[0:42] i

[0:47] otherwise.

[0:50] Ok here we go.

[0:50] I

[0:52] m gonna call

[0:53] The meeting back to order. Can

[0:55] I have roll call again please.

[1:06] Yeah.

[1:08] Councilmember Woods here,

[1:10] Council Member Jones. I am here.

[1:11] Council member Copeland, he

[1:11] s

[1:12] here, he

[1:13] s just in the back

[1:15] still. Vice Mayor Honeycutt,

[1:16] Mayor Henson, I

[1:17] m here and

[1:18] everybody can please stand with

[1:19] me for the Pledge of Allegiance.

[1:26] I pledge allegiance to the flag

[1:27] of the United States of America

[1:29] and to the Republic for which

[1:33] it stands. One nation under GOD,

[1:34] indivisible with liberty and

[1:37] justice for all.

[1:38] Can I please have the closed

[1:39] session report? Yes, thank you,

[1:40] Mayor. There

[1:41] s no action to

[1:42] report this evening from closed

[1:43] session. Thank you. Is there

[1:45] any public business from the

[1:47] floor and any item for members

[1:49] that are here in person for any

[1:51] item that is not on the agenda.

[1:54] If so, please come forward.

[1:56] See, none, do we have any Zoom

[1:56] attendees who

[1:57] d like to make a

[2:01] comment? Oh.

[2:06] Hi, come on up, Pam.

[2:09] Thank you.

[2:11] For my slowness, but this is

[2:13] for our community foundation.

[2:15] This is like our gala that we

[2:17] used to have at night. We

[2:18] re

[2:20] having this this Sunday, and

[2:20] it

[2:21] s the 13th. It

[2:23] ll be from 2

[2:23] to 6 o

[2:24] clock, and it

[2:25] s at the

[2:28] sports basement, and we have

[2:29] Vegas Entertainment of Tom

[2:32] Jones. We have tickets prices

[2:37] starting at $20 to $100 and we

[2:40] have great silent auction.

[2:43] Secret baskets, so, um,

[2:43] everybody

[2:45] s invited and it

[2:45] s

[2:47] very close and there

[2:48] ll be food

[2:50] to purchase, and we have a bar.

[2:53] What else do we have?

[2:56] Oh yeah, ok, I, I MAY have

[2:59] forgotten a few things, but

[3:03] this is where the money that

[3:05] you donate to us comes back to

[3:07] your community, and we had uh

[3:10] do scholarships. We do seniors

[3:12] outreach, and we do holiday

[3:15] outreach and we do music in the

[3:16] parks. I forgot that the last

[3:19] time I did my thing. Thank you.

[3:21] Thank you, Pam. Any other

[3:22] public business from the floor

[3:23] for anybody that

[3:23] s in the

[3:25] audience.

[3:28] See, Nan, do we have any, um,

[3:28] Zoom attendees who would like

[3:31] to make a comment?

[3:32] No Zoom attendees. Thank you so

[3:34] much. Um, did I ask for the

[3:35] closed session report yet? I

[3:39] think I did. Ok, great. Um, uh,

[3:39] MADAM City Clerk, can you

[3:40] please tell us what is on our

[3:42] agenda tonight. Yes, tonight we

[3:44] have 4 presentations, 1 public

[3:45] hearing item and 2 items on our

[3:47] consent calendar.

[3:48] Ok, very good. Thank you. We

[3:49] ll

[3:49] go to presentations. We

[3:50] ll

[3:50] start with the mayor

[3:59] s minute.

[4:01] High Signal Hill, Mayor Tina

[4:02] Hanson here to bring you

[4:04] another segment of the mayor

[4:04] s

[4:06] Minute where share quick

[4:06] updates on what

[4:07] s happening

[4:08] around the city. I

[4:09] m here at

[4:12] our amazing Signal Hill Public

[4:15] Library SEPTEMBER is library

[4:16] card sign up month. Don

[4:16] t MISS

[4:18] Out. Grab your Signal Hill

[4:19] library card and let the

[4:21] excitement unfold. Plus

[4:23] throughout SEPTEMBER, all new

[4:24] patrons who sign up for a

[4:26] library card will receive a

[4:27] complimentary black bear diner

[4:29] cubs meal certificate for.

[4:30] A kids

[4:31] meal, seniors don

[4:31] t

[4:33] MISS Out on the great programs

[4:35] and resources available for you

[4:36] at the Signal Hill Public

[4:38] Library. If you haven

[4:38] t already,

[4:41] be sure to subscribe to the

[4:43] senior scoop newsletter, a

[4:46] monthly update with City News

[4:47] senior social club activities

[4:49] and the upcoming excursions,

[4:51] and they always sell out, so

[4:53] plan early. Subscribe on our

[4:55] city website or visit our

[4:57] friendly Parks, recreation, and

[4:59] library services staff if you

[4:59] need help.

[5:00] Signing up to get the

[5:02] newsletter and they are always

[5:03] happy to help you. I

[5:03] m excited

[5:05] to invite you to the mayor

[5:05] s

[5:08] fall cleanup event on Saturday,

[5:11] OCTOBER 3rd from 9 A.M. To 11

[5:11] a.M. We

[5:13] ll meet at Cress Park,

[5:17] which is located at 2451

[5:19] California Avenue. Check-in

[5:21] begins at 9:00 A.M. Followed by

[5:24] a brief orientation at 9:10

[5:25] A.M. We

[5:26] ll provide water, light

[5:28] snacks, trash bags, gloves, and

[5:29] grabbers.

[5:31] Just bring your energy and

[5:33] community spirit. We encourage

[5:34] youth to participate,

[5:36] especially if they need

[5:38] community service hours just

[5:39] remember, a signed waiver from

[5:41] a parent or a guardian is

[5:43] required for details, call the

[5:44] Community Development

[5:45] Department.

[5:48] Youth ages 17 and under who

[5:50] participate will be eligible to

[5:51] receive a free wristband to

[5:53] enjoy the Halloween carnival,

[5:55] which is quickly coming up on

[5:58] Saturday, OCTOBER 4th, 2026.

[5:59] Mark your calendars for

[6:00] Thursday, OCTOBER 1st. I

[6:01] m

[6:02] inviting you to join me at this

[6:03] year

[6:05] s State of the City, a

[6:07] time to celebrate our progress,

[6:08] share our achievements, and

[6:10] talk about the bright future

[6:12] that is ahead for Signal Hill.

[6:14] For more information, please

[6:15] email our park.

[6:17] Recreation and library services

[6:19] department. I look forward to

[6:20] seeing you at the State of the

[6:21] City until the next mayor

[6:21] s

[6:24] minute. Have a great day have a

[6:25] great start back to school if

[6:26] that

[6:26] s what you

[6:27] re doing and

[6:28] enjoy all the great things

[6:30] happening here in Signal Hill.

[6:30] And let

[6:31] s give Cindy a round of

[6:36] applause for her work on the.

[6:38] So that one was exceptionally

[6:40] long, I will say that. So, ok.

[6:42] Um, the next item is the

[6:43] Hispanic Heritage Month

[6:45] presentation, I believe our

[6:46] library staff will be coming up.

[7:06] Good evening, Honorable Mayor

[7:08] and members of the city council,

[7:10] uh, tonight we will share an

[7:13] overview of the upcoming

[7:16] programs or upcoming programs

[7:17] organized by the library in

[7:19] celebration of Hispanic

[7:20] Heritage Month. I will now turn

[7:22] over the mic over to our

[7:25] library specialist, Alicia Dana.

[7:30] Good evening, Honorable Mayor

[7:31] and members of the city council.

[7:35] In 1968, PRESIDENT Lyndon Bean

[7:37] Johnson officially established

[7:38] Hispanic Heritage Week,

[7:40] designating SEPTEMBER 15th to

[7:41] honor the independence

[7:43] anniversaries of Costa Rica, El

[7:46] Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,

[7:47] Nicaragua, and Mexico. Two

[7:49] decades later, this

[7:50] presidential proclamation was

[7:51] revised to extend the

[7:53] observance from a week to a

[7:54] whole month. Hispanic Heritage

[7:56] Month brought in its focus to

[7:58] celebrate traditions, stories,

[7:59] and accomplishments of Hispanic

[8:04] and Latino Americans.

[8:06] Every Monday we offer Spanish

[8:08] story time, uh, program open to

[8:10] both native Spanish speakers

[8:11] and children interested in

[8:13] learning Spanish led by our

[8:14] bilingual library staff. This

[8:15] program features engaging

[8:17] stories, music, and crafts. On

[8:19] Tuesday evenings, we offer a

[8:21] high energy Zumba dance workout

[8:22] inspired by Latin music, space

[8:26] is available.

[8:27] To kick off our Hispanic

[8:28] Heritage Month celebration,

[8:30] families can join us for an

[8:31] evening of loteria, a

[8:33] traditional Mexican game of

[8:35] chance similar to bingo on

[8:37] Tuesday, SEPTEMBER 15th,

[8:38] participants will have the

[8:39] opportunity to win fun prizes

[8:41] and light refreshments will be

[8:41] provided.

[8:42] This program is one of the

[8:43] several programs this month

[8:44] that is generously sponsored by

[8:46] the Signal Hill Community

[8:50] Foundation.

[8:51] Then on Wednesday, SEPTEMBER

[8:53] 16th, stop at the Za courtyard

[8:55] for a first installment of

[8:57] Super Bowls. This program is

[8:58] designated to teach patrons how

[8:59] to make healthy meals. They

[8:59] re

[9:01] both filling and budget

[9:02] friendly. This month we are

[9:03] learning how to make sopa de

[9:08] fideo or Mexican noodle soup.

[9:09] On Monday, OCTOBER 2nd,

[9:11] Zaniniza will be joining us as

[9:13] a special guest for Spanish

[9:14] Story Time Magic Fiesta will

[9:15] dazzle children of all ages

[9:20] with wild tricks and illusions.

[9:21] Next, on Monday, OCTOBER 12th,

[9:22] the Museum of Latin American

[9:24] Art will return to the library

[9:26] for the 4th consecutive year to

[9:28] host an interactive and

[9:29] educational workshops suitable

[9:31] for all ages. Participants will

[9:32] explore various art styles

[9:34] popularized by modern Latin

[9:34] American artists and we

[9:35] ll have

[9:36] the opportunity to create their

[9:38] own artwork inspired by the

[9:41] featured artists.

[9:42] Right after the Mola workshop,

[9:44] we invite everyone to

[9:46] participate in music of ancient

[9:48] Mexico. Attendees will have the

[9:48] opportunity to learn about

[9:50] indigenous music styles and

[9:52] play handcrafted instruments

[9:53] alongside musician Martin

[9:53] Espino.

[9:55] We extend our gratitudes to the

[9:56] Signal Hill Community

[9:57] Foundation for sponsoring this

[9:58] program and for their support

[10:00] in our mission to provide a

[10:01] diverse range of cultural

[10:02] groups that promote lifelong

[10:05] learning.

