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File Number: 25-285 Government Code Section 34886, the City Council may adopt an ordinance that requires members of the City Council to be elected by-district with an elective mayor without requiring the ordinance to be submitted to the City’s voters for approval. Conversely, Government Code Section 34871 permits the City Council to submit to the City’s registered voters an ordinance providing for by-district elections where the existing legislative body is comprised of six districts with an elective mayor. As is here, the City will remain in compliance with the CVRA in deciding to vote on an ordinance that would be submitted to the City’s electorate as permitted under Government Code section 34871. B.Legal Requirements for Mapping. Section 230 of the City of San Leandro Charter requires district boundaries to be drawn whenever the results of the federal census show an increase of five percent (5%) or more since the last redistricting. The City Council last approved new council district boundaries in 2022, following the 2020 federal census. The 2020 census data, released in August 2021, revealed a population growth of 7.13% Citywide, thereby triggering the Charter requirement for the City Council’s formal review of its district boundaries. Between January and April 2022, the City undertook its redistricting process pursuant to Section 230 of the City of San Leandro Charter, adhering to the requirements in Section 230 of the Charter throughout its redistricting process. On or around April 2022, the City concluded its redistricting process by submitting its final redistricting plan to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters (“ROV”) - which was later certified. The map is provided as Attachment C. Pursuant to Section 21130(a) of the Elections Code, public agencies that adopt an ordinance to transition to district-based elections have an obligation under the United States Constitution to ensure that the council districts are substantially equal in population. Population equality must be based on the total population of residents of the city as determined by the most recent federal decennial census for which the redistricting data described in Public Law 94-171 1 are available. (Id., subd. (b).) The City must have “substantially equal” districts. (Reynolds, et al. v. Sims et al. (1964) 377 U.S. 533.) Furthermore, the City’s Charter mandates each district contain “as nearly as possible, equal number of residents.” (San Leandro City Charter, § 230.) The FAIR MAPS Act established criteria for adopting election district boundaries. (Elec. Code, § 21130(c).) However, these criteria do not apply to charter cities that have adopted comprehensive or exclusive redistricting criteria in its city charter that includes a requirement to keep whole either communities of interest or neighborhoods. (Elec. Code, § 21130(g).) For purposes of this subdivision, “comprehensive or exclusive” means either that the city’s charter excludes consideration of redistricting criteria other than those that are identified in the city charter or that the city’s charter provides two or more mandatory traditional redistricting criteria other than the requirement that districts be equal in population. The City’s Charter makes the FAIR MAPS Act’s criteria inapplicable because Section 230 of the City Charter requires the following: ·Each district shall consist of geographically contiguous territory. ·Each district shall consist of geographically compact territory. Page 3 City of San Leandro Printed on 9/4/2025