HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Reso 2017-07 RESOLUTION NO. 2017-07
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF CATHEDRAL CITY, CALIFORNIA,
SPECIFYING THE CRITERIA TO GUIDE THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF ELECTORAL DISTIRCTS
WHEREAS, at its March 8, 2017 meeting, the City Council, adopted a resolution
formally initiating the process of establishing by-district elections for the City Council,
beginning in November 2018, and approving a timeline for conducting a public process
and adopting an appropriate ordinance pursuant to Government Code section 34886;
and
WHEREAS, pursuant to that timeline, on March 8, 2017, the City Council and the
public received presentation regarding the procedures and legal and policy criteria
governing districting, and received public comment regarding appropriate criteria; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has fully considered the presentations of its
consultants and all of the public comments received; and
WHEREAS, 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.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED as follows:
A. The above recitals are true and correct.
B. The City Council hereby adopts the criteria identified in Exhibit A to this
Resolution as criteria to guide the establishment of electoral districts.
C. The City's 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 in accordance with the adopted timeline.
D. The City Manager shall consult with legal counsel to resolve all legal
issues necessary to give effect to this Resolution.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City
Council of the City of Cathedral City held on this 8th day of March, 2017, by the following
vote:
Ayes: Council MEmbers Aguilar, Carnevale and Kaplan; Mayor Pro Tem
Pettis and MAyor Henry
Noes: None
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Absent: None
Abstain: None
Stanley E. Henry, Mayor
ATTEST:
—0/10 -11/14-PA_ _
- -Gary . Howell, City lerk
APPROVED AS TO Fe RM:
iU
Eric S. Vail,City Attorney
CERTIFICATION
I, Gary F. Howell, City Clerk to the City Council of the City of Cathedral City,
certify that the foregoing Resolution was regularly introduced, passed, and adopted by
the City Council at its regular meeting held on March 8, 2017.
DATED: March 8, 2017
I
Gary F. Howell
City Clerk
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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 shall observe communities of interest as
identified in public comment or identified by the city council, including, but not
limited to rural or urban populations; social interests; agricultural, industrial or
service industry interests; residential and commercial areas, the location of city
facilities and historical sites, and the like, insofar as practicable.
5. The boundaries of the electoral districts shall be compact, insofar as practicable.
6. The boundaries of the electoral districts shall be created to contain cohesive,
contiguous territory, insofar as practicable.
7. The boundaries of the electoral districts may observe topography and geography,
such as the existence of mountains, flat land, forest lands, man-made
geographical features such as highways, major roadways and canals, 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, insofar as practicable.
9. The boundaries of the electoral districts may avoid the "pairing" of incumbents in
the same electoral district, insofar as this does not conflict with the constitution
and laws of the State of California and the United States.
10. The boundaries of the electoral districts shall comply with such other factors
which become known during the districting process and are formally adopted by
the City Council.
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