[10:07] Finally, library patrons can

[10:09] explore a special curated

[10:10] booklist in our catalog. This

[10:12] list features a variety of

[10:13] fiction, nonfiction titles for

[10:15] children, teens and adults.

[10:17] Available in various formats in

[10:20] both English and Spanish.

[10:22] We hope to see you at our

[10:24] upcoming program celebrating

[10:25] Hispanic Heritage Month. Thank

[10:27] you for your time. I

[10:27] m

[10:28] available for questions. Great

[10:29] presentation, so many great

[10:30] activities. Do we have any

[10:31] questions from council?

[10:33] No.

[10:35] All right, thank you so much,

[10:40] yay.

[10:41] Nobody can say there isn

[10:41] t

[10:44] anything to do in our city,

[10:44] that

[10:45] s for sure. Um, the

[10:46] Rancho

[10:47] s Walk presentation.

[10:49] Good evening, Mayor and members

[10:50] of the city council. Next, I

[10:51] d

[10:52] like to introduce Larry Rich,

[10:55] who is the city of Long Beach

[10:57] sustainable sustainability

[10:58] manager to discuss the rancho

[10:59] s

[11:01] walk.

[11:02] Good evening Mayor Hanson and

[11:03] members of the city council

[11:04] city city council. Um, I

[11:04] m

[11:06] Larry with the City of Long

[11:07] Beach. Um, we

[11:09] re having our 8th,

[11:09] uh, Rancho

[11:12] s walk, which is a

[11:14] urban hike that goes from one

[11:17] rancho to the other, so the

[11:18] Rancho historic sites in Long

[11:19] Beach, the one in the northwest

[11:21] is Rancho Los Cerritos. This

[11:22] year the The walk will start

[11:24] there, and the other ranchos,

[11:27] Rancho Los Alamitos, uh, to the

[11:30] southeast, um, and this is a 9

[11:31] mile trail that.

[11:32] As much as possible to follow

[11:34] the high ground, the

[11:35] topographic high over the top

[11:38] of Signal Hill and and sort of

[11:41] like a crest trail. And so

[11:43] while the full trail is 9 miles,

[11:44] we have options for people to

[11:46] start at a 6 mile starting

[11:47] point, which is at Willow

[11:48] Springs Park, or a 3 mile

[11:51] starting point, which is

[11:52] Reservoir Hill near Redondo and

[11:54] pch. So the path, uh, goes

[11:57] through the city of Signal Hill,

[11:59] um, and in particular, uh,

[12:01] right by Hilltop Park.

[12:03] Where people have the option to

[12:06] pause and take in the views, uh,

[12:08] but many people just keep on

[12:10] walking, uh, because they got a

[12:13] ways to go yet. Um, we opened

[12:15] our registration so far we

[12:15] ve

[12:17] got just one weekend. We

[12:19] ve got

[12:22] 352 registrants last year we

[12:25] had about 550 participants

[12:26] starting at all three of those

[12:27] different locations. And this

[12:29] year, the, you know, the theme

[12:31] is, is history. The walk, um.

[12:33] People have the option of

[12:35] downloading an audio tour. So

[12:35] we

[12:38] ll be focused in on various

[12:40] aspects of history prompted by

[12:40] things that you see along the

[12:42] route.

[12:42] So that

[12:43] s it. If you have any

[12:45] questions for me. Um, are there,

[12:47] is there any like station at

[12:48] Hilltop Park for water or

[12:49] anything or is everybody just

[12:51] on their own for the walk, um,

[12:53] when it comes to Hilltop Park,

[12:53] they

[12:55] re on their own just in

[12:57] terms of having access to the

[12:59] existing drinking fountains and,

[13:01] and the bathroom facility there.

[13:03] We do provide porta potties and

[13:05] water stations at the two other

[13:07] intermediate locations. So at

[13:08] Willow Springs Park, those

[13:10] amenities are are set up and at

[13:11] Reservoir Hill as well. Ok, any

[13:12] other questions?

[13:15] Questions? No.

[13:17] All right, great, yes, right,

[13:18] yeah, great event. Thank you so

[13:20] much. Thank you.

[13:21] Um, street.

[13:23] Name, sign, presentation.

[13:24] Woo woo.

[13:26] Wot woot.

[13:34] Mm

[13:35] Good evening, Mayor and City

[13:36] council members. Tonight

[13:36] s

[13:38] presentation will go over an

[13:40] update on the street name sign

[13:43] project and design.

[13:45] Just as a quick recap, as it

[13:45] s

[13:46] been a busy construction season

[13:48] for us. Last year, the city

[13:50] prepared several designs with

[13:51] support from its on-call

[13:52] consultant. The goal was to

[13:55] develop 6 options for overhead

[13:56] mounted and post-mounted

[13:57] signage and whittle them down

[13:58] to the design that suits the

[14:00] city.

[14:01] There are two kinds of signage

[14:02] that would be replaced as part

[14:03] of this project. It

[14:04] s split

[14:06] between two phases, phase 1,

[14:08] phase 2, respectively. Phase

[14:09] one is the overhead mast arm

[14:10] signage on the left hand side

[14:12] and then phase two is all the

[14:14] local street post mounted

[14:14] signage, and what we

[14:15] re

[14:17] focusing on now is phase one.

[14:18] Ok

[14:20] We started with the 6 different

[14:21] designs and based on staff and

[14:22] council feedback, we opted to

[14:25] go forward with the layt of

[14:27] option c with the color scheme

[14:29] of option a for legibility.

[14:31] So option a is that upper left.

[14:33] Option c is at lower, was at

[14:36] lower right. The original

[14:38] concept for c had a base

[14:39] background with black lettering

[14:41] with the signal silhouette as

[14:42] part of the design. It

[14:42] s

[14:44] similar to the monuments,

[14:45] however, it was expressed that

[14:47] white lettering similar to

[14:48] concept a was preferred, and in

[14:50] order to maintain contrast, the

[14:51] teal background was

[14:53] subsequently added to that.

[14:56] Uh, signage. So here, excuse me,

[14:56] here

[14:59] s the revised concept c

[15:00] till background provides better

[15:01] contrast with the white

[15:02] lettering, which is better

[15:04] suited for illuminated signage.

[15:06] It also brings in the lighter

[15:08] blue um from option a, which is

[15:10] similar to the sky color from

[15:12] the city of Signal Hill seal.

[15:14] Circular seal.

[15:15] Here

[15:16] s kind of a neat rendering

[15:17] of our design just to give you

[15:18] a visual of what that might

[15:20] look like at night. Uh, it

[15:22] incorporates, um, use of the

[15:24] city teal color scheme in

[15:26] combination with the cursive

[15:28] city logo and integrates the

[15:29] hilltop silhouette into the

[15:31] background as mentioned, it has

[15:32] that updated white lettering,

[15:34] and we, uh we plan to share

[15:35] these samples and designs and

[15:37] would like to incorporate any

[15:39] comments and adjustments, uh,

[15:40] we would take those comments or

[15:42] any adjustments to a sign

[15:43] manufacturer and vendor to

[15:44] implement that into a final

[15:45] artwork and shop.

[15:46] Drawings.

[15:48] Uh, these sharp drawings would

[15:50] then be the basis of design for

[15:52] a final layouts for each street

[15:54] name sign, so each one will be

[15:55] slightly different, I guess in

[15:57] terms of spacing, but um

[15:59] overall the, the design will be

[16:01] essentially the same.

[16:03] Uh, some considerations that we

[16:04] need to make, uh, with the

[16:06] development of this project is

[16:07] the locations to be installed

[16:09] and just a general type of

[16:10] signage. So there

[16:11] s over 200

[16:12] intersections, 20 of these

[16:13] being signalized, 12 being

[16:15] shared intersections.

[16:17] And ultimately due to the

[16:18] design aesthetic and lighting

[16:19] improvements we have made in

[16:21] other areas of the city. Uh, we

[16:23] did prefer to specify the

[16:25] illuminated signage for the

[16:27] overhead at shared

[16:28] intersections after discussing

[16:30] with our team and our traffic

[16:30] engineer it

[16:31] s typically best to

[16:33] divide the agency signage at

[16:35] intersections by the boundary

[16:36] as best as possible, just for a

[16:38] few reasons, uh, such as better

[16:41] navigation for drivers, clear

[16:42] distinction for emergency

[16:43] response services and then

[16:44] clear boundaries when

[16:46] responding to and reporting.

[16:48] Accidents.

[16:50] So moving on to the budget and

[16:52] time frame for this update this

[16:54] project is funded via traffic

[16:55] impact fees which are generated

[16:56] through development here in the

[16:58] city. We have a signed budget

[17:01] of 617,000 for this project and

[17:03] to manage this rollout uh

[17:05] efficiently this project is, uh,

[17:06] as mentioned, split into two

[17:08] phases. Phase one is the isns.

[17:10] Phase 2 is a local signage, uh,

[17:12] regarding our schedule, we plan

[17:14] to release the material

[17:15] procurement for the rfp this

[17:17] month, and we expect to present

[17:17] contract awards.

[17:19] And the final artwork.

[17:22] Excuse me, in OCTOBER 2026.

[17:24] Once the shop drawings are

[17:26] approved, manufacturing for

[17:27] these overhead ISNSs is

[17:29] expected about 14 to 16 weeks

[17:31] and then finally overhead

[17:32] installations will be

[17:34] accomplished through a separate

[17:36] construction rfp factoring in

[17:37] the manufacturing timeline

[17:37] that

[17:39] s anticipated roughly in

[17:41] FEBRUARY 2027. The reason for

[17:43] that stratification is um just

[17:45] to try and avoid a markup, um,

[17:46] a lot of the signage comes with

[17:47] a markup if it

[17:48] s, if it

[17:48] s

[17:49] bundled together with a

[17:50] contractor, sometimes it could

[17:52] be as high as 10, 15%.

[17:55] So there could be some savings

[17:57] by stratifying it this way.

[17:59] So, um, this project is, you

[18:01] know, serves to have a cohesive

[18:03] standard for a city and also

[18:06] replaces worn and damaged

[18:07] signage contributes towards

[18:09] placemaking and just provides

[18:10] better visible navigational

[18:11] signage.

[18:12] Um, so with that, um, that

[18:14] concludes our presentation and

[18:14] I

[18:15] ll be happy to take note of

[18:17] any suggestions or questions

[18:18] that we can make, uh, to the

[18:20] signs at this time, my one

[18:21] question is.

[18:23] I assume the budget covers if

[18:25] we pick the most expensive sign.

[18:25] So that

[18:27] s like the highest end

[18:29] of the budget could go.

[18:32] Yeah, so, this, this covers

[18:35] basically, um, a, a variety of

[18:36] options. Um, there

[18:37] s a 6 ft

[18:39] design and then an 8 ft design,

[18:39] so it

[18:41] s the estimate is based

[18:42] on a combination of, of both.

