Laserfiche WebLink
a pie into four equal easy to understand pieces. He challenged the Council to declare for residents why <br /> any other plans would be a better option. <br /> Herb Ritter expressed his hope that all future district-elected Councilmembers will make decisions for <br /> the good of the entire city. He encouraged the Council to choose the best map based on the lowest <br /> population deviation, having four easy quadrants, having easily identifiable boundaries, following <br /> arterial streets to not divide neighborhoods, and staying away from gerrymandering to support current <br /> Councilmembers. He endorsed the Lime Plan for best following these criteria. He added, in the Lime <br /> Plan District 2 should be saved for a 2024 vote due to having the highest African-American and Asian- <br /> Pacific Islander (API) population with Districts 1 and 4 voting in 2022 when their current <br /> Councilmembers either term out or are up for reelection. <br /> Pamela Hardy Alpert endorsed the Lime Plan, echoing the comments of all of the previous speakers. <br /> She cited its ease of identification for residents and how easy it would be to defend in court if that were <br /> needed. She endorsed having Districts 1 and 3 vote in 2022. <br /> Mayor Brown stated she would let staff answer Ms. Aplert's inquiry about not including the Merritt <br /> property later in the meeting. <br /> Sandy Yamaoda endorsed the Yellow Map. She reported she resides in The Meadows and added her <br /> district would be cohesive. She commended how the Yellow Map divides downtown along Main Street <br /> and noted the population deviations are pretty good. <br /> Jill Buck did not endorse a single map and noted flaws in many of the maps under consideration. She <br /> noted the Yamaoda Map has the entire west side of the city standing as a single unwieldy district while <br /> the Blue and Purple Maps have the entire south side of the city in a single unwieldy district. She stated <br /> people naturally think about quadrants when they hear "four districts." She stated the Yellow Map uses <br /> too many residential streets as dividers providing jagged and confusing boundaries. She stated the <br /> Orange and Tangerine Plans lack the quadrant feel for their crisscrossing shapes and for having an <br /> excessive three districts representing downtown. She added the Tangerine and Orange Maps may <br /> have political allure for keeping all of the current Councilmembers separated but decried this as being a <br /> potential reason for adoption. She stated the Lime Plan makes sense to her. <br /> Scott Miner endorsed the comments made by Mr. Hirst in support of the Lime Plan. He lauded its <br /> simplistic north-south, east-west element. He reported his initial vision for a perfect map would have <br /> split downtown into four quadrants in a similar manner and the Lime Plan comes closest. He suggested <br /> each district could receive equal quantities of the future growth stemming from the Housing Element to <br /> help spread it around the city and not concentrate growth in a single area. He added the Lime Plan <br /> would ensure two districts are impacted directly by matters related to Interstate 580, 1-680, and the City <br /> of Livermore, instead of just a single directly concerned Councilmember. He encouraged whoever ends <br /> up with his Shadow Cliffs neighborhood should look into refurbishing that East Bay Regional Park site. <br /> PUBLIC HEARING <br /> 1. Receive input from the community regarding boundaries and composition of districts to be <br /> established for City Councilmember district-based elections pursuant to Elections Code Section <br /> 10010 and provide direction regarding final district boundaries and the proposed sequence of <br /> elections <br /> Mayor Brown noted there was strong public support for the Lime and Green Plans. <br /> City Attorney Dan Sodergren stated consultant Michael Wagaman, Principal of Wagaman Strategies, <br /> has a presentation to make before the City Council asks questions. <br /> City Council Minutes Page 2 of 14 February 24, 2022 <br />