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COURTESY IMAGEThe Santa Barbara City Council has approved this map, which shows the districts that elect council members.
In a unanimous decision Tuesday, the Santa Barbara City Council approved a redistricting map divvying up the city into six distinct districts.
A three-judge Independent Redistricting Commission unanimously picked the DEC Community of Interest Plan last month. It has a total population deviation of 7.4%.
The council then, on Tuesday, approved the map, thanking the commission for its work with the community and stakeholders.
Councilmember Kristen Sneddon noted the new map, based on 2020 Census data, is not much different from current boundary lines but is more legally sound.
“The care that you took for our city in taking the time to tour our different districts to really listen to the concerns of the community … with each iteration of meetings, how you were able to adjust and take into account the concerns of the community was really remarkable,” Councilmember Sneddon said.
Under this map, District 1 is focused on the Eastside community but does have a presence on State Street and East Beach, including the Funk Zone. District 2 includes the Mesa and keeps all of West Beach. That district extends east of Modoc Road.
District 3 includes the Westside as well as La Cumbre Junior High School and the Westside Neighborhood Center.
District 4 includes a small coastal presence and is centered on the Riviera. District 5 also has a small coastal presence but remains largely in the upper State Street area and includes the airport.
District 6 includes the downtown area without crossing the freeway.
District 1 has a Latino citizen voting-age population (CVAP) of 50.4% whereas District 3 has a Latino CVAP of 43.4%. The minority CVAP for District 3 is 50%.
Population deviation refers to the difference in population sizes among districts. The current district map for Santa Barbara has a population deviation of nearly 20%, much higher than the 10% threshold deemed to be constitutional, according to demographer Daniel Phillips.
The commission held multiple public meetings, making tweaks to various redistricting proposals along the way.
Santa Barbara’s city charter stipulated the council approve the commission’s map without amendments. It is now subject to voter referendum, according to a council agenda report.
email: kschallhorn@newspress.com
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