CARLSBAD — The city’s electoral redistricting process is drawing near to a close.
The City of Carlsbad Independent Redistricting Committee approved three draft maps, two with four coastal districts and one with two coastal districts, during its Jan. 27 meeting. The commission reconvenes on Feb. 17 where it is may adopt the final map.
Two of the maps were submitted by the public and the third came from the city’s contracted demographers, National Demographers Corporation.
During a discussion that ran more than three-and-a-half hours, the commission focused on whittling down its selection of maps from the previous meeting. The commission discussed the maps with either four coastal districts or two, although the residents amplified their preference for the commission to keep four coastal districts and for the districts to remain as similar to the original map as possible.
“It raised up some maps that you as commissioners identified,” Shannon Kelly of NDC said of the commission’s previous selections earlier in the month. “There were 12 maps identified and what’s interesting is four of those 12 maps were identified by more than one commissioner.”
Some of the tweaks from the commission and NDC centered on census blocs bordering District 1 and District 2 near Quarry Creek and state Route 78, along with grouping the neighborhoods near Kelly Elementary School into District 1.
Also, the commission looked at tightening up several blocs between District 3 and 4. The challenge for the commission is the blocs are oddly shaped, making it difficult to draw uniform districts, said demographer Shannon Kelly.
The commission must follow state laws and other guidelines to develop the maps, including a deviation of more than 10% from the highest populated district to the lowest. However, it appears the commission is closing in on a map with a more evenly-distributed population between all four districts.
Another concern for some residents was regarding District 4 and residents south of Poinsettia Avenue. Some maps moved those residents into District 3, while others kept them in District 4 along with residents bordering Batiquitos Lagoon.
The commission appears to be settled on keeping the Poinsettia Avenue residents in District 4. They also discussed how to maneuver around La Costa Greens and La Costa Glen and move Bressi Ranch and Rancho Carrillo to either District 2 or District 3.
“It’s moving Bressi into District 2 and moving the part just south of Palomar Airport Road into three.” commission chairman Michael Fabiano said of one of the map variations.
The Carlsbad City Council approved district elections in 2017 after threats of lawsuits from a Malibu-based lawyer spread throughout the state. However, some cities continue at-large elections for their respective city councils.
In 2017, the council approved a map from residents Arnie Cohen and Brian Flock, which created a four coastal district map. Cohen and Flock have said their method included each district to contain the same major political points facing the city, which include the coastline, Interstate 5, the rail line, El Camino Real and borders with neighboring cities.
Disclosure: The author of this report is an alternate commissioner and submitted a map, which was not selected by the commission. He is a non-voting commissioner and does not take part in commission discussions.
