, at the March 2, 1976 General Municipal Election, the voters of the City
of Orange determined by majority vote to change the City's electoral system to thereafter
directly elect a mayor for a two-year term; 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, the City held public hearings on June 13, 2019 and June 26, 2019 at which
the City, through its consultants provided information to the public about the districting process
and traditional districting criteria and received information from the public regarding the
composition of the districts; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has also received public comment concerning the
composition of districts by other means including by email and written submissio s directly to
the City, and/or its consultants; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has fully considered the presentations of its consultants and
all of the public comments received; and
WI T REAS, 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 Council also desires to take into account the purposes of the
California Voting Rights Act in determining the sequencing of elections in the new electoral
districts and to take into consideration areas of the City which have not had a resident elected to
the City Council in recent elections, including the southwesterly portion of the City (generally
south of W. Sycamore Ave. and west of Main St.); 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, pursuant to Resolution No. 11155, staff proposed to the City Council a
timeline for development and consideration of draft maps, which timeline was received by the
City Council as proposed; and
WI IEREAS,to facilitate analysis by the City's demographic consultant of maps proposed
by members of the public, and full consideration of such proposed maps at the public hearing
scheduled for September 10, 2019, the Council wishes to adopt a deadline for submission of
amended maps from the public to ensure their consideration.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the above recitals are true and correct; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,that the City shall consider drafr electoral district maps
with six City Council persons and a directly-elected mayor consistent with Government Code
section 34886 and the electoral system approved by the voters in Mazch 1976; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council hereby adopts the criteria
identified in Eachibit 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 numbering of the criteria 4 through 9 shall not
be construed as a prioritization of such criteria; 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 heazings (or more if necessazy),
in accordance with the timeline received by the City Council; 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
propose a sequencing of elections for each electoral district plan scenazio for consideration of the
City Council, and shall take into consideration azeas of the City which have not had a resident
elected to the City Council in recent elections, including the southwesterly portion of the City
generally south of W. Sycamore Ave. and west of Main St.); and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council hereby adopts a deadline of
August 29, 2019 for submission of amended maps by the public for consideration by the City
Council at its September 10, 2019 public heazing; 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.
Resolution No. 11178 2
ADOPTED this 23rd day of July 2019.
i i U' " `
Mark A. Murphy, Mayor, City o ge
ATTEST:
r/
II FLN WI.0 i l N\-U Y L X.A L_
Pamela Coleman, City Clerk, City of Orange
I, PAMELA COLEMAN, City Clerk of the City of Orange, California, do hereby certify
that the foregoing Resolution was duly and regularly adopted by the City Council of the City of
Orange at an Adjourned Regulaz Meeting thereof held on the 23rd day of July 2019, by the
following vote:
AYES: COiJNCILMEMBERS: Alvarez, Murphy,Nichols, Monaco
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COLTNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSTAIN: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
L.X 0, .l?I
Pamela Coleman, City Clerk, City of Orange
Resolution No. 11178 3
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 may take into consideration communities of
interest as identified in public comment or identified by the city council,including,but not
limited to social interests;educational,industrial or service industry interests;various types
of residential and commercial areas, homeowner and mobile home pazk associations, the
location of city facilities and historical sites and azeas, and the like, insofaz as practicable.
5.The boundazies of the electoral districts may consider compactness, insofar as practicable.
6.The boundaries of the electoral distcicts shall be created to contain contiguous territory,
insofaz as practicable. A district shall not be determined to be non-contiguous within the
meaning of this criterion on the sole basis that its parts aze connected through the
incorporated territory of another jurisdiction or unincorporated islands within the
boundaries of the City that aze not part of the City.
7.The boundaries of the electoral districts may observe topography and geography, such as
the existence of hills,flat land,wooded lands,waterways,man-made geographical features
such as highways, major roadways, canals, other jurisdictional boundazies, 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, insofaz as practicable.
9.The boundaries ofthe electoral districts shall comply with such other factors which become
known during the districting process and aze formally adopted by the City Council.
Resolution No. 11178 4