LAKEPORT — Main Street was bustling with activity Saturday as throngs of people attended the Pumpkin & Dia de los Muertos Festival or took part in the Sponsoring Survivorship 25th Annual Walk-Run in support of those battling breast cancer. One street up, in the Board of Supervisors chambers at the Courthouse on Forbes, barely a handful of citizens attended a public hearing on Lake County’s 2021 supervisorial redistricting plan in person or via Zoom.
Redistricting or the reshaping of district boundaries happens every 10 years in conjunction with the release of the latest U.S. Census data. Redrawing boundaries calls for the grouping of neighborhoods and communities together to form districts with equal populations for the purpose of electing members of the Board of Supervisors. One of the factors in the redistricting process is the identification of communities of interest to ensure each one stays within a single supervisorial district to allow for maximum effective representation, according to Matthew Rothstein, Deputy County Administrative Officer.
As defined by the California Constitution, “a community of interest is a contiguous population which shares common social and economic interests within a single district for purposes of its effective and fair representation. Examples of such shared interests are those common to an urban area, a rural area, an industrial area or an agricultural area, and those common to areas in which the people share similar living standards, use the same transportation facilities, have similar work opportunities, or have access to the same media of communication relevant to the election process. Communities of interest shall not include relationships with political parties, incumbents, or political candidates.”
Saturday’s special meeting was scheduled to give area residents the opportunity to express their viewpoints about communities of interest, but the scarcity of public attendance and feedback may have been due to lack of interest, weekend scheduling, or conflict with other community events.
An example of a community interest given by the consultant is Sacramento’s “Little Saigon,” a community where Vietnamese people live, dine, shop and keep their culture and economy thriving. Examples of communities of interest in Lake County suggested by county officials and the consulting firm of Prentice Hall include tribal lands, Buckingham, the Rivieras (Clearlake Riviera, Riviera West and Riviera Heights), and some apartment complexes with similar characteristics (subsidized housing or senior housing) in the same district. Possible considerations brought up at Saturday’s meeting include these areas:
- Unincorporated communities served by Municipal Advisory Councils
- Cache Creek as natural divider between Districts 1 and 2
- Spring Valley and Lake Pillsbury areas
- Clearlake City limits
- Chapman Tract (Planning Area 4, City of Clearlake – East of State Highway 53 and South of Hayes Avenue)
“The Avenues” in Clearlake - Areas north of Old Highway 53 and North of Burns Valley Road (northern section of Clearlake with more ranchette housing)
- “The Park”(north of Country Club and north of Arrowhead in Clearlake)
Clearlake’s center of town area - Ba
- Big Valley between Lakeport and Kelseyville
The BOS, county staff and the consultants, hope to receive feedback from residents about prospective communities of interest in or near their neighborhoods. To date, the county has not received any comments or suggestions, but ideas and maps can still be submitted before the next public hearing on November 2. Consultant Margaret Long emphasized that while the BOS “ultimately draws the line,” public participation plays an important part in the redistricting process to ensure the redrawing of boundaries will work for all.
Based on current boundaries, the population count in Lake County includes 13,294 people in District 1; 14,311 in District 2; 13,905 in District 3; 13,821 in District 4; and 12708 in District 5. To achieve having 13,633 people, or as close to this target number as possible, district supervisors will need to make some give-and-take adjustments within and between the districts. The City of Clearlake will be looked at closely as its number of residents exceeds the proposed count.
County staff invites the public to submit their ideas on communities of interest as well as prospective maps showing proposed boundaries. For more information, county residents can visit the redistricting page of the Lake County website. Comments and feedback may be submitted to redistricting@lakecountyca.gov.
Individuals interested in submitting a map can use the GIS tool available at https://gispublic.co.lake.ca.us/portal/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=d37f8de9fb6b477fbf00173733befd13 .
