7.4. SR 03-19-2012REQUEST FOR ACTION
TO ITEM NUMBER
Ma or and Ci Council 7.4
AGENDA SECTION MEETING DATE PREPARED BY
Public Hearings March 19, 2012 Tina Allard, City Clerk
ustin Femrite, Ci En ~ eer
ITEM DESCRIPTION REVIEWED B)/
Options for Establishing New Ward Boundaries for City of Elk Cal Portner, Ci Administrator
River REVIEWED BY
ACTION REQUESTED
1. Mayor Dietz to open this item for public comment.
2. Council is asked to provide staff with direction on the selection of ward boundaries for
redistricting.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
Following the Census every 10 years local governments are required to redraw their election districts so
representation among the districts remains as equal as possible.
I~ardr
A ward is an election district within the city from which members of the City Council are elected. Cities
with wards must redistrict their wards after the federal census for the purposes of providing for equal
representation among all the city wards. Elk River has four wards.
Who is Affected by City Redistricting
^ Wards 1, 2, 3, and 4
^ Sherburne County
^ School District #728
Sherburne County and school district staff have been notified and asked to provide any comment to the
city's redistricting options. They are required to redistrict after the city completes its redistricting.
Redistricting Requirements
When redistricting, the following requirements must be met:
^ Wards must be compact and contiguous.
^ Ward boundaries must follow visible, clearly recognizable physical features such as roads, rivers,
railways, shorelines, and ditches or any other line which is clearly visible from the ground. A street
or other roadway which has been platted but not graded is not a visible, clearly recognizable
physical feature.
^ Wards must be as equal in population as practicable.
^ Wards must be drawn on census block lines.
rewE~~a ar
N:\Departments\Administrative Services\Administration\Elections\Redistricting\2011\031912 CC Staff Report.docx ~'
Other considerationr.•
^ Preserve political subdivisions such as neighborhoods.
^ Preserve communities of interest.
^ Not protect or pair up incumbents.
Comments Received
1. Option 1-Prefer to have the boundary be County Road 13, at least up to Nowthen Boulevard.
If Option t is selected, adjustments will need to be made to other wards to accommodate the shift.
2. Option 2-Can County Road 13 be the boundary all the way up? (east side-Ward 4, west side-Ward
2). Prefer streets to be boundaries.
If Option 2 is selected, the boundary could be adjusted to run along County Road 73. This avould move about 60
people firm Lard 4 into Ward 2. No other boundaries would need to be moved to accommodate this change.
Staff Recommendation
Staff would recommend going with Option 2 or something similar for the following reasons.
^ Has most compact and contiguous wards.
^ Works best with polling location options.
^ Wards 2 and 4 have the most growth potential in the next 10 years and are slightly lower in
population, which would be more accommodating to growth. Ward 4 will likely grow in
population quicker than Ward 2 due to currently platted, vacant inventory that is available.
^ Is the most representative of communities of like interest. Wards 1 and 3 consist of more urban
established neighborhoods, whereas Wards 2 and 4 tend to be more rural in nature.
Next Steps
If Council agrees on Option 2, or a similar version, staff will come back to the Apri12 Council meeting
with an ordinance fox establishing the new ward boundaries. We will also come back with a resolution for
establishing precincts and polling locations. Precincts are created for election administrative purposes.
If Council feels more work is needed, a special meeting should be scheduled in order to meet the Apri13
deadline to the state and county.
Ward Redistricting and the City Council
If a ward change causes a Councilmember to be shifted to another ward, the Councilmember is allowed
to continue to serve for the remainder of their term. However, if the Councilmember runs for re-election,
they will need to become a resident of the ward they represent.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There are no major financial impacts at this time. If and when precincts are increased, additional costs
could include items such as election judge staffing, equipment, supplies, polling location rental, etc.
ATTACHMENTS
Three Option Maps
Timeline
N:\Departments\Administrative Services\Administration\Elecdons\Redistricting\2011\031912 CC StaffReportdocx
Timeline
March 1 Information placed on city website and sent in email blasts allowing people to submit
comments.
Information posted at City Hall.
March 19 Review by Council of redistricting plan options.
Public hearing held.
April 2 Council to adopt an ordinance establishing new ward boundaries and a resolution adopting a
precinct plan.
Apri13 Deadline for city to submit plan to state and county.
City to post ward/precinct changes and publish on website.
July 20 Last day to notify voters of polling place changes.
August 14 New ward/precinct boundaries become effective the day of the state primary election.
iq
~
0~
~
~~
~ ~
;
~~
`, ~__
~~
I
~ ~ ~__. ~~~
i
CR 121 4
,''
___,_...
i ';
a
i
,,
m-..~_®__.._
CR 32
tx--~ \~,
B
3
t
'. ~, a°"`
s
Citv of Elk River
CR 33
a . ,p
x ~ ~~:
~ ~ ~~'
`'~~~
8 }-,` ~
~ ~ ~ t
Wards -Option 1
Population
Ward 1 = 5,465
Ward 2 = 5,930
_ __
Ward 3
= 5,573
~~ ,. ~ ~,
~~~~,
~~~~,
.: ,;
~` CR 33
~
~y
j0
;`
f
~
' ~
~
r
..
,
•
--_
fiver
i
A
y
i
_..~___,
~~
~__- ____..__r:__ ~_.a~
..., }
i
1
Citv of Elk River
2012 Redistricting
Option 2
Populat
fiver
I~
--_ ~~~
CR 32
a~
Citv of Elk River
~.
Ward -Option 3
'~~
Population ~~'
Ward 1 = 5,508 ~/
Ward 2 = 6,010 city of
Ward 3 = 6,131 Elk ^~--~
® Ward 4 = 5,325 R1Ver
~(
G~
9~.~
J
n
I~
J
iA" 3 ~ „E ` ~` ~_f ; . ~I
~ I
*,
,~
~~n~~~~~~4e -..-~ -- - " -
WARD RDLIISD.4RIE5
PRECINCT RDUVD,4AIES -
^ WARD ~ WARD MAP
• Prc<MI I A C ry Hall - 13(MG Dmm+Parkwey
•Prc.incl 9 ln'reJ \ICIM1Odial CM1Yrch 1309 Main Srcccl
^ WARD 2
• Prcc ic:'<A - Ria'er of Life Cbunh-? IF95 Elk Iske Rred
.Prcnn<I?R- \ICadowvalc School-12'IUI Elk lzkc Road
^ WARD 3
•I'rec na lA- Ivm: Send Sclronl » $Jwol Street
•Pncinc: JR - Linne Park Center- I'IR1 Lion'. Park Drire
WARD 4
• Pncnu~ 4A - Tw:n Lakn~ Cbrisuan Axumblic. ofCrod Cbw.:b - 18913 Twin Lakce R:wd YW
•Preiinc~ 4R - Cbweb r,f 51..4:Mrew- SR6 ilb Slnv~l
~I i
d ~
- ,J
- ~~
__ '~;~~
-._ 3 -
~ dri
r ~, V
iii
: /.,,
-- ~ .f I ~~
5 e
7i
1 1 ~..~ ~ r -.. ~i
A.
~~
g ~i = ~I -.
x ~ se ~ ~ I $I,~ ~. ,