[18:44] So the design is just based on

[18:45] the character length, so this

[18:47] one that you see here, uh, this

[18:49] is, uh, this is a 6 ft design,

[18:49] but there could be some other

[18:51] ones that are slightly longer,

[18:53] a little bit more expensive, so

[18:55] we kind of based it off the uh

[18:56] total character lengths.

[18:58] Here, do you have a question?

[19:00] Um, ok, so.

[19:01] I see blue, green, and white,

[19:03] right?

[19:07] Um, is that our Signal Hill?

[19:09] Blue-green is the hill, or is

[19:11] the sky a light version of our

[19:13] Signal Hill Blue.

[19:15] The sky is, is kind of meant to

[19:18] be more like the, the city seal

[19:20] like sky, um, and this, this

[19:22] steel is, is our Cigna health

[19:23] when you turn on the, that was

[19:26] what I was looking for. So it,

[19:26] it

[19:27] s very similar to the teal

[19:28] that you

[19:29] re showing in the uh.

[19:31] On the monument sign up in your

[19:32] slide.

[19:34] Yeah, this, this one, I, I

[19:36] think the, the coloring here is

[19:38] maybe slightly, uh, I think

[19:38] it

[19:40] s bn altered in the photos

[19:42] modified, but it, it

[19:42] s actually

[19:45] more of a teal color. Ok, yeah,

[19:46] ok, um, so it

[19:47] s consistent with

[19:49] our other signage coloring that

[19:50] we do throughout the city. So

[19:52] then my other question is, is

[19:55] that, um, are there.

[19:57] Color contrast requirements

[19:59] from the Department of

[20:01] Transportation to, you know,

[20:02] for instance, does there have

[20:03] to be enough difference between

[20:05] the foreground color and the

[20:06] background color for people

[20:08] that are visually impaired, and

[20:09] does this meet those

[20:10] requirements? Yes, uh, so

[20:11] generally you have to be able

[20:13] to see it from a visibility of

[20:15] about 300 ft, um, so that

[20:16] s,

[20:16] that

[20:18] s pretty much the only

[20:19] limitation that there is um

[20:21] there is some um limitations on

[20:23] on certain types of fonts like

[20:23] you can

[20:25] t use like uh.

[20:26] Certain types of serif fonts

[20:28] and things like that, but other

[20:29] than that, it

[20:30] s just visibility

[20:33] from a distance and uh and it

[20:33] s

[20:34] some specific restrictions, so

[20:35] we

[20:35] re, we

[20:36] re all in the good

[20:38] with this now with the font and

[20:40] the colors and yeah. Ok, great.

[20:41] It looks amazing. I think we

[20:44] need to take a photo with it.

[20:44] Thank you. Now we

[20:45] re at the end.

[20:47] Well, whenever.

[20:48] Anyone else want to take a

[20:50] photo with the new signs, yeah,

[20:52] and, and, and these will be on

[20:55] all of our residential streets.

[20:55] Yes, yes, so it

[20:56] s pretty

[20:56] exciting. It

[20:57] ll definitely when

[21:00] you drive into Signal Hill,

[21:00] you

[21:01] ll clearly know you

[21:01] re in

[21:03] Signal Hill, which, uh, it will

[21:05] really differentiate us from

[21:06] our neighboring cities sign

[21:08] combinations.

[21:09] Any more questions for staff?

[21:11] So are we picking a design?

[21:11] What are we doing tonight? What

[21:12] do you need from us tonight?

[21:13] He

[21:15] s just given us an update.

[21:15] It

[21:16] s an update and if there

[21:16] s

[21:18] anything, you know, any, um, I

[21:20] guess, uh, adjustments that you

[21:21] see as far as coloring like I

[21:22] mean I heard a, you know,

[21:24] comment to make sure the

[21:25] coloring was, was matching what

[21:27] our other signage is, so we

[21:27] ll

[21:28] make sure, but yeah, this is,

[21:30] this is essentially that color.

[21:32] When, when did this, because i

[21:33] remember seeing designs. I

[21:34] remember discussing this and

[21:35] talking about coloring. So when

[21:37] was that? When did this last

[21:38] come to council? This was

[21:39] roughly last summer.

[21:41] I want to say last summer, ok,

[21:42] yeah, I remember.

[21:44] Uh, we, we narrowed it down

[21:46] then from several different

[21:48] options. Ok.

[21:50] Gambino.

[21:52] Like to just add um so

[21:54] essentially this this sign is,

[21:55] is we wanted to showcase it

[21:56] really. It

[21:57] s roughly 95% of the

[21:59] way there, there are gonna be

[22:01] some, some slight adjustments,

[22:03] um, so as far as the coloring,

[22:04] uh, it does look a little

[22:06] pastelly we believe that the

[22:08] that the contractor or the

[22:09] vendor really can get the

[22:10] colors a little dialed in.

[22:12] Um, there are some borders that

[22:13] are going to be added.

[22:14] Um, to the sign itself, and

[22:15] we

[22:16] re going to be fixing to the

[22:18] contour of the of the actual

[22:21] hill, um, so come in OCTOBER

[22:21] when we

[22:22] re ready to award,

[22:22] we

[22:23] re gonna be providing the

[22:26] council with a submittal that

[22:27] shows what the sign will look

[22:29] like at the end, um, really

[22:30] today was, was just to show

[22:33] what the what a retroreflective

[22:34] sign looks like what this sign

[22:36] looks like uh lit up and then

[22:37] also to get any sort of

[22:38] feedback that the council MAY

[22:39] have.

[22:41] And all the street signs,

[22:42] residential street signs, will

[22:43] also have an illumination to

[22:43] them, right? They won

[22:45] t be lit,

[22:45] but they

[22:47] ll be reflective. Yes,

[22:47] they

[22:48] ll be retroreflective,

[22:50] correct.

[22:52] Any other questions or comments?

[22:55] All right thank you so much

[22:56] good job yay, round of applause.

[22:59] Yay.

[23:00] Council say after for a quick

[23:02] picture. Sure, ok.

[23:02] Cindy, we

[23:03] re going to take a

[23:04] picture afterwards with the

[23:07] council, ok? Thank you. Um, we

[23:08] have one public hearing tonight,

[23:10] um, just to kind of let the

[23:11] audience know how the public

[23:12] hearing will go. Um, first,

[23:13] we

[23:14] ll have a staff report. Then

[23:16] council has an opportunity to

[23:17] ask any questions after the

[23:18] staff report, uh, then we

[23:19] ll

[23:20] open up the public hearing for

[23:23] those that are in the, uh,

[23:23] public, you

[23:25] ll have 3 minutes

[23:26] to make your comments or ask

[23:27] any questions. If they

[23:27] re

[23:29] questions that can be answered

[23:29] tonight, we

[23:31] ll ask staff to

[23:33] answer those, um, and.

[23:34] Then once, and then we

[23:34] ll also

[23:36] open it up to any Zoom

[23:38] participants that want to make

[23:40] any comment after everybody has

[23:41] made their public comments.

[23:41] I

[23:44] ll come back to counsel for

[23:47] any discussion and or emotion.

[23:49] Um, so we will start with our

[23:50] staff report.

[23:51] Good evening again, Mayor and

[23:53] members of the city council. So,

[23:56] um, as, as you know, uh, the

[23:58] city has initiated the

[23:59] districting process pursuant to

[24:00] a letter that we received

[24:03] earlier this summer. Um, we had

[24:05] a community workshop, uh, last

[24:08] week, uh, which was led by DR.

[24:09] Justin Levitt to provide the

[24:11] community with information

[24:13] regarding the California Voting

[24:15] Rights Act, uh, additional

[24:16] information regarding

[24:18] districting and the mapmaking

[24:20] pro uh process, um, we had

[24:20] about 22.

[24:22] Attendees at that workshop, and

[24:24] this is the follow up to that

[24:25] community outreach we

[24:25] re going

[24:27] to have a total of 4 public

[24:29] hearings. This is the first of

[24:30] 4 public hearings as indicated

[24:32] in our agenda report, we We

[24:33] have two public hearings that

[24:35] do not have maps, and then we

[24:36] have two public hearings, the

[24:39] 3rd and 4th public hearing that

[24:40] have maps. The maps are then

[24:42] adopted by the city council via

[24:44] ordinance at the 4th public

[24:46] hearing. This is the initial

[24:47] part of this process. So what

[24:48] we

[24:49] re going to do this evening

[24:50] is have.

[24:52] Doctor Levitt provide an

[24:53] overview presentation and as

[24:55] the mayor indicated, provide an

[24:57] opportunity for feedback and

[24:58] discussion and answer as many

[24:59] questions as we can regarding

[25:01] the process. So without further

[25:02] ado, uh, Doctor Lovitt, one

[25:04] more question, Carlo, and when

[25:06] do we anticipate the 4th

[25:07] meeting being? The 4th meeting

[25:09] would be the 2nd meeting in

[25:10] OCTOBER.

[25:13] Ok, so basically every meeting

[25:15] between now 2 in SEPTEMBER 2 in

[25:17] October, and then by the end of

[25:17] OCTOBER we

[25:18] ll have chosen a map

[25:20] and moving forward, correct? Ok,

[25:21] thank you.

[25:23] Thank you, uh, Mayor Hanson,

[25:25] members of the community, and,

[25:27] um, members of, uh, the council

[25:28] who are here tonight. Uh, my

[25:30] name is Doctor Justin Levitt

[25:31] with National Demographics, and

[25:33] it is a pleasure to be here.

[25:35] Um, just to kind of take a step

[25:37] back and explain what is going

[25:39] on. The state of California

[25:41] allows cities to elect in

[25:42] different ways. Uh,

[25:43] traditionally, the vast

[25:47] majority of cities used abi or

[25:48] sorry, not large system of

[25:49] elections that means that all

[25:51] residents of the city could

[25:52] elect all members of the

[25:54] council, members of the council

[25:56] could reside anywhere within

[25:58] city limits. Um, there

[25:59] additionally was a from

[26:00] district system, a couple of

[26:02] cities, Newport Beach and

[26:04] Downey, um, I see at the end.

[26:07] Use the system where they had

[26:08] districts where council members

[26:10] must reside, but elections were

[26:11] held among all the residents of

[26:13] the city. These were called

[26:16] from district systems.

[26:18] A third system that cities

[26:19] including Long Beach use as a

[26:20] bi-district system. This is

[26:22] similar to how we elect members

[26:24] to Congress or the state

[26:26] legislature where the where a

[26:27] city would be divided into city

[26:29] council districts. Each

[26:30] district would have a

[26:31] representative and only the

[26:32] voters within that district

[26:34] would elect that representative.

[26:38] For the 1st 150 years of

[26:38] California

[26:39] s existence, most

[26:41] cities use this at-large system

[26:43] of elections. However, in 2002,

[26:44] the California Voting Rights

[26:47] Act was written and one of the

[26:49] provisions in the California

[26:52] Voting Rights Act was to create

[26:54] litigation or potential

[26:57] litigation to require cities to

[26:58] change their method of election

[27:01] in order to give protected

[27:02] class communities the

[27:03] opportunity to elect candidates

[27:05] of their choice. This law was.

