WATSONVILLE—The city of Watsonville over the next eight months will undergo its decennial citywide effort to redraw the lines of its elected districts.
Every decade following the release of census data, cities and counties must adjust their district lines to account for possible shifts in population from one area of their jurisdiction to another. This process, known as redistricting, is done to ensure that all elected districts and communities remain as equally represented as possible in local government.
In Watsonville’s case, that means that the boundaries of the city’s seven districts could shift as the City Council tries to account for the changes the city has undergone since 2011, and the possible growth it will see in the near future.
The City Council will have final approval over the district map, which is expected to be completed by March or April of next year. But residents will have a chance to have their say in at least a half-dozen meetings scheduled to start in the fall after the state releases the census data.
The City Council, at its April 28 meeting, established those public input sessions, and also approved the creation of the Community Redistricting Advisory Committee, a seven-member group appointed by the council. That committee will hold at least four meetings and make a recommendation to the City Council on what the new district lines should look like.
Along with scheduling those meetings, the city also plans to create a bilingual community outreach plan through the web, social media and news outlets.
All of that, Watsonville City Councilwoman Rebecca J. Garcia said, would have been unheard of when the city underwent the process 10 years ago. In 2011 Garcia was appointed to the advisory committee by then-Mayor Daniel Dodge. The group, Garcia said, had all of one meeting in which roughly 20 people—the majority of whom lived in the Bay Village older adult community off Bridge Street—attended.
“There was not enough community input at all,” she said.
The increased community input efforts are mostly mandated by the state thanks to the passing of Assembly Bill 849, also known as the FAIR MAPS Act, in 2019. That bill, among other things, requires cities to hold at least four public hearings, including one that must be held on the weekend or after 6pm on a weekday.
Cities also have to create and maintain a page on their website dedicated to redistricting that includes general information about the process, a public hearing calendar and all the draft and final maps.
