Friday, Aug 20, 2021
 by 
Michelle Durand
  • Redwood City – The San Mateo County Supervisorial District Lines Advisory Commission will hold the first in a series of meetings at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021.

    This first meeting launches a months-long public process to hear from the community about district boundaries for electing the Board of Supervisors for the next decade. The agenda is posted on https://smcdistrictlines.org/ under the schedule tab.

    District Lines Advisory Commission logo

    The public is invited to attend via Zoom or by telephone. Details, including how to request live translation, are below.

    “We invite all of our residents to participate in this once-a-decade opportunity,” said Board of Supervisors President David J. Canepa. “At the end of this process, we will be looking at adjusting the boundaries for our five supervisorial districts. We want to ensure the boundaries reflect what you, our residents, consider your neighborhoods and your communities of interest.”

    Redistricting: What it is
    Every 10 years, local governments use new data from the U.S. Census Bureau to review their district lines to ensure each district has roughly the same number of people.  

    State law requires cities and counties to engage communities in the redistricting process by holding public hearings and doing public outreach, including to underrepresented and non-English-speaking communities. This effort is led by the Supervisorial District Lines Advisory Commission.

    The Board of Supervisors, on Aug. 3, 2021, appointed 14 San Mateo County residents to serve on the commission. The 14 were recommended for appointment by a panel representing local chapters of the League of Women Voters following an extensive recruiting process. The League is expected to recommend a 15th and final member as soon as possible.

    Once the 15th member is appointed, the commission will consist of three members from each of the five supervisorial districts. The commission will hold a series of public meetings over the coming months and then recommend a map or maps for consideration by the Board of Supervisors, which must adopt a final map on or before Dec. 15, 2021.

    This first meeting will include an overview of the process and some of the tools that will be available for residents to draw their own districts for submission to the advisory commission.

    Meeting Information
    Wednesday, August 25, 2021 at 6:30 p.m.
    Virtual Hearing
    Zoom Webinar Link:  https://smcgov.zoom.us/j/94471406745
    Zoom Webinar ID:  944 7140 6745
    Dial-in: 669-900-6833

    Translation Requests
    Live translation in an applicable language of a public hearing or workshop shall be arranged if a request for translation is made at least 72 hours before the hearing or workshop, unless less than five days’ notice are provided for the hearing or workshop, in which case the request shall be made at least 48 hours before the hearing or workshop. If you are requesting live translation, please contact Sukhmani Purewal, Assistant Clerk of the Board, at (650) 363-1802 and/or spurewal@smcgov.org or districtlines@smcgov.org.

    Website
    All materials and information about the work of the commission and the process will be available at https://smcdistrictlines.org/.