Redistricting Ordinance on Monday’s City Council Agenda

The City Council will receive the Redistricting Task Force recommended redistricting plan on Monday and vote on a redistricting ordinance that will redraw the city’s voting boundaries.

The task force is recommending slight changes in voting boundaries that would result in 2,610 Pasadena residents being moved from their current City Council district to a different one.

Only three districts would be impacted by the new lines as 1,625 District 6 residents would be shifted to District 7, and 985 District 7 voters would be moved to District 2.

“The recommended plan balances the district populations using a counterclockwise rotation,” according to a staff report in Monday’s City Council agenda. “District 6 gives up population to District 7, and District 7 gives up population to District 2.”

Every 10 years, the city of Pasadena utilizes decennial census data to adjust City Council district boundaries to equalize population among the seven districts in the city.

According to that data, white residents still make up a majority of the city’s population at 36.7%. Latino residents make up 33% of the city’s population, followed by Asian residents at 16.9% and African-American residents at 8.5%.

Latino residents make up a majority of the population in City Council districts 1, 3 and 5, with 49.7%, 48.1% and 51.4%, respectively.

As part of its work, the Redistricting Task Force adopted a 10% deviation map to meet the equal population standard.

The Supreme Court has interpreted the constitutional requirement for legislative and other local maps, districts need only to be “substantially equal.” Any population above 10% in legislative and local maps is considered constitutionally suspect by the courts.

As part of the shift in voting lines, District 2 would become the second council district representing residents north and south of Colorado Boulevard.

Traditionally, every council district represents part of Colorado Boulevard

The recommendation also includes a forecast of major changes in the next 10 years due to a number of factors and called on elected officials to have discussions with their constituents on the impacts of those changes earlier in the next redistricting cycle.

“Noting the possibility of major changes in the city for the next redistricting cycle, including the acquisition and development of the 710 freeway stub, increased housing created by the Parsons project and new state laws, factoring in recent undercounts in populations in Northwest Pasadena, and the growing sentiment for consolidation of City Council representation in the Downtown/Central District area, it is strongly recommended that the City Council work to understand the significant impacts these factors will have on the next redistricting cycle, and begin the community discussion and understanding of these impacts earlier and ahead of the work of the next Redistricting Task Force,” the report states.