District Five Councilwoman Sandra Massa-Lavitt questioned the accuracy of population data during the Tuesday, Feb. 15, hearing on redistricting in our town. District Four Councilwoman Schelly Sustarsic expressed similar concerns.
Assistant City Attorney Chelsea Straus said she would get clarifications on the questions they raised. She promised to report back at the next subcommittee meeting, which is next Tuesday. Straus told the subcommittee that the city’s current district map is acceptable under law.
The subcommittee took no action on the map due to concerns about both the data and the district map itself.
Sustarsic and Massa-Lavitt met as a subcommittee of the City Council to discuss redistricting. A copy of the current map was attached to the staff report as the proposed Seal Beach district map.
Massa-Lavitt asked why the housing on the Naval Weapons Station was not included in the district map. She said the map should show housing on the base unless there is some reason not to.
“Have there been any boundary changes at all?” she asked.
As for population numbers, Massa-Lavitt doubted that 4% of Leisure World residents were renters, as reported in the Census analysis by National Demographic Corporation. Councilwoman Sustarsic wondered if the numbers came from the 2022 Census or from the American Community Survey. (The ACS is a Census Bureau survey taken more frequently than the 10-year Census and uses smaller samples.)
The actual hearing was brief. The subcommittee received no emails and no one phoned in comments.
Sustarsic advised holding off on changing the map.
Background
The council has until April to approve the proposed map, according to a staff report by the city clerk and an assistant city attorney.
There will be two more subcommittee meetings on the subject currently set for 2 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 22, and 7 p.m., Monday, Feb. 28. The committee is made up of District Four Councilwoman Schelly Sustarsic and District Five Councilwoman Sandra Massa-Lavitt. Then the issue goes to the full council.
A new state law that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2020 the Fair Maps Act, requires cities to adopt district boundaries based on either the state Election Code unless the city charter spells out redistricting criteria, according to the staff report by City Clerk Gloria Harper and Assistant City Attorney Chelsea Straus.
The Seal Beach City Charter has similar criteria to the state law, “but the City Charter’s criteria are controlling,” according to the Harper-Straus report.
“If no changes to district boundaries are required or deemed advisable under the ‘substantially equal’ standard and City Charter criteria, the City Council may readopt existing boundaries,” Harper and Straus wrote.
“NDC conducted a population analysis for the City with the 2020 U.S. Census data,” Harper and Straus wrote.
“The current total population of the City is 25,282,” Harper and Straus wrote.
“The ideal population for each district is approximately 5,056,” Harper and Straus wrote.
“A total of the deviations from the ideal populations of less than 10% is generally considered ‘de minimis’ and constitutionally acceptable,” Harper and Straus wrote.
“The City’s total deviation from the ideal population is 7.18%, so the City’s current District Map is acceptable under the law,” Harper and Straus wrote.
“However, the City Council may decide to adjust the City Council district boundaries based on its evaluation of how to draw district boundaries to achieve geographical compactness, geographical contiguousness, and provide fair representation on the City Council,” Harper and Straus wrote.
According to the report, members of the public may submit proposed maps to the City Clerk’s office. The city clerk’s email is gharper@sealbeachca.gov.
The city’s redistricting webpage is www.sealbeachca.gov/Government/Redistricting-2021.
