Sentinel staff report–
The City of Citrus Heights on Friday announced plans for the first public hearing to be held in the city’s redistricting process, which will re-draw election boundary lines for the city’s five council members.
Lines were first drawn in 2019 when the city adopted a “by-district” process for electing council members and discontinued its prior “at-large” method of electing members. it is now required to redraw the lines using the latest 2020 Census data.
Previously, all five council members were elected by all voters city-wide, whereas council members now must live in their own district in the city and be voted on only by residents of that district.
Public input will be part of the process for drawing the lines, with the first public hearing set to take place during the Feb. 10 City Council meeting, followed by additional hearings on March 3 and March 10, according to a timeline posted on the city’s website. A final hearing is slated for March 24, where final adoption of a map is to take place.
Draft maps have not yet been released on the city’s website, pending input from the first public hearing where the council will identify “neighborhoods,” “communities of interest,” and “secondary areas.”
In a posting about the redistricting process, the city says it will follow several criteria in re-drawing the lines, “to the extent practicable.”
- Geographically contiguous districts (each city council district should share a common border with the next).
- Geographic integrity of local neighborhoods or communities shall be respected in a manner that minimizes its division.
- Geographic integrity of a city shall be respected in a manner that minimizes its division.
- Easily identifiable boundaries that follow natural or artificial barriers (rivers, streets, highways, rail lines, etc.)
- Lines shall be drawn to encourage geographic compactness.
- Boundaries shall not be drawn for purposes of favoring or discriminating against a political party.
The first public hearing will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 10th. Public participation will be possible through Zoom, with a link posted on the city’s website.