[27:07] To encourage cities to switch

[27:10] to by district elections in

[27:11] particular by giving

[27:12] by-district election cities a

[27:13] safe harbor. They would be

[27:15] protected from future

[27:16] litigation under the California

[27:18] Voting Rights Act if they used

[27:20] a bi-district method of

[27:20] election.

[27:22] And so we have seen if we go to

[27:25] the next slide over the last 15

[27:27] to 20 years, the tidal wave

[27:29] across the state of California

[27:31] of cities, school districts,

[27:35] and other special districts

[27:37] switching from at large to by

[27:38] district elections.

[27:42] So for example, we now see over

[27:44] 217 cities, including 3 that

[27:46] are currently undergoing this

[27:47] transition to district election,

[27:48] um, in addition, we

[27:49] ve seen

[27:51] over 300 school districts and

[27:53] 46 community college districts

[27:55] as well as nearly 80 other

[27:56] special districts including

[27:58] health care districts and

[27:59] airport management districts,

[28:00] port management districts, and

[28:01] so on.

[28:02] They

[28:03] ve also affected every

[28:04] corner of the state from the

[28:06] city of Eureka up in Northern

[28:08] California all the way to the

[28:09] Imperial Valley irrigation and

[28:11] Water District down in Imperial

[28:12] County on the border.

[28:14] Um, in addition, the legal

[28:16] picture for cities that have

[28:18] tried to challenge the

[28:20] California Voting Rights Act

[28:21] has been mostly a history of

[28:23] losses in the court at the

[28:25] courts. Uh, so far, 4 cities

[28:26] have challenged the California

[28:29] Voting Rights Act on the merits.

[28:32] All four have received negative

[28:34] judgments, um, all for the

[28:35] district court level, um, 2 of

[28:37] them, cities of Huntington

[28:39] Beach and Pasadena are

[28:40] currently in litigation, um,

[28:42] Pasadena went all the way up to,

[28:42] or sorry, not past.

[28:45] You know, um, Santa Monica went

[28:47] all the way up to the state

[28:48] Supreme Court, um, the state

[28:50] Supreme Court has sent that

[28:52] down for future action and

[28:54] discussion at the lower court

[28:55] level and the city of

[28:56] Huntington Beach was actually

[28:58] in the middle of deciding

[29:00] whether to appeal when we got a

[29:01] new Supreme Court decision in

[29:03] JULY, or sorry, JUNE, that sort

[29:04] of changed the picture on a lot

[29:05] of this that we

[29:05] ll talk about

[29:07] as we go through the

[29:09] presentation, um, but currently

[29:09] they

[29:10] re deciding whether or not

[29:11] to appeal, and if so on what

[29:13] grounds?

[29:16] Um, now what the state has done

[29:18] is created this opportunity for

[29:20] cities to not admit liability

[29:22] under the California Voting

[29:24] Rights Act, but to make the

[29:26] change in response to a demand

[29:29] letter, um, in order to protect

[29:30] or preserve their right in the

[29:33] future to choose their own maps

[29:35] as well as potentially make

[29:36] future changes depending on how

[29:38] the legal picture changes in

[29:39] the future.

[29:39] And so that

[29:40] s what the city is

[29:42] doing, um, not admitting

[29:44] liability under the California

[29:45] Voting Rights Act. There

[29:45] s been

[29:47] no actual lawsuit, just a

[29:48] demand letter, but making this

[29:51] change in order to comply with

[29:53] the law, um, in addition that

[29:55] will put the city into the safe

[29:57] harbor under the current

[29:58] California Voting Rights Act.

[30:01] Um, if we look at this process

[30:02] that we know we talked a little

[30:04] bit about it. The timing of

[30:07] this process is really set up

[30:08] by that demand letter process

[30:10] that we talked about before.

[30:12] In response to a demand letter,

[30:14] city has 45 days to decide

[30:15] whether or not to make the

[30:15] change.

[30:17] And if they decide to make the

[30:20] change, they have another safe

[30:22] window of 90 days where they

[30:24] are protected against other

[30:26] litigation or other plaintiffs

[30:28] potentially coming in, or a

[30:29] full lawsuit being filed

[30:30] against the city. Our schedule

[30:32] is designed to stay within that

[30:33] range.

[30:36] So this is why we have so many

[30:38] public hearings kind of

[30:40] compressed into a SEPTEMBER and

[30:41] OCTOBER in order to make sure

[30:44] we stay within our safe window.

[30:46] This does mean that we have our

[30:47] two public hearings in

[30:48] SEPTEMBER where we don

[30:49] t have

[30:51] any draft maps drawn that we

[30:51] re,

[30:51] we

[30:52] re, you know, this includes

[30:53] the workshop that we actually

[30:54] held last week where we started

[30:56] our first look at public

[30:57] comment and feedback on

[30:58] neighborhoods and communities

[30:59] of interest.

[31:01] And we also invite members of

[31:02] the community to submit their

[31:04] own maps which we have

[31:04] available. I

[31:05] ll talk about the

[31:06] tools at the end of the

[31:08] presentation.

[31:09] After which we

[31:10] ll release the

[31:12] draft maps in early OCTOBER and

[31:14] have two public hearings to

[31:15] discuss and revise the draft

[31:16] maps.

[31:17] At that 4th public hearing, the

[31:18] council will make that

[31:20] selection, and then on NOVEMBER

[31:21] 10th we have our second reading

[31:24] and final adoption.

[31:25] That those the the 4th and 5th

[31:27] public hearing have to be done

[31:28] at a regular city council

[31:30] meeting.

[31:31] Um, after the 3rd public

[31:33] hearing, just to kind of make

[31:33] sure it

[31:36] s clear there will be

[31:37] another opportunity for new

[31:39] maps to be submitted or revised

[31:40] maps to be drawn by the

[31:41] community.

[31:43] We have a full calendar

[31:44] including all of those

[31:47] deadlines and dates at

[31:49] Drawsignalhill.Org, the city

[31:49] s

[31:50] districting website.

[31:52] We go to the next slide.

[31:54] Um, to talk through briefly the

[31:57] rules and goals of

[31:58] redistricting. The California

[31:59] Voting Rights Act doesn

[32:00] t

[32:02] itself have any redistricting

[32:05] criteria, but the Fair Maps Act

[32:07] of 2024 requires that we use a

[32:09] specific set listed here.

[32:11] And with the Fair Maps Act

[32:13] divides them into three

[32:15] categories federal laws on our

[32:16] left-hand side come from the

[32:18] Supreme Court, and they apply

[32:19] to all cities, counties, and

[32:21] states that have district

[32:21] elections.

[32:24] First and foremost is equal

[32:25] population. This is the one

[32:28] person, one vote principle. We

[32:30] use our latest census, the 2020

[32:32] census, to get our total

[32:34] population count, so that does

[32:36] include everyone, including

[32:37] children, including

[32:38] non-citizens, everyone counted

[32:41] as part of that 2020 total

[32:41] population count.

[32:42] And that

[32:43] s the number that gets

[32:44] divided by the number of

[32:45] districts.

[32:46] Now they

[32:46] re recognized you

[32:46] can

[32:49] t get down to 0. Perfect

[32:51] equality.

[32:52] Without breaking neighborhoods

[32:54] and communities, and so they

[32:57] allow a deviation or difference

[32:59] from perfect equality of up to

[33:00] 10%.

[33:01] That means the difference

[33:03] between the populations of the

[33:04] largest and smallest districts

[33:06] has to stay under that 10%

[33:08] limit.

[33:10] Second is our federal Voting

[33:12] Rights Act requirement. This is

[33:13] where we see that court case,

[33:15] the Calais decision in JUNE,

[33:16] has the most impact, you know,

[33:19] before JUNE I could give you a

[33:21] very specific detailed analysis

[33:22] of what this meant, but right

[33:23] now we

[33:24] re still in that process

[33:25] of trying to determine what the

[33:27] Supreme Court meant in the

[33:28] Calais decision.

[33:30] A lot of the decision concerned

[33:32] partisanship, which we are

[33:34] actually banned by the state of

[33:35] California from considering in

[33:36] our process.

[33:37] And so what I

[33:38] ll give you is

[33:39] kind of the standard idea of

[33:41] what the Voting Rights Act

[33:43] requires is that race and

[33:45] ethnicity is not the primary

[33:47] consideration in the behind a

[33:49] district or um a a geographic,

[33:51] uh, you know, constituency.

[33:54] At most it can be one of many

[33:56] criteria that you consider in

[33:57] drawing a district, but it

[33:59] cannot be the primary or only

[34:01] consideration in its creation.

[34:03] Instead, the law is always

[34:06] required, even before Calais,

[34:08] that we focus on communities of

[34:11] interest. Those other features,

[34:12] um, which could include

[34:14] everything from income and

[34:17] class to education, uh, to

[34:19] history and neighborhood, uh,

[34:20] that bring people together in

[34:22] different ways.

[34:25] Um, so the pro, the, the

[34:27] decision did not overturn any

[34:28] prohibitions on racial

[34:30] gerrymandering that already

[34:31] existed, it actually

[34:32] strengthened them to some

[34:33] degree, and that

[34:33] s the degree

[34:36] being worked out by the courts.

[34:37] Um.

[34:40] In the middle column are

[34:42] California criteria um in

[34:44] prioritized order from the Fair

[34:46] Maps Act, must be looked at in

[34:49] this order. First is contiguity,

[34:50] contiguity is the principle

[34:51] that all parts of the district

[34:53] must touch or there might be

[34:55] one outside border of the

[34:56] district.

[34:57] This means that we can

[34:57] t jump

[34:59] over a county island or a

[35:00] portion of the city of Long

[35:02] Beach to connect areas.

[35:03] It also means we can

[35:03] t just

[35:05] pick random census blocks from

[35:06] different parts of the city and

[35:08] called it a district. All the

[35:10] parts must have a common

[35:11] outside border.

[35:13] Below that we have our division

[35:14] of neighborhoods and avoiding

[35:16] division of neighborhoods and

[35:18] communities of interest if we

[35:19] identify a certain area as a

[35:20] neighborhood or community of

[35:21] interest, we should strive to

[35:23] keep it together.

[35:25] The law recognizes that you MAY

[35:27] not be able to because of

[35:28] population, but to the extent

[35:28] we can, it

[35:29] s something we

[35:31] should look to do.

[35:34] Um, 3rd, easily identifiable

[35:35] boundaries. This is the

[35:36] principle that districts should

[35:38] be easy for voters to

[35:39] understand. So to the extent we

[35:41] can use major roads rather than

[35:42] jogging through neighborhoods,

[35:44] we should strive to do that.

[35:46] Uh, we can also use natural

[35:48] features or other natural

[35:49] breaks to create those

[35:51] boundaries as well.

