An advisory commission charged with studying changes to the boundaries of San Mateo County's five supervisorial districts voted Thursday to send two proposed maps to the Board of Supervisors.
The two maps were selected from about 30 maps considered by the 2021 Supervisorial District Line Advisory Commission.
The Board of Supervisors will meet next Tuesday, Nov. 9, to review the commission's recommendations and consider additional testimony and public input.
The Board will also hold a public hearing on Tuesday, November 16 and more will be held as needed. The law requires the Board to adopt a final map by December 15, 2021.
The work to redraw the boundaries of supervisorial districts is done every 10 years, after the U.S. Census Bureau releases updated census information.
The Board of Supervisors, based on recommendations from local chapters of the League of Women Voters, appointed 15 volunteer commission members to participate in a months-long public process to gather public input.
Thus, Thursday's selection of two draft San Mateo maps to send to the Board of Supervisors occurred during the commission's 10th meeting, and more than 200 comments were submitted from the public, in person, online, via social media or by mail.
"What we've witnessed here in San Mateo County is the antidote to the idea that people aren't interested in participating in local issues," said Commission Chairman Jim Lawrence of Foster City. "Quite the opposite. We've seen tremendous participation in this fundamental part of democracy."
While the five districts must have a substantially balanced population, key requirements under state and federal law also include complying with equal federal and state voting rights; drawing districts that are, to the extent possible, geographically contiguous; and keeping communities of interest intact as much as possible.
In addition, also keep cities intact, and have easily identifiable boundaries - main roads, railways, streets, rivers, mountains, as much as possible.
According to the 2020 census, each district should have about 153,083 people.
Draft maps for consideration
After a five-hour public hearing, the advisory commission voted to forward two draft maps for consideration by the Board of Supervisors.
The first is Unity Mappresented by a coalition led by Thrive, an alliance of local nonprofit agencies; while the second, called Commissioner Espinoza's MapThe meeting was presented by Advisory Commissioner Rudy Espinoza of Redwood City.
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