11March
2022
Special City Council Meeting · One key issue

This special meeting was called to settle the city's new ward boundaries, the lines that decide which councilmember represents each neighbourhood.

Check this moment · 1:08:08
2.2 hours 1 agenda items 1 located in video 54% attributed to a named speaker
Brief

What happened

Friday, March 11, 2022

  1. 01

    Councilmember Phan warned that failing to agree on a map in time could cost the city $400,000 to $500,000 defending itself in court.

    1:09:43
    Explore this issue
    Related agenda item 1

    Presentation of Public Testimony and Draft maps, City Council Consideration and Direction Regarding Draft Maps

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    What councilmembers said

    Representative transcript excerpts—not inferred positions.

    Vicente SarmientoMayor

    So I think this is what's making, you know, our exercise a little bit more complicated. But I would suggest, you know, maybe for members who are going to be around in 2030 to consider maybe delegating this to either a committee of residents or others, just…

    1:42:28
    Thai Viet Phan
    Thai Viet PhanCouncilmember

    Right. So, I mean, just based on, I think we probably got 20 public community of interest submissions handwritten at the community events. And specifically, they draw it from Fairview on the west side, north first, south McFadden, and on the right-hand side…

    1:58:12
    Phil Bacerra
    Phil BacerraMayor Pro Tem

    I want to echo some of the sentiments that I heard, especially when we're talking about environmental justice, because unfortunately, much of the city has environmental justice issues. And when it comes to whether somebody who does not live in the…

    1:30:57
    David Penaloza
    David PenalozaCouncilmember

    If you're going to come in and talk the divisive comments that we've been hearing for four months now, make up your mind of what you want to see. Do you want to separate people by socioeconomic class? because that's not right either. That's terrible. So I'm…

    1:28:59
  2. 02

    The council worked through several competing draft maps live on screen, with the consultant moving neighbourhoods between wards until the populations balanced.

    1:14:18
    Explore this issue
    Related agenda item 1

    Presentation of Public Testimony and Draft maps, City Council Consideration and Direction Regarding Draft Maps

    Open agenda item →

    What councilmembers said

    Representative transcript excerpts—not inferred positions.

    Vicente SarmientoMayor

    So I think this is what's making, you know, our exercise a little bit more complicated. But I would suggest, you know, maybe for members who are going to be around in 2030 to consider maybe delegating this to either a committee of residents or others, just…

    1:42:28
    Thai Viet Phan
    Thai Viet PhanCouncilmember

    Right. So, I mean, just based on, I think we probably got 20 public community of interest submissions handwritten at the community events. And specifically, they draw it from Fairview on the west side, north first, south McFadden, and on the right-hand side…

    1:58:12
    Phil Bacerra
    Phil BacerraMayor Pro Tem

    I want to echo some of the sentiments that I heard, especially when we're talking about environmental justice, because unfortunately, much of the city has environmental justice issues. And when it comes to whether somebody who does not live in the…

    1:30:57
    David Penaloza
    David PenalozaCouncilmember

    If you're going to come in and talk the divisive comments that we've been hearing for four months now, make up your mind of what you want to see. Do you want to separate people by socioeconomic class? because that's not right either. That's terrible. So I'm…

    1:28:59
  3. 03

    It settled unanimously on a revised version of map N2.

    2:08:25
    Explore this issue
    Related agenda item 1

    Presentation of Public Testimony and Draft maps, City Council Consideration and Direction Regarding Draft Maps

    Open agenda item →

    What councilmembers said

    Representative transcript excerpts—not inferred positions.

    Vicente SarmientoMayor

    So I think this is what's making, you know, our exercise a little bit more complicated. But I would suggest, you know, maybe for members who are going to be around in 2030 to consider maybe delegating this to either a committee of residents or others, just…

    1:42:28
    Thai Viet Phan
    Thai Viet PhanCouncilmember

    Right. So, I mean, just based on, I think we probably got 20 public community of interest submissions handwritten at the community events. And specifically, they draw it from Fairview on the west side, north first, south McFadden, and on the right-hand side…

    1:58:12
    Phil Bacerra
    Phil BacerraMayor Pro Tem

    I want to echo some of the sentiments that I heard, especially when we're talking about environmental justice, because unfortunately, much of the city has environmental justice issues. And when it comes to whether somebody who does not live in the…

    1:30:57
    David Penaloza
    David PenalozaCouncilmember

    If you're going to come in and talk the divisive comments that we've been hearing for four months now, make up your mind of what you want to see. Do you want to separate people by socioeconomic class? because that's not right either. That's terrible. So I'm…

    1:28:59
  4. 04

    The formal resolution and the first reading of the ordinance were set for 5 April, avoiding any further special meetings.

    1:36:29
How this brief was made

The current summaries were prepared during an in-session review of the transcripts. This prototype shows only sentences with a timestamp citation. 0 uncited sentences were withheld from this page.

Agenda

Every item

1 items in agenda order

1
Business Calendar

Presentation of Public Testimony and Draft maps, City Council Consideration and Direction Regarding Draft Maps

1:04:39
  • The council had to redraw its ward boundaries to match the 2020 census, a process it had already taken through eleven public hearings.1:08:08
  • Councilmember Phan urged her colleagues to compromise, warning that missing the deadline, or adopting a map that breaks the state's Fair Maps Act, could cost the city $400,000 to $500,000 in litigation.1:09:43
  • She pointed to other cities where courts took over, deposing councilmembers or forcing every seat back onto the ballot at once.1:09:43
  • She also explained that the ward drawn with an Asian plurality exists because the city settled a voting rights lawsuit, and that unpicking it would risk reopening that case.1:15:25
  • Members named several competing maps and the consultant redrew the boundaries in the room, shifting blocks between wards until the deviation between them was small enough to comply.1:14:18
  • Councilmember Phan moved to go forward with a revised map N2, taking in her own population changes and the mayor's request to move French Court and the area east of Lyon Street.2:05:18
  • Mayor Pro Tem Bacerra seconded, and the map carried with all seven members voting yes.2:08:25
Official agendaSupplied summaryClerk timestampClerk of the Council Office
Official recommendation
  1. Seeking input regarding the content of the draft map(s)
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