TITLE
Recommendation to review the population data by Council District and direct City Manager to work with the appropriate Departments to conduct the next population review for redistricting after the 2020 decennial census. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
The City Council is authorized by the City Charter to review the City population by Council District and enter into a redistricting process if there is an uneven distribution of residents. Typically, cities redistrict by Ordinance every decade, one year after the decennial census data is released. The City Charter states the City Council may choose to redistrict every five years or whenever it is determined to be necessary. Mid-decade redistricting is possible, though it requires additional levels of population estimation to extrapolate from the available data. The last redistricting process occurred in 2011 and was done based on 2010 decennial census data.
Section 103 of the City Charter reads in part: The City shall be divided, for electoral purposes, into nine (9) Councilmanic Districts approximately equal in population. Commencing the second quarter of 1981 and at intervals of five (5) years, or at any other time the City Council may direct, the Planning Commission shall ascertain the number of inhabitants in each Councilmanic District and report its findings to the City Council. If the report shows that the Councilmanic Districts are not approximately equal in number of inhabitants, the City Council shall, by Ordinance, redistrict the City into nine (9) Councilmanic Districts, each having approximately an equal number of inhabitants.
On March 2, 2017, the Planning Commission reviewed population estimates by Council District and unanimously voted to transmit the population estimates to the City Council. The City Council should use this data to determine if there is a significant imbalance between Council District populations that would prompt the need to redistrict. The Council District ideal population (cityw...
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