[35:52] And lastly, compactness, which

[35:54] the law defines as not

[35:55] bypassing one neighborhood to

[35:57] get to another group of people.

[35:59] Um, this is really aimed at the

[36:01] hooks and fingers, kind of odd

[36:03] looking divisions that seem

[36:03] like they

[36:05] re designed to get a

[36:07] particular block or area out of

[36:09] or into a particular district.

[36:11] I note they are rank ordered.

[36:13] So if that border is because

[36:13] that

[36:14] s where the neighborhood

[36:16] or community boundary is like a

[36:17] homeowners association along a

[36:19] cliffside, for example, we

[36:21] would follow that border.

[36:23] First, before we worry about

[36:24] compactness.

[36:26] Oftentimes what this comes down

[36:27] to is, does the boundary make

[36:29] sense to the residents that

[36:30] live in the city, even if it

[36:32] looks a little strange if we

[36:34] can kind of understand from the

[36:34] residents

[36:36] perspective why they

[36:37] would why that boundary makes

[36:39] sense. We can draw it without

[36:41] violating compactness.

[36:42] Now, there also is that

[36:44] prohibition at the beginning of

[36:45] the 3rd column, that districts

[36:48] should not be drawn with

[36:49] consideration of partisanship

[36:52] data, incumbency or potential

[36:53] candidate information and so to

[36:56] the extent that we have or any

[36:57] information on that is

[36:57] available. It

[36:58] s not included in

[37:00] any of the data sets. It won

[37:00] t

[37:02] be used as part of our analysis

[37:03] of the maps either.

[37:05] And then finally we have our

[37:06] other traditional districting

[37:07] principles.

[37:09] The fair Maps Act includes

[37:11] everything in that 1st 2.5

[37:13] columns, but there are other

[37:14] principles that courts have

[37:17] allowed over the years, such as

[37:18] consideration of potential

[37:19] future developments.

[37:20] Um, they

[37:21] ve done this with a

[37:22] knowledge and under the

[37:23] knowledge that you have to

[37:24] comply with all of the

[37:26] requirements first.

[37:28] But if we have two really good

[37:30] maps that do equally good job,

[37:32] but one divides our new housing

[37:34] equally between two districts,

[37:35] and one of them puts it all in

[37:38] one district, giving them

[37:40] potentially higher deviation

[37:43] later on, that could be a final

[37:44] consideration in selecting

[37:46] between two good maps.

[37:48] So we want to make sure we

[37:49] justify it according to

[37:50] everything else first, but if

[37:52] we have two really good maps,

[37:54] we can kind of use other

[37:56] factors as the tiebreakers.

[37:58] As long as we

[37:59] re in compliance.

[38:00] If we go to the next slide,

[38:02] looking at our demographic

[38:04] summary, um, our total

[38:06] population, according to the

[38:10] 2020 census was 11,911

[38:11] residents.

[38:13] This is actually the adjusted

[38:15] count, the state adjusts for

[38:17] the um for the last known

[38:18] location of incarcerated

[38:19] individuals, and so it

[38:20] s a

[38:21] little bit higher than the real

[38:22] raw census number.

[38:23] Um, it

[38:24] s the number that the

[38:26] state requires us to use.

[38:28] And you can see here we can

[38:30] divide this number into 4 to

[38:33] get a population of 4 districts

[38:34] or the population of 5

[38:36] districts, the difference being

[38:37] in a four-district system you

[38:39] would have a citywide elected

[38:40] mayor.

[38:42] The state allows every city to

[38:43] make that choice between having

[38:46] an elected mayor or a rotating

[38:47] mayor, more like the current

[38:49] system.

[38:51] In addition to that total

[38:52] population, I won

[38:52] t go through

[38:53] this whole spreadsheet. I

[38:55] invite you to look at our

[38:57] website. Uh, we want to point

[38:59] out the variety of data that we

[39:00] really use. We use election

[39:02] voting data, turnout and

[39:04] registration from these the

[39:05] statewide database of election

[39:08] and voting, we use the American

[39:10] Community Survey data to get

[39:11] demographic information about

[39:13] age, income, education, renters

[39:14] and owners.

[39:18] Um, a lot of this is gathered

[39:20] at a fairly small area, areas

[39:23] of about 1000 to 110 to 1500

[39:24] residents.

[39:25] And so even a city of small as

[39:28] Signal Hill has many census

[39:30] block groups that we get this

[39:31] American community survey data

[39:32] from.

[39:34] Um, I also like to say here

[39:35] that demographic data doesn

[39:35] t

[39:36] tell the whole story of a

[39:38] neighborhood or community. It

[39:38] s

[39:39] no substitute for your local

[39:40] knowledge.

[39:40] It

[39:42] s one of many factors that

[39:45] we can use to look at and

[39:47] justify where we find those

[39:48] community boundaries. Uh,

[39:50] sometimes, one factor or mold

[39:52] combination of factors helps us

[39:54] to define what that community

[39:55] is.

[39:58] And that really brings us to

[40:00] the heart of the question,

[40:01] which is this question of

[40:02] defining neighborhoods and

[40:04] communities of interest.

[40:05] I like to define neighborhoods

[40:06] as kind of the smallest

[40:08] building blocks that go into a

[40:09] district. It

[40:10] s almost like the

[40:12] individual Lego brick pieces

[40:13] that create the whole.

[40:14] Item

[40:16] And the reason is, is because

[40:18] these are sort of indivisible

[40:20] areas, a single apartment

[40:22] complex or condominium complex,

[40:23] a tract of homes that was built

[40:25] by a single developer in a

[40:28] particular time and place, a

[40:29] historic district or an

[40:31] economic impact zone. There

[40:31] s

[40:32] many different terms and

[40:34] concepts all around the state,

[40:36] but these are the smallest

[40:38] building blocks that are really

[40:39] geographically defined,

[40:41] oftentimes by roads or by

[40:43] streets, um, sometimes by

[40:45] location or proximity to a

[40:45] particular.

[40:47] School site or intersection, um,

[40:48] and we know what these are

[40:50] because they often have names,

[40:51] the Oak Grove apartment complex,

[40:53] for example.

[40:55] And the way we come up with

[40:56] communities of interest if we

[40:58] go to the next slide is by

[41:00] building these individual

[41:02] blocks together to form our

[41:03] districts.

[41:04] Communities of interest are

[41:06] something that we often see a

[41:07] lot of discussion about, and

[41:07] it

[41:08] s why we

[41:09] re going to have

[41:10] lots of different maps to look

[41:11] at when we get to that stage of

[41:13] the process.

[41:15] Essentially a community of

[41:17] interest is a group of people

[41:19] that have a common interest in

[41:23] a policy, in an issue, in a way

[41:24] of life. Uh, there

[41:25] s lots of

[41:27] different ways of defining it.

[41:29] I personally like the idea of

[41:30] shared problems. People who

[41:33] face a common set of problems

[41:34] that need representation,

[41:36] particularly at the city level.

[41:38] And this could be everything

[41:41] from those areas impacted by it.

[41:42] Willow

[41:44] You know, areas along major

[41:46] commercial corridor. It could

[41:48] be areas impacted by hillside

[41:50] erosion. It could be simply

[41:52] areas that are geographically

[41:54] not as connected to physically

[41:56] to the rest of the city, like

[41:58] the areas north of the 405

[41:59] freeway.

[42:02] And all of those could be

[42:03] potential communities of

[42:04] interest.

[42:05] And every city you go to,

[42:05] they

[42:06] re going to put pieces

[42:08] together differently. And so

[42:09] our goal as part of this

[42:11] process to figure out how to

[42:12] best do this in the city of

[42:13] Signal Hill. This is why we

[42:14] re

[42:16] going to get lots of maps and

[42:16] why we

[42:17] re going to have

[42:19] discussion about which one does

[42:21] the best job at representing

[42:23] our communities of interest.

[42:23] Uh, I

[42:25] ll give you some examples

[42:27] here. We have our zoning map.

[42:29] We have American Community

[42:31] Survey data, um, a lot of these

[42:33] maps we have available online

[42:35] on the city

[42:36] s districting

[42:37] website if there is something

[42:37] that

[42:38] s not there that you want

[42:40] to see or think needs to be

[42:41] there, let us know. Reach out

[42:43] to us, and we can look into

[42:44] getting it. I know we

[42:44] ve had a

[42:47] couple of requests from our

[42:48] first workshop to look at, for

[42:50] example, where future projects

[42:52] are going to be cited. Um, and

[42:52] so that

[42:52] s something we

[42:53] re

[42:53] working with the.

[42:56] City to look into.

[42:56] Um, the other thing I

[42:57] ll

[42:59] mention we got at the last

[43:00] meeting was information from

[43:03] the the um historic Society

[43:04] about where the historic

[43:05] districts of the city are.

[43:07] Um, in addition to these, we,

[43:10] as I mentioned, we have a great

[43:12] website, drawsignalhill.Org

[43:13] where we have a lot of these

[43:15] mapping tools and information

[43:16] available on that website, we

[43:18] also have our draw your own map

[43:20] tools, and we have several

[43:22] different tools for your level

[43:23] of engagement and how much time

[43:25] and energy you want to put into

[43:26] it.

[43:27] Uh, we offer everything from,

[43:30] if we go to the next slide, a

[43:32] simple map review tool where

[43:33] eventually we

[43:34] ll be able to see

[43:35] all the different maps and

[43:38] overlay them on our census data.

[43:39] Already you can go to the

[43:40] interactive review map and view

[43:42] the maps of the census data

[43:44] like I showed you earlier. Uh,

[43:46] we have everything from

[43:48] household income to education,

[43:50] housing, um, already on there.

[43:51] And like I said, we can add

[43:52] more if needed.

[43:54] In addition, for those who want

[43:56] to just show us where your

[43:58] communities are. We offer blank

[43:59] maps that just show the streets

[44:02] and roads, where you can color

[44:03] in your neighborhood or

[44:04] community.

[44:06] And describe to us what it is

[44:08] either on the backside of the

[44:09] handout which we have in the

[44:11] back if you want to turn it in,

[44:12] or take a picture of it and

[44:13] write us an email, send it to

[44:15] our email address.

[44:17] Um, if you want a little bit

[44:19] more on that same packet,

[44:19] you

[44:21] ll see we have a map with

[44:23] numbers that show you the total

[44:25] population of about 50

[44:27] different areas across the city.

[44:29] Simply add those together to

[44:30] get the number that

[44:31] s that, you

[44:32] know, our target number for a 4

[44:35] or 5 district maps and tell us

[44:36] what that works and doesn

[44:37] t

[44:38] work about that particular

[44:39] district.

[44:41] This is all, this map is also

[44:42] great for just estimating how

[44:44] many people live north of

[44:45] Willow. Well, you can look at

[44:47] this map and get a very quick

[44:48] number.

