Council reviews the first 10 redistricting draft maps for the City of Costa Mesa

Costa Mesa City Council members were presented with the first 10 draft redistricting maps at the Council meeting of Nov. 16 at 7 p.m.

The community was encouraged to submit proposed maps for the November 16, 2021 public hearing for the City Council’s initial consideration and discussion.

A total of seven public submittals were made by individuals and the city’s demographer, Dr. Justin Levitt, also prepared three draft City Council district boundary maps based on the legal criteria outlined in past meetings, including consideration of communities of interest.

The draft maps are intended for discussion purposes only.

The city continues to encourage residents to submit draft boundary proposals, revisions to submitted maps, or offer comments on any maps. The city’s demographer will continue to review all submissions and make revisions as necessary, based on Council direction and community input.

The next steps are to conduct public workshops to seek additional public input on the draft district maps. The following dates are scheduled:

• Wednesday, December 1, 2021, 6:00 p.m. at the City Hall Community Room
• Saturday, January 8, 2022, 10:00 a.m. Location TBD.

Every 10 years, local governments use new data from the Census to redraw their district lines to reflect how local populations have changed. State law requires cities and counties to engage communities in the redistricting process by holding public hearings and doing public outreach, including to underrepresented and non-English-speaking communities.

The City of Costa Mesa is seeking the public’s help to plan and draw new City district maps that will define the six City of Costa Mesa district borders. These new districts will impact how to elect Council Members for the next 10 years.

Learn more about future meetings and how the public can participate at www.redistrictcostamesa.org