Agenda Item Title:
Title
Public Hearing to consider adjusting the Sandy City Council District boundaries as part of the redistricting process
Body
Presenter:
Dustin Fratto, Council Executive Director
Liz Theriault, Council Communications and Policy Analyst
Body
Description/Background:
In 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau completed a population census that updated the total population estimate for Sandy City. The Sandy City Council is now tasked with updating the boundaries of our Council districts to reflect and balance this population increase across our four districts through redistricting. Redistricting is the process in which new legislative district boundaries are drawn. Four of Sandy’s City Council Members are elected from areas within Sandy that are divided by these districts (the other three members are At-Large, and represent all districts and Sandy residents). District lines should be redrawn every 10 years following the completion of the most recent U.S. Census, in order to create districts that are substantially equal in population.
Over the past few months the council has been debating various alternatives for balancing the populations across the four districts. On February 8, 2022 the Council received a presentation from the City Attorney regarding the legal requirements and deadlines surround the redistricting process. During this presentation the council discussed their initial thoughts on the process and tasked staff to review their discussion and to begin working on a suggested timeline as well as a baseline map. On March 1, 2022 the Council approved a redistricting timeline and directed staff to bring back four potential alternative council district maps for council review. On March 15, 2022 staff presented the four alternative maps to the Council, who requested some minor amendments and additional alternatives. On April 5, 2022 staff provided the council with the requested amendments and additional alternatives. The Council directed staff to take three alternatives (Alternative Maps 4-1B, 4-1C, and 4-1D) to the public for feedback. For more information about the public feedback and outreach process please review the attached memorandum. You can also learn more about redistricting by visiting the Sandy Redistricting Website (https://sandy.utah.gov/1920/Redistricting)
At the time of agenda publication, the public feedback process was still underway. The results of that process will be provided to the Council once it's complete (after April 27, 2022) and prior to the May 3, 2022 redistricting public hearing.
Further action to be taken:
During the public hearing, the council should allow residents to speak regarding redistricting, discuss and/or debate the various alternative maps, and make a determination regarding which alternative Sandy City should adopt and move forward with as the updated City Council Districts Map. The deadline to for this process to be completed is May 10, 2022.
Recommended Action and/or Suggested Motion:
Recommendation
Tonight, the Council should select and adopt an updated Sandy City Council Districts map. Once an alternative is chosen, the Council should make a motion to adopt Resolution 22-24C amending the Sandy City Council Districts as shown in Alternative Map 4-1__ (B, C, or D).