Ceres explores redistricting council boundaries. Here’s how residents can give input
The public on Saturday can give input on changing Ceres City Council district boundaries during the process held once every decade to reflect population changes recorded in the U.S. Census.
City officials are scheduled to review two draft maps Saturday at 6 p.m. in the council chambers before in March adopting boundaries for future elections.
The council may ultimately choose to keep the current districts Ceres created about seven years ago. The four still meet federal requirements for containing roughly equal populations, said Doug Yoakam, a consultant with National Demographics Corp.
Existing districts also comply with the Voting Rights Act by not dividing up Latino-majority neighborhoods, Yoakam added. Last month, Councilman Bret Silveira and Mayor Javier Lopez voted to keep current boundaries, but the motion failed.
Both draft maps are available on the city website’s redistricting page. Compared to the current map, the draft labeled NDC 101 changes the eastern border of District 1 from Moffett Road to Canyon Drive. A border for District 2 also moves north from Caswell Avenue to near Caswell Elementary School.
NDC 102 shifts the boundary between Districts 3 and 4 in eastern Ceres. District 3 stretches south of Whitmore Avenue to include Cesar Chavez Junior High School and La Rosa Elementary, while District 4 extends farther east to Boothe Road.
The public still can submit draft maps before the council plans to adopt boundaries March 14. The deadline to email a map to the city clerk’s office at cityclerk@ci.ceres.ca.us is Feb. 28, per the redistricting website, bit.ly/3L7x2Ka. Maps can be drawn online or on paper.
In addition to federal laws for redistricting, California rules require districts be compact and geographically contiguous. Districts must also have easily identifiable boundaries and not divide communities of interest. Other considerations include future population growth and using current districts as the basis, Yoakam said.
Besides speaking at the hearing Saturday, residents can also share input by emailing comments to the clerk.
This story was originally published February 3, 2022 at 7:40 AM.
