The city is in the middle of its decennial redistricting effort, to realign city council district boundaries to equalize the size of the various districts. City Clerk Zeb Navarro visited South O on Jan. 25, to highlight the 2022 redistricting effort for the bimonthly meeting of the South Oceanside Community and Merchants Association.
On Wednesday Feb. 2, the hearings and workshops will make their only appearance in South O’s district (District 3), in a 6pm workshop at Lincoln Middle School, 2000 California St., Oceanside.
As in previous years, the boundaries must be set (according to state law) to have similar population, contiguous territory, follow natural boundaries, and respect communities of interest.
When the first districts were picked in 2017 — in response to a threatened lawsuit by a shakedown lawyer — Save South O was involved in the process. In the midst of South O’s (largely successful) fight against imposing the Coast Highway “Road Diet” on South O, we asked to be placed in a different district than Seaside/Townsite, where residents sought the Road Diet (less cars, less road capacity, more walking/bikes). That desire was granted, in that the northern boundary of District 3 is Oceanside Blvd, and almost all of the area South of Oceanside Blvd. is in District 3.
District 3 is now the biggest district in the city and nearly 5% too big. The city’s 174,578 residents call for four districts of approximately 43,645 residents, so any approved plan must shed (about) 1,968 residents from District 3. (Under US law, districts are determined by residents and not voters).
Because Communities of Interest are an important (and difficult to define) construct, residents are encouraged to use the process to submit their own boundaries for Communities of Interest (COI) that should be used in setting boundaries. The city uses this definition:
A COI is a group of people in a defined geographic location that share a common bond or interest. A Community of Interest is defined as “a contiguous population which shares common social and economic interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of fair and effective representation.” Please tell us what defines your Community of Interest, where it is located, and why it should stay together.
For example, most South O residents would consider South O and the West side of Fire Mountain to share a Community of Interest — in terms of schools, traffic, freeway access, and shopping.
If possible, residents should attend Wednesday’s hearing. No matter what, residents are encouraged to submit their information (using the city’s process) no later than Feb. 10, so that it is considered in making the initial draft maps.
Save South O 