The County of Sonoma is entering into the final weeks of
its redistricting process, which, upon completion, will determine geographic
areas of Sonoma County supervisorial districts for the next 10 years.
The next redistricting hearing, which can be attended in-person or virtually,
will take place during the Nov. 16 Board of Supervisors meeting at 8:45 a.m.
During this hearing, the county’s demographer will present revised map
options based on the direction given by the board during the Nov. 2 public
hearing where supervisors reviewed the first iteration of the Advisory
Redistricting Commission’s recommended draft map. Proposed changes to
the draft map, based on board direction, centered on the cities of Rohnert
Park and Santa Rosa, including the Roseland and Moorland areas of Santa
Rosa.
Changes to one part of a district map often require changes elsewhere to
ensure maps are population balanced as required by federal law.
Population-balanced maps help to ensure diverse communities are fairly
represented and have a voice at the decision-making table through equal
representation. These new district lines ultimately will determine who and
what areas are represented on the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors by
determining which neighborhoods and communities are grouped together
into a district.
The board is scheduled to select a preferred map during the Nov. 16 hearing,
with the deadline for public input on the preferred map being Nov. 19. An
ordinance to adopt a map is slated to be introduced and adopted on Dec. 7.
Based on a statutory deadline, a new Sonoma County supervisorial district
map must be adopted by Dec. 15. The new map and election sequencing will
then go into effect for the county’s next election cycle.
The hearing materials, draft maps, virtual meeting links, past meeting
recordings and additional redistricting resources can be accessed through
the County of Sonoma’s redistricting webpage,
sonomacounty.ca.gov/redistricting. Community members may submit
comments on the board-selected preferred map through Nov. 19 by emailing
redistricting2021@sonoma-county.org.
