Turlock considers new council district boundaries. How do draft maps differ?
The public can view drafts of potential new Turlock City Council district boundaries before officials are scheduled to select a map in March.
Three draft maps are available on the Turlock redistricting website as part of the process held once every 10 years to reflect population changes documented in the U.S. Census.
Turlock could stick with the existing districts, said Jeff Tilton, a consultant with the National Demographic Corporation firm. But the existing map could face legal challenges for not including a majority-minority district when it could, Tilton said. Out of current District 2 residents eligible to vote in southwest Turlock, 49% are Latino, a report shows.
Two of the draft maps redraw boundaries to create one majority-minority district where Latinos make up more than 50% of residents eligible to vote. The maps labeled green and orange turn a southern area of Turlock into a majority-minority district. The Public 101 map keeps District 2 at 49% Latino.
With the orange map, the National Demographic Corporation divided the city with primarily east-to-west lines. District 3 makes up the northern-most section, followed by District 4, 1 and 2. It changes existing boundaries the most out of the three.
Compared to the existing districts, the green map shifts District 4 to encompass the California State University, Stanislaus, campus and stretch to Main Street at its southernmost border. Other boundaries adjust accordingly in an effort to keep the population for each district roughly equal, per federal law.
Resident Ron Bridegroom submitted Public 101, the only map created by the public so far. Public 101 reforms District 3 to include all the housing around CSU Stanislaus, which is split into Districts 3 and 4 in the current map. In the draft, District 4 stretches farther southeast until Main Street, where it meets District 1.
Instructions on how to submit a map and ways to create one are available at redistrictturlock.org. The deadline to submit draft maps is March 8 in advance of the 6 p.m. March 22 public hearing. The council is scheduled to adopt a map during the fourth and final redistricting hearing.
The public can give feedback on the maps by speaking at the hearing or emailing LSchimmelfennig@turlock.ca.us. New districts will be used in the November 2022 election.