[44:51] In addition, we have our full

[44:51] online Dave

[44:52] s redistricting

[44:54] mapping tool. This lets you go

[44:56] block by block at our workshop,

[44:57] we just did a demo where we

[44:59] spent about 10-15 minutes

[45:00] walking through this.

[45:01] For those of you who missed

[45:03] that, we have videos, a 4

[45:04] minute introductory video and a

[45:07] 20 minute step by step video on

[45:08] the website on how to use the

[45:09] tool.

[45:11] Um, and this tool really lets

[45:13] you see the same data sets, the

[45:16] same detail that we have as

[45:18] demographers to go and draw

[45:20] your own map. Now any map you

[45:21] draw, um, we won

[45:22] t see it until

[45:23] you send it to us, and that

[45:23] s

[45:24] for your own protection, so we

[45:24] won

[45:25] t see your drafts, we won

[45:25] t

[45:28] see your, you know, unfinished

[45:29] maps.

[45:30] Um, but once you

[45:30] re ready, you

[45:32] can send, you can basically

[45:35] share your url, copy the url

[45:37] and send it to us.

[45:40] Um, and so what this public

[45:41] hearing is about tonight. We

[45:41] re

[45:43] hoping to answer any questions.

[45:43] There

[45:44] s no action that the

[45:45] council needs to take on this

[45:46] item, but we

[45:47] re hoping that

[45:50] everybody leaves here with an

[45:51] understanding of the process,

[45:51] or at least I

[45:53] m ready to ask

[45:54] questions in 2 weeks when we

[45:55] come back for our 2nd public

[45:56] hearing.

[45:58] And if we just go to that last

[45:59] slide, um.

[46:00] We have our

[46:02] I guess

[46:04] ok, um.

[46:06] I thought we had a slide with

[46:09] our um url on it, but uh.

[46:12] Just, um, we have our draw

[46:14] Signalhill.Org, um, and we have

[46:16] our contact information on that

[46:17] website as well.

[46:18] Um,

[46:18] And if it

[46:19] s not in the pdf, I

[46:20] will make sure that we put it

[46:23] in that, um, when we post it,

[46:28] uh, tonight as well.

[46:30] Um, that link is available on

[46:33] the city website.

[46:35] Um, so thank you very much for

[46:35] your time and I

[46:36] m happy to

[46:37] answer any questions you have.

[46:38] Thank you. I

[46:38] ll start with

[46:41] Robert, and then Keir, Larry,

[46:43] very, yeah, very easy question

[46:44] really just about the process.

[46:45] So if someone, when someone

[46:47] sends you a map, how do they

[46:50] know that you received the map?

[46:52] So, um, we asked the people, do

[46:55] you send the maps to the email

[46:58] address on Drawsignalhill.Org

[46:58] and we

[47:00] ll, I will, or either I

[47:01] or the city will respond to

[47:03] every email that we receive

[47:04] that you got it. Ok, perfect.

[47:04] That

[47:04] s all. That

[47:05] s the only

[47:06] question I have if it is a map

[47:09] or a or even a neighborhood

[47:10] will also provide you with the

[47:13] number like map 101, map 401,

[47:14] whatever it is, so that they

[47:16] can identify it in their

[47:17] comments. Ok, perfect. Thank

[47:19] you. Here. And then all those

[47:20] maps come.

[47:23] To the 3rd public hearing. Yes,

[47:25] so every map, every community,

[47:27] every neighborhood, um, will be

[47:28] presented at the 3rd public

[47:30] hearing with the communities we

[47:31] often just will put a lot of

[47:33] the communities on one map so

[47:35] we can show you all of the

[47:36] neighborhoods people have

[47:36] identified, but you

[47:37] ll be able

[47:38] to go to the interactive review

[47:39] map and see them each

[47:40] individually.

[47:41] And then for every full map

[47:43] proposal, even if it doesn

[47:43] t

[47:45] meet all the requirements

[47:47] anyone will show you everything

[47:47] that we

[47:48] ve received. Ok, thank

[47:50] you, Charlie.

[47:52] Um,

[47:54] If people are concerned about

[47:56] privacy or the.

[47:57] When they submit a map, is it,

[48:00] um,

[48:01] Anonymous is it submitted

[48:03] anonymously or how does that,

[48:06] so, uh, we do ask for um

[48:08] someone to submit, um, to

[48:12] provide a name and email, um,

[48:14] that is predominantly for us to

[48:15] be able to reach out to them to

[48:16] let them know we

[48:16] ve received

[48:18] the map and if there

[48:19] s any

[48:20] issues, for example, go to the

[48:21] url, can

[48:22] t find the map. Um, we

[48:24] want to be able to reach out to

[48:26] that person if they don

[48:26] t want

[48:27] their contact information or

[48:29] details known, they can let us

[48:29] know in the.

[48:30] Email and we can work with the

[48:32] city on that, ok. And then a

[48:34] question for staff.

[48:37] Well, the library computers be

[48:38] able to if if somebody doesn

[48:39] t

[48:41] have a computer or needs access

[48:42] to a better computer, are they

[48:43] able to access this at the

[48:45] library.

[48:46] Laurie.

[48:49] Really

[48:49] I don

[48:50] t have any clarifying

[48:51] questions at this time. Um, I

[48:54] have a few. Um, I just wanted

[48:56] to clarify, um, so when you

[48:56] re

[48:58] looking at the percentage, the

[49:00] number of individuals in each

[49:03] district, is it just straight

[49:05] number or voting population, so

[49:07] the law requires we balance the

[49:10] total population, so everybody,

[49:12] um, now that does mean that we

[49:14] might have some differences in

[49:15] the voting population from

[49:17] district to district our

[49:18] spreadsheets will give you the

[49:19] number of registered voters.

[49:22] And the number of turnout in

[49:24] 2024 in each district, so

[49:24] you

[49:25] ll be able to see that and

[49:27] how it differs, but it also

[49:28] means that some districts are

[49:31] going to, by definition, have

[49:32] to be larger because there

[49:32] s a

[49:35] lot of empty space, for example,

[49:37] and to get to within 10% of all

[49:38] the other districts, you

[49:39] ll

[49:41] just require a larger space,

[49:43] yeah, so some, some districts

[49:45] MAY be geographically bigger.

[49:47] Ok. Just because of the way pot

[49:48] that Signal Hill is developed.

[49:49] Ok.

[49:51] And, and actually because it

[49:52] has zero population, that

[49:52] s one

[49:53] thing we might look at is how

[49:55] do we divide some of those

[49:56] commercial areas so that

[49:57] they

[49:59] re not all in one district.

[50:01] Ok, um, and I

[50:01] m just

[50:03] reiterating, you said that each

[50:06] district has to have 10%, be

[50:09] within 10% of each other

[50:09] district and we

[50:10] re anticipating

[50:12] we know for example what we

[50:13] have in the pipeline now and

[50:15] that has to be part of the

[50:16] consideration as far as housing

[50:18] development, so yeah, the idea

[50:19] with that is that for

[50:21] example, um, if we knew we had

[50:23] some or we think we might have

[50:24] some development coming up over

[50:27] the next few years. We could

[50:29] underpopulate within that 10%

[50:32] total deviation. The area that

[50:34] has that future population

[50:35] growth, um, and to make sure

[50:38] that it has some room to grow.

[50:40] And where would we, where would

[50:41] that information be available

[50:42] to explain why we

[50:43] re

[50:44] underpopulating at a certain

[50:45] district, so, um.

[50:48] The best way to do that is to,

[50:50] when is when someone submits a

[50:53] map that they put that into

[50:54] their discussion of what they

[50:55] are trying to accomplish with

[50:57] that district or with that map.

[50:59] But if we as a council, let

[50:59] s

[51:01] say, we as a council developed,

[51:03] you know,aid we like this map

[51:05] we know this is under, but we

[51:06] anticipate there

[51:08] s going to be,

[51:10] um, you know, increased, um,

[51:11] residential here, does that go

[51:12] into the findings? Like where

[51:14] does that go? So in the future

[51:15] somebody could understand why

[51:17] we did that, yeah, um, so in

[51:17] that if it

[51:18] s a member of the

[51:19] council who

[51:19] s talking about it

[51:20] would hope they

[51:21] d make that

[51:23] comment in in public and then

[51:25] then what I would do is as part

[51:26] of the write up of the map,

[51:27] because after we adopt a.

[51:30] We have to do a write-up of, um,

[51:31] how it complies with the law.

[51:32] We

[51:32] ll put that in there as sort

[51:35] of the one of the issues or

[51:36] thing, not, not issues, that

[51:36] s

[51:38] the wrong word, things that we

[51:40] were trying to accomplish, yeah,

[51:41] factors in the creation of that

[51:43] district. Now what happens if

[51:45] in 20 years there

[51:45] s a large

[51:47] housing development that we

[51:47] can

[51:48] t even anticipate now that

[51:50] throws off the numbers. Are we

[51:51] good or do we have to

[51:52] redistrict? That

[51:52] s a great

[51:54] question. Um, so the districts

[51:57] will be used in the 2028

[51:58] election for the first time.

[51:59] And then again in 2030 we

[52:00] ll

[52:01] have our other districts, the

[52:01] ones that didn

[52:02] t have their

[52:04] first election in 28, will have

[52:06] their first election in 2030.

[52:09] In 2031, with the new 2030

[52:11] census, the city will have to

[52:14] at least look at the current

[52:16] lines and decide whether or not

[52:18] it needs to be redistricted

[52:19] based on that population and

[52:21] other factors. And then how

[52:22] often do they have to do that

[52:24] after that? Every 10 years, the

[52:26] year following the census. Ok,

[52:26] um, it

[52:27] d be the same time that

[52:30] the state and the city of Long

[52:31] Beach and the school district

[52:33] and all the other jurisdictions,

[52:33] they

[52:34] ll all be doing that

[52:35] redistricting, more or less

[52:36] than.

[52:37] The same 9 months. And then you

[52:39] said according to federal law,

[52:40] one thing the council can

[52:41] t

[52:42] consider as a primary

[52:43] consideration is that we want

[52:45] to create a district that has a,

[52:47] a, a higher population of a

[52:49] certain ethnic group so I think

[52:51] that from the current, the way

[52:53] the law currently looks, you

[52:55] know, you, you, you know, we

[52:57] would avoid saying like this

[53:00] district is designed to elect a

[53:02] member of a particular ethnic

[53:02] group, ok, and that

[53:03] s based on

[53:04] federal law. That

[53:04] s federal,

[53:05] yeah, under the Calais decision.

[53:08] And previous Supreme Court

[53:10] decisions, um, and then my last

[53:10] question, and there MAY be

[53:13] other questions, is, is there

[53:15] any, after public comment, is

[53:17] there ever a moment where

[53:19] suggested maps are provided to

[53:21] us, um, from your company or

[53:23] another company for us to look

[53:24] at. Yes, that

[53:24] s a great

[53:27] question. At the 3rd public

[53:29] hearing, in addition to

[53:30] whatever community maps we

[53:30] ve

[53:32] received, there will be no

[53:34] fewer than 3 consultant drawn

[53:36] maps in addition to those.

