CC MIN 02242022 - Laserfiche WebLink

Mr. Wagaman confirmed the Tangerine Map splits the Lund Ranch neighborhood because the census geography does not respect neighborhoods in this portion of town creating what was referred to as a cauliflower ear at the last meeting. In response to Mayor Brown's inquiries, Mr. Wagaman displayed on his mapping tool how keeping Lund Ranch whole would require moving a larger section of land to District 4, dividing other neighborhoods in the process. He displayed how moving Bondi Ranch into District 3 also creates an awkward divider. He added the unfortunate census geography makes this area of town a challenge. He reported moving the boundary to Bernal Avenue would impact about 1,300 residents. He clarified all of the maps use census blocks. He added in most of the city the census blocks do a good job of respecting neighborhoods, but they do not conform to neighborhood boundaries in this more rural and recently developed portion of the city. Councilmember Balch stated he also has a problem with the cauliflower ear divider using residential streets. He noted Mayor Brown disliked using Valley Avenue as a divider in her comments about the Lime Plan but contrastingly stated Danbury Park and Ironwood neighborhoods look more like the Mohr Avenue area than the industrial park on the other side of the sound wall. He added Valley Avenue has sound walls and large intersections separating the two neighborhoods Mayor Brown stated were similar. Councilmember Balch stated in the interest of cooperation, solving the Danbury Park, Ironwood, and Bondi Ranch challenges could help. He added, similar to not wanting to separate Del Prado, the Tangerine Map separates three neighborhoods from their areas of interest. He added the Tangerine Plan has a higher deviation and is problematic explaining to a voter what district they live in. He commended the Lime Plan's simplicity. Councilmember Balch commended the Cherry Plan for using Hopyard Road and addressing the Danbury Park, Ironwood, and Bondi Ranch challenges. He questioned how the Tangerine Plan is superior to the Lime Plan when it cuts off three neighborhoods on residential streets while arguing sound walls do not divide neighborhoods. He stated he cannot support the Tangerine Plan. In response to Mayor Brown's inquiry, Councilmember Balch stated Danbury Park is not a gated neighborhood. He noted Ironwood being in District 4 requires crossing a major road and an industrial park. He added Danbury Park is more appropriate to go with Willow West to the north than going south across sound walls on Valley Avenue. He stated Ironwood should be with Jensen Tract. Mayor Brown stated Ironwood is nothing like Jensen Tract. In response to Councilmember Testa's inquiries, Mr. Wagaman clarified census blocks are the smallest level of geography used for census reports. He stated if he splits a census block in half, he can no longer confirm whether or not the districts are of equal size. He clarified they could tinker to get more of Bondi Ranch into a single district, but they cannot get all of Bondi Ranch into a single district through a simple means. He stated the districts have to be contiguous and added federal geography is not helpful in this portion of the city. He added that in 2026 residents will be able to suggest new blocks for the 2030 United States census which could make Pleasanton's 2031 redistricting process easier. He confirmed they could use Bernal Avenue as a boundary, but it would require ripple effect changes elsewhere on the map. Councilmember Testa and Mayor Brown lamented the complexity of what should be a simple process to remove the cauliflower ear. In response to Councilmember Arkin's inquiries, Mr. Wagaman stated if he moved Danbury Park and Ironwood to the Tangerine Plan's District 2, it would have an illegal deviation of +13%. He added if he City Council Minutes Page 7 of 14 February 24, 2022