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- Transitioning to District-Based Elections - 2017
- How District Map Were Drawn by the Public - 2017
How District Maps Were Drawn by the Public - 2017
The Public was Invited to Draw A Map
Districting is different than most issues that come before the City Council. Instead of being limited to saying you support or oppose a City-prepared ordinance or resolution, you can draw a map yourself!
There are a variety of map-drawing tools available below:
1. Paper-only maps.
2. Paper maps with a Microsoft Excel Supplement Kit and the supplemental interactive view map.
3. Online map-drawing tool.
When drawing a map, what criteria should I use?
Many factors may be considered, but population equality is the most important. Population should be between 14,548 and 16,080 for each District. Other factors include:
- Communities of interest
- Be compact
- Be contiguous
- Have visible (natural and man-made) boundaries
- Include respect for past voter selections
- Plan for future growth
City Council Resolution - 2017-045 - Line Drawing Criteria for District Boundaries
DEADLINE TO SUBMIT YOUR MAP WAS NOVEMBER 17, 2017. Thank you to all the residents that submitted maps. NDC is currently reviewing all maps for population balancing, ensuring they are contiguous and not in violation of the Federal or California Voting Rights Act. All maps submitted are NOW posted online - on the Draft District Maps Page
You can continue to use these tools to propose revisions to the various initial draft maps. However, by State Law, maps to be considered by the Council at Public Hearings must be posted online and available at City Hall one week before the hearing.
Maps to be considered at the December 4th hearing must be posted online by November 27 and had a November 17, 2017 due date.
For the December 11th Public Hearing, any revisions to initial draft maps must be submitted to NDC by November 30, 2017 to meet the December 11th hearing posting deadline of December 4, 2017.
Drawing Tools - Online Link is no longer active and the link has been removed from the City's website.
Microsoft Excel Supplement
Are you familiar with the basic functions of Microsoft Excel? Then you can let Excel do the total population and demographic math for you. You can save the Excel file to your computer. Then use the Excel file and the Map of Population Unit ID numbers to assign the Population Units to your desired districts, and Excel will provide the resulting demographics for each district. Population should be between 14,548 and 16,080 for each District.
Interactive Public Participation Kit Supplement
If you want to see exactly where the various Population Unit (PopUnit) boundaries are located, or if you have difficulty reading the small print on the 8.5×11 PDF files, you can use this interactive map to zoom in and out on the Population Unit boundaries, and switch back and forth between PopUnit ID number labels and total population labels. It works like Google Maps, except you use check-boxes to choose what layers and labels you want to see on the map.
Online District-Drawing Tool
The most powerful map-drawing tool, but also the most difficult to use, is the online districting tool. This tool enables you to draw districts Census Block by Census Block, just like the professional demographers. You can fine-tune your district lines and see, in detail, the resulting demographics as you draw your map and ensuring your population is be between 14,548 and 16,080 for each District.
With this power comes complexity: this tool can be challenging to figure out at first. To access, you will need to create a user name. Once you access the site, there are various online help tools available (quick start guide, short training videos and an online manual) . Before logging in, download the one page reference sheet.
How do I submit my paper map? Simply email your drawing to NDC (email and fax number removed as they are no longer valid for this process). You can even snap a picture and email it from your phone. Once received, NDC will calculate all Population Unit Data for your map. Or you may bring your paper map to the City Clerk. Once submitted, maps are considered public records. The city will post all submitted maps on its website.