[53:38] Community maps. Ok, um, and

[53:38] they

[53:41] re trying to illustrate

[53:43] different ideas and I can

[53:43] t

[53:45] tell you how many times we have,

[53:46] you know, several maps, maybe

[53:47] up to 10 maps at that 3rd

[53:48] public hearing, and it

[53:49] s not

[53:50] the consultant map that gets

[53:50] chosen. It

[53:51] s the community map,

[53:53] but at least having the

[53:54] different options will show the

[53:56] council what some of the

[53:57] trade-offs or options are.

[54:00] ok, thank you. Any other

[54:02] questions from anybody? I do.

[54:05] So um, so at that hearing with

[54:07] all the community submitted

[54:07] maps.

[54:09] You, you will go through to

[54:11] validate the criteria is met,

[54:12] so the maps will still get

[54:13] presented, but you

[54:14] ll say.

[54:15] But this one

[54:17] s missing this.

[54:19] Yes, ok, and is that when the

[54:21] consultant maps then maybe they

[54:22] incorporate those ideas end up

[54:23] getting utilized. It

[54:23] s because

[54:25] they have all the criteria.

[54:27] Absolutely, um, just this

[54:28] spring I was working with a

[54:30] client where that happened

[54:31] happen, where the public map

[54:32] where where the public where

[54:34] map where was the deviation was

[54:36] too high. It it was a 15%

[54:37] deviation, but I saw what they

[54:40] were trying to do, and I gave

[54:42] the council two options of how

[54:43] to make it work.

[54:44] And that was, those were two of

[54:47] my maps that I drew, based on

[54:49] the community map that we had

[54:50] gotten, and one of those maps

[54:52] ended up being the one the

[54:53] community actually ended up

[54:54] rallying around because they

[54:55] were like, we couldn

[54:55] t figure

[54:57] out how to make it work.

[54:58] Um, but every, you know, uh,

[54:59] and so what we

[54:59] ll see, we

[55:00] ll

[55:01] see what we get but you

[55:01] ll have

[55:03] at least 4 to 5 maps to choose

[55:04] from at that third public

[55:05] hearing to show you what the

[55:07] different options are.

[55:08] If we get a lot of maps, we

[55:09] ll

[55:11] group them by similar features.

[55:12] So you won

[55:13] t be overwhelmed. I,

[55:13] oh, go, I

[55:14] m sorry, go ahead and,

[55:16] and then, uh, Mayor Hansen

[55:18] asked about when we were

[55:19] required to redistrict when,

[55:20] when.

[55:22] Could we

[55:23] Voluntarily redistrict if there

[55:24] was some other criteria that

[55:28] came up, and then, um, if the

[55:30] Supreme Court case.

[55:31] Continues.

[55:33] Could we end up rersing this

[55:35] whole district process, so

[55:36] every 10 years you

[55:37] ll have an

[55:39] opportunity to revisit the map,

[55:40] uh, whether or not you, you

[55:41] know, that

[55:42] ll, I think

[55:43] currently state law requires a

[55:47] minimum of a 2 to 3 public

[55:48] hearings to discuss whether or

[55:50] not the map map as it map

[55:51] currently is is legal, and if

[55:53] not, what changes can be made

[55:55] to it. Um, you also have a 9

[55:57] month process to do it, so it

[55:57] won

[55:59] t all be crammed into a

[56:01] particular one, you know, one

[56:01] month.

[56:02] Period.

[56:06] Um, I, the law really strongly

[56:07] discourages districting more

[56:09] than once per decade. I think

[56:10] the idea is that you do it once

[56:11] per decade at the year ending

[56:12] in one.

[56:14] Um, once you have districts in

[56:15] place.

[56:17] Um, in addition, on the, on the

[56:20] third point, the, you know, we,

[56:20] we

[56:22] re just in such a legal

[56:23] issue, a gray area right now.

[56:24] The state

[56:25] s actually in the

[56:27] process of working on new

[56:29] legislation to react to the

[56:31] Calais decision that could

[56:32] change this California Voting

[56:34] Rights Act itself as well. Um,

[56:35] I know there

[56:36] s some legislation

[56:36] on the governor

[56:37] s desk right

[56:39] now relating to that and more

[56:41] coming down the pipeline before

[56:42] the end of the legislative

[56:44] session, um, so I

[56:44] m happy to

[56:45] give a more.

[56:47] Longer response at some point,

[56:49] but I think the takeaway is,

[56:49] it

[56:50] s a gray area right now.

[56:53] And, and so at that point we

[56:54] would come back to this if

[56:56] something changed at the state

[56:57] or federal level, or we would

[56:58] just we

[57:02] d be set until 2031. So,

[57:04] so historically maps have been

[57:05] grandfathered in by the old

[57:07] laws. So for example, the Fair

[57:11] Maps Act took effect in 2024.

[57:13] Cities that redistricted in

[57:14] 2021 didn

[57:15] t have to redraw

[57:16] their maps.

[57:18] The, you, they can continue to

[57:21] use their maps till 2031, and

[57:22] then they have to evaluate

[57:23] whether or not their maps work

[57:26] under the new criteria.

[57:28] The old criteria were basically,

[57:28] they weren

[57:29] t rank ordered. It

[57:31] was up to the council and the

[57:33] community to decide the

[57:35] balancing factors of compact

[57:37] contiguity, compactness, and so

[57:39] on. Um, when the legislature

[57:39] did that, it didn

[57:40] t mean that

[57:43] every city had to redraw.

[57:45] Ok, thank you.

[57:46] I honestly don

[57:47] t remember if

[57:48] you covered this, and I

[57:50] apologize because it was a

[57:51] really great presentation but

[57:53] so much information, but did

[57:55] you cover that two options that

[57:57] cities have are 5 disc, well, I

[57:58] mean, it could be more than 5,

[58:01] but 5 districts or 4 districts

[58:02] plus a directly elected mayor.

[58:04] So I did mention it, um, I

[58:04] didn

[58:06] t spend a lot of time on

[58:08] it, but um we do have both

[58:10] options available at this point,

[58:11] and all of our tools are set up

[58:14] to allow users to draw either a

[58:17] 4 district or a 5-district.

[58:19] At what point would you want

[58:20] direction from council, you

[58:23] know, we want to do 5 districts

[58:24] or we want to do 4 on

[58:27] electorate and, and, and a

[58:29] directly elected mayor to help

[58:31] you draw the maps. So, um, that,

[58:33] that of course will ultimately

[58:35] be up to the council um if at

[58:38] the 2nd public hearing in 2

[58:39] weeks, we have some direction

[58:41] on that. Um, we could come back

[58:44] with 3 or 4 options that are

[58:46] just for just 5. Ok. It also

[58:46] provides some.

[58:48] Guidance to those community

[58:50] maps that we receive. Ok, um,

[58:51] however, I, I, you know, it,

[58:52] it

[58:53] s up to the council to make

[58:56] that call. But if the council

[58:58] at the next hearing has this

[58:59] specific discussion about, we

[59:01] want to go one way or the other

[59:02] way, then you could tailor the

[59:05] maps based on that direction.

[59:06] Absolutely. Ok. Any more

[59:07] questions?

[59:09] All right, thank you so much.

[59:10] Thank you. With that, I

[59:10] m going

[59:11] to open the public hearing.

[59:13] Each speaker will have 3

[59:16] minutes. You can talk about.

[59:16] You like it, don

[59:17] t like it, you

[59:19] can ask questions. You can talk

[59:21] about specifics of maps is

[59:22] absolutely your choice. Do we

[59:24] have any speaker cards by any

[59:26] chance? Can I ask I ask a quick

[59:28] go back? Of course.

[59:28] This doesn

[59:29] t affect the

[59:30] treasurer and the city clerk.

[59:31] Not at all. Ok. They

[59:31] re still

[59:33] at large. Thank you.

[59:34] Ok.

[59:36] So I opened the public hearing.

[59:37] If anybody would like to speak,

[59:39] please come forward.

[59:40] Go ahead. Ok.

[59:43] Thank you.

[59:44] Thank you, I

[59:45] m Sonia civilian.

[59:47] Uh, first I want to thank the,

[59:48] the city council, the city

[59:49] staff, and Justin Levitt for

[59:50] all the work that they

[59:50] ve done.

[59:52] I know this is quite a project

[59:53] and so I appreciate all, all

[59:54] the effort that

[59:55] s gone into it.

[59:56] Uh, I want to speak

[59:57] specifically to the point that

[59:59] you just raised in terms of the

[1:00:03] 5 districts versus 4 districts,

[1:00:05] um, and hold on, I lost my

[1:00:11] notes here, uh, to adopt. So my

[1:00:13] argument is to have the urge

[1:00:14] the council to adopt a.

[1:00:16] 5 single-member district with

[1:00:17] continued voting mayor,

[1:00:19] rotating mayor rather than 4

[1:00:20] districts and a separately

[1:00:23] elected mayor, so districting

[1:00:25] districting exists to expand

[1:00:27] who holds power in this city,

[1:00:28] particularly for communities

[1:00:30] that have never had a voice on

[1:00:32] this council, a rotating mayor

[1:00:33] is the structure that allows

[1:00:35] that expansion to actually

[1:00:36] reach the city

[1:00:37] s most visible

[1:00:39] leadership role if the mayor is

[1:00:41] instead chosen through a

[1:00:42] separate election incumbency

[1:00:43] will quickly become the

[1:00:45] dominant factor.

[1:00:47] Incumbents carry name

[1:00:48] recognition, fundraising

[1:00:49] networks, institutional

[1:00:50] advantages that are difficult

[1:00:51] for first-time candidate to

[1:00:54] overcome. Over time, that

[1:00:56] dynamic risks concentrating the

[1:00:56] mayor

[1:00:57] s office in the hands of

[1:00:59] whichever community already has

[1:01:01] the resources and visibility to

[1:01:03] win citywide elections that

[1:01:04] same the same pattern which led

[1:01:06] to this districting process in

[1:01:08] the first place. So a rotating

[1:01:11] mayor avoids that risk entirely

[1:01:12] because the position passes

[1:01:14] amongst all 5 district.

[1:01:15] Representatives, the city

[1:01:15] s

[1:01:17] leading role will in time

[1:01:19] reflect the diversity that this

[1:01:20] districting process is designed

[1:01:22] to bring, so I, when the time

[1:01:24] comes, I urge the council to

[1:01:25] adopt a 5 district map and

[1:01:27] preserve the rotating mirror

[1:01:27] system. Thank you. Thank you,

[1:01:29] Sonia.

[1:01:30] Next speaker, if anybody else

[1:01:31] would like to speak, please

[1:01:46] come forward.

[1:01:48] Good evening, Mayor and members

[1:01:50] of the city council. My name is

[1:01:50] Mary Gonzalez. I

[1:01:51] m a resident

[1:01:53] of Signal Hill and a retired

[1:01:55] public interest attorney. I

[1:01:55] m

[1:01:58] here to address the underlying

[1:02:01] resolution that led to this

[1:02:02] process. I

[1:02:03] m fully committed to

[1:02:04] the established legal processes

[1:02:06] of transition transitioning,

[1:02:07] however, as a resident, I

[1:02:08] m

[1:02:10] deeply offended by the

[1:02:11] council

[1:02:13] s underlying premise in

[1:02:15] this resolution which dismisses

[1:02:16] a vital civil rights matter as

[1:02:18] a mere financial.

[1:02:20] Inconvenience, the resolution

[1:02:21] states that this is that the

[1:02:23] city is not aware of any

[1:02:25] evidence of the California

[1:02:26] Voting rights violation,

[1:02:27] although I know we

[1:02:27] re already

[1:02:29] going forward with the process,

[1:02:29] let

[1:02:31] s look at the actual facts

[1:02:32] in the 100 year history of

[1:02:35] Signal Hill, not a single

[1:02:37] Latino candidate has ever been

[1:02:40] elected in a majority Latino

[1:02:42] city in a city rich with

[1:02:43] demographic diversity, that is

[1:02:45] not an accident. It is

[1:02:47] statistical and structural.

[1:02:49] Exclusion, it also trickles

[1:02:50] down to the city

[1:02:52] s appointments

[1:02:53] process, priorities, and

[1:02:56] neighborhood issues. Our

[1:02:56] current at-large Our current

[1:02:57] at-large system Our current

[1:02:58] at-large Our current at-large

[1:02:59] system allows a single

[1:03:00] concentrated voting block to

[1:03:02] dictate policy for an entire an

[1:03:04] entire city, which is why I

[1:03:04] appreciate Sonia

[1:03:05] s comments,

[1:03:07] pretending this is a baseless

[1:03:10] threat, ignores the Southwest

[1:03:11] voter registration Education

[1:03:14] Project is a solid, venerable

[1:03:16] civil rights organization whose

[1:03:18] legendary founder Willie.

[1:03:20] Velasquez coin coined the

[1:03:23] defining phrase suvoto es suvos,

[1:03:25] your voice is your vote. I mean,

[1:03:27] your vote is your voice, which

[1:03:30] resonates throughout our Latino

[1:03:31] communities since creating

[1:03:32] districts is a done deal, the

[1:03:34] city should stop complaining

[1:03:36] about the process and recognize

[1:03:36] and

[1:03:39] Um,

[1:03:41] The need for the necessary

[1:03:42] change.

[1:03:42] Let

[1:03:45] s be clear about the legal

[1:03:46] reality and in these voting

[1:03:48] rights cases, cities that chose

[1:03:49] to fight single member

[1:03:51] districts in and court lose

[1:03:54] 100% of the time.

[1:03:56] Furthermore, Section 3a of your

[1:03:59] resolution legally commits the

[1:04:03] city to robust public outreach

[1:04:05] explicitly naming non-English

[1:04:07] speaking communities, yet the

[1:04:08] outreach so far has been

[1:04:10] virtually invisible.

[1:04:11] Merely announcing a meeting

[1:04:13] during a city council broadcast

[1:04:15] and posting on the city website

[1:04:17] is passive compliance, not true

[1:04:18] engagement. If we want a city

[1:04:20] where your vote is truly your

[1:04:21] voice, the city must actively

[1:04:22] invite the community to the

[1:04:25] table, not hide the process in

[1:04:26] bureaucratic corners. This

[1:04:28] transition should not be framed

[1:04:30] as a costly burden. It must be

[1:04:32] embraced as a long overdue

[1:04:34] civil rights correction. I urge

[1:04:36] this counsel to execute

[1:04:38] transparent, aggressive,

[1:04:40] multilingual outreach ensure.

[1:04:43] District maps are drawn fairly

[1:04:44] without protecting incumbents

[1:04:46] and finally give every

[1:04:48] neighborhood a dedicated voice

[1:05:01] at the table.

[1:05:03] Carlo, is there a resolution

[1:05:04] that

[1:05:05] s associated with our

[1:05:07] Item tonight, yes, Mayor and

[1:05:08] council, those are resolution

[1:05:11] of intent that was brought

[1:05:12] forth brought previously

[1:05:13] brought to the city council to

[1:05:14] initiate the process.

[1:05:21] Great. Next speaker, please.

[1:05:22] See none, I

[1:05:23] ll bring it back.

[1:05:24] Do we have to throw out a

[1:05:26] couple of questions in case the

[1:05:27] speakers want to contribute

[1:05:30] more or you got enough? No, ok,

[1:05:31] all right. Um, I mean, they

[1:05:32] were already, they were placed

[1:05:34] up there. So as part of the

[1:05:36] presentation. All right, um, do

[1:05:38] we have any Zoom participants

[1:05:38] who

[1:05:39] d like to be heard.

[1:05:42] There are no Zoom participants.

[1:05:43] Ok, with that, I will close the

[1:05:45] public hearing and bring it

[1:05:48] back to council for comment or

[1:05:49] discussion or.

[1:05:50] Move forward. I don

[1:05:50] t think

[1:05:50] there

[1:05:52] s any action item that

[1:05:53] s

[1:05:54] required tonight, correct,

[1:05:54] Carlo?

[1:05:56] This is the first of two public

[1:05:57] hearings. This was to hear what

[1:06:00] are our community had to say,

[1:06:02] um, any discussion or questions

[1:06:03] from council.

[1:06:07] So how are we advertising this?

[1:06:08] So we

[1:06:09] ve been advertising the,

[1:06:10] we started with the community

[1:06:11] meeting and that

[1:06:11] s been

[1:06:13] advertised on our social media

[1:06:15] channels. Uh, we have the

[1:06:17] advertisement in English and in

[1:06:19] Spanish, um, and we are, um,

[1:06:19] we

[1:06:20] re gonna continue to, to

[1:06:22] press that effort on our

[1:06:23] website and and through our

[1:06:25] social media in, in multiple

[1:06:26] languages as I mentioned.

[1:06:28] Mhm

[1:06:30] Any other questions?

[1:06:32] No questions. I just um, you

[1:06:34] know, for me, my perspective

[1:06:36] coming into tonight was to use

[1:06:38] this as a listening session to

[1:06:39] get the comments, uh, from the

[1:06:40] public. So I appreciate the

[1:06:43] speakers coming up and sharing

[1:06:44] their thoughts, um, other than

[1:06:44] that, that

[1:06:45] s all I have.

[1:06:47] Any other comments or questions?

[1:06:49] So we have nothing to receive

[1:06:50] in files. We just close the

[1:06:51] public hearing and move on.

[1:06:53] Correct, yes. Ok, great. Thank

[1:06:56] you. All right, uh, we will

[1:06:59] move on to the consent calendar,

[1:07:00] I believe. Would anybody from

[1:07:01] council like to pull anything

[1:07:03] from the consent calendar?

[1:07:03] No.

[1:07:05] Uh, is there any member of the

[1:07:06] public that would like to pull

[1:07:07] anything from the consent

[1:07:09] calendar?

[1:07:10] I seen none can have a motion

[1:07:11] as to the consent calendar.

[1:07:12] Move it.

[1:07:15] Can I have a second?

[1:07:16] 2nd 2nd, uh, all in favor,

[1:07:19] please say aye. Aye aye. Any

[1:07:20] opposed? The motion carries.

[1:07:21] I

[1:07:22] ll go to a council member,

[1:07:24] new business, a council member

[1:07:26] Woods. Um, I have no new

[1:07:28] business Council Member Jones,

[1:07:30] uh, just a reminder, SEPTEMBER

[1:07:31] 13th, this Sunday. Pam, what

[1:07:34] time does it start?

[1:07:37] 2. The band goes on at 2, doors

[1:07:42] open at 1, for Vegas and Velvet,

[1:07:42] it

[1:07:44] s gonna be a fabulous event,

[1:07:46] uh, obviously Pam, Doritza and

[1:07:47] I are going to be there. Many

[1:07:49] of you will be there. Um, it

[1:07:51] should be a great time. Uh,

[1:07:52] please come join us and help

[1:07:54] support the Signal Hill

[1:07:56] Community Foundation and all

[1:07:58] their efforts uh to support

[1:07:59] Signal Hill.

[1:08:03] Tickets are available where?

[1:08:04] And the banner that Pam

[1:08:04] s

[1:08:07] holding, but if you go to the

[1:08:08] Signal Hill Community

[1:08:10] Foundation, uh, social media or

[1:08:11] website at I love

[1:08:12] Signalhill.Org. There

[1:08:12] s

[1:08:13] additional information to

[1:08:14] connect you to the event.

[1:08:15] Thank you.

[1:08:18] COUNCILMAN Copeland.

[1:08:20] Vice Mayor Honey, yeah, I had

[1:08:23] the opportunity to attend the

[1:08:25] California contract cities fall

[1:08:26] education summit education

[1:08:28] summit. I thought it was, uh,

[1:08:29] very enlightening. We got one

[1:08:33] of the biggest issues facing la

[1:08:35] County is the expansion of the

[1:08:39] board of supervisors from 55

[1:08:42] supervisors to 9 and going from,

[1:08:45] uh, basically a hired, uh, uh.

[1:08:47] Uh, executive officer who runs

[1:08:49] the county to an elected

[1:08:50] executive officer, and that

[1:08:50] s

[1:08:51] gonna have significant impacts

[1:08:55] on how la County operates and

[1:08:57] so um we got a lot of

[1:08:58] information, uh, we can receive

[1:08:59] a presentation, if we

[1:09:00] d like,

[1:09:02] um, but I think that was,

[1:09:02] that

[1:09:04] s one of the big things

[1:09:06] that, uh, that I walked away

[1:09:08] with. Um, we also got a

[1:09:10] presentation on how to, on some

[1:09:12] of the El Nino preparations

[1:09:14] that I know our city is getting

[1:09:14] ready to.

[1:09:16] Put information out to make

[1:09:16] sure we

[1:09:17] re we

[1:09:18] re well prepared

[1:09:19] for what

[1:09:20] s predicted to be a

[1:09:22] very rainy winter, so anyway,

[1:09:22] that

[1:09:23] s all I have.

[1:09:25] Um, we should probably do an El

[1:09:27] Nino presentation at one of our

[1:09:29] upcoming council meetings. So

[1:09:30] residents know what resources

[1:09:32] are available to them. Um um,

[1:09:33] and is this going to be

[1:09:34] something on the ballot as far

[1:09:37] as moving from 5 to 9? Uh, it

[1:09:37] s

[1:09:38] already, it was on the ballot

[1:09:41] and the voters approved it. Ok.

[1:09:42] All right, uh, with that, can I,

[1:09:43] I have no new business. Can I

[1:09:45] have a motion to adjourn?

City Council on 2026-09-08 7:00 PM

Agenda

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