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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-17-2007 Minutes MINUTES OF THE CITY OF OCOEE DISTRICTING COMMISSION MEETING HELD MAY 17,2007 CALL TO ORDER Chair Grafton called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. in the Commission Chambers. Chair Grafton then led in prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. The roll was called and a quorum declared present. PRESENT Chair Grafton, Members Garland, McKey (arrived 6:12 p.m.), and Morganto. Also present were City Attorney Paul Rosenthal, GIS Analyst O'Halloran, Orange County Supervisor of Elections Mapping Supervisor Beverly Willis, City Clerk Eikenberry and Records Coordinator Moseley. ABSENT Vice Chair Blankenship (excused) APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR APRIL 19,2007 Member Garland, seconded by Member Morganto, moved to approve the regular minutes of April 19, 2007. Motion carried unanimously. WHY WE ARE HERE — WELCOME AND REPORT TO THE PUBLIC ON PROPOSED DISTRICT CHANGES—Chairperson Grafton Chair Grafton stated the Charter Review Commission said they were growing so fast that redistricting should be done more often than every ten years so that the districts are equally divided. City Attorney Rosenthal explained the Districting Commission's responsibilities and purpose. He said this committee has been taking the 2000 census data and applying different information, such as projected development, etc. and use that to come up with different district lines that are balanced. They cannot be exact parameters and is based on population, not registered voters. The goal of the committee is to come up with a recommendation to the City Commission to redistrict or to do nothing at this time. At that time the City Commission will decide what action is to be taken. City Attorney Rosenthal pointed out that whatever redistricting is done, it will not apply to any registered voters until the 2009 election because there is no City election in 2008. This is first going to have an impact on who you can vote for in 2009; however, the incumbent City Commissioners will have their districts changed prior to that time if they redistrict. He added that the committee has taken into consideration where the incumbent City Commissioners reside and two will not end up in the same district. Districting Commission Minutes May 17, 2007 REVIEW OF OPTIONS IN REDRAWING THE LINES—GIS Analyst O'Halloran GIS Analyst O'Halloran explained what work was done by staff after the last meeting as suggested by the board. At the time of the last redistricting in 2002, some changes were made to the districting boundaries in order to balance the population between all 4 districts. He compared the results of the redistricting in 2002 to the numbers as of December 31, 2006, and the population and percentage of deviation from the ideal population are as follows: 2002 2006 Population of Ocoee 24,372 34,285 District 1 -2.20 -1.73 District 2 -0.11 -12.36 District 3 2.07 1.49 District 4 0.07 12.60 GIS Analyst O'Halloran explained that because of the population growth since 2002 (last redistricting), the City has increased in population and it has not been equal between the districts. For example, district 4 has increased a lot and district 2 not so much. As we work on new boundaries, we have to use the population as of December 31, 2006. However, they can take into account the future growth by looking at the projected development for Ocoee. He showed a graph of the projected developmental growth for each district for the next 36 months. District 3 will increase drastically in the next three years, and district 4 as well. District 2 has the least projected growth. GIS Analyst O'Halloran said at previous meetings he was asked to compile population numbers. The census was last done in 2000 and they had to come up with a way of getting new population numbers. So they took those last census numbers and added the Certificates of Occupancy (CO's) at approximately 3 people per CO. This brought them to an estimated population of 34,000 as of December 31, 2006. Once they had those population numbers, they presented population deviations for each district and realized that some districts grew more than others. They continued that process and created several redistricting plans that will be presented tonight. He stated that after the third meeting he was asked to add the McCully and Maine Street annexations and he did split one census block at E. Geneva St. GIS Analyst O'Halloran presented the board plans suggested and the total deviations created by each plan as follows: Board Plan 1 Board Plan 3 Board Plan 4 District 1: -1.73 District 1: -1.62 District 1: -1.79 District 2: 1.72 District 2: 3.39 District 2: 3.05 District 3: 1.49 District 3: - .28 District 3: .16 District 4: -1.48 District 4: -1.48 District 4: -1.48 Chair Grafton announced that one of the goals was to keep the deviation within 5% of the ideal population. GIS Analyst O'Halloran said that two of the current districts are 2 Districting Commission Minutes May 17, 2007 12% of the ideal; however, these three plans put them under 5%. City Attorney Rosenthal stated that all three plans presented are acceptable from a legal stand point. Chair Grafton asked if staff could show one more deviation from Board Plan 4 by moving a line that is part of Board Plan 3 and see where that would put District 2. GIS Analyst O'Halloran pulled up the software and the map for Board Plan 4 and moved 3 census blocks from District 3 to District 1 (Lakewood Avenue, West to Ocoee-Apopka Road, North to Fuller's Cross Road). He called the new plan Board Plan 5. The percentages of deviation for this are as follows: Board Plan 5 District 1: -1.73 District 2: 3.06 District 3: .16 District 4: -1.48 PUBLIC HEARING Chair Grafton opened the pubic hearing. James Fleming, 511 Orange Avenue, said he lives in District 2 and likes Board Plan 2 because it evens everything out less than 5%. Rosemary Wilsen, 1019 Shady Maple Circle, said she was impressed with both Board Plans 3 and 4. She thought the board had done a wonderful job and any decision they made would work well. She commented that this desperately needed to be accomplished due to voting reasons. Joel Keller, 5021 Lighterwood Court, stated his likeness of Board Plan 5, but also thought with the future growth it might need to be changed because of the enclaves within those blocks that may eventually annex in. He liked Board Plan 4 as well and asked if they have heard about Rose Hill and subdivisions over by Good Homes Road annexing into the Ocoee. He thought the potential of that area annexing in might be of affect District 2. City Attorney Rosenthal said they have talked about annexing into Ocoee for years, but never have done it. Scott Anderson, 510 Orange Avenue, said the board did a really good job. He said there is talk about the area over by Good Homes Road and White Road. He believes by the next redistricting that District 2 will go back to Wurst Road because of the potential growth to the northwest corridor. There are also a lot of homes in the northeast corridor that could be added in the future. He said that Board Plan 3 takes the line very close to the residence of the current commissioner and he would prefer that the line not be put right beside their home just because the commissioners are so familiar with their neighbors. 3 Districting Commission Minutes May 17, 2007 City Clerk Eikenberry said the line that Chairperson Grafton moved in Board Plan 5 was part of the Chevron property and will include a future population of about 900 people. City Attorney Rosenthal said that population would not be changing much before the next census anyway. The public hearing was closed. COMMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS Member McKey said he preferred Board Plan 1. He said that Board Plan 3 was not a favorite because he would hate to see it affect a commissioner. He thinks that Board Plan 4 and 5 are the best. Member Morganto liked Board Plan 1 because she thinks the other plans are thinking too far into the future. They are not sure if those future developments will even hit the next census. Member Garland favored Board Plans 4 & 5, with 5 being better because of projected growth. He thinks it is a good start for the next redistricting and Board Plan 5 will help District 1 a lot. If Rose Hill comes in down the road they can deal with that later. Member McKev, seconded by Member Morganto, moved to recommend Board Plan 1 to City Commission. Member Garland said he would like to wait until the next meeting, when all members are present, to make a recommendation to City Commission. All members agreed. Member McKev recommended tabling the pending motion until the next meeting. The board decided to schedule the next meeting to June 21, 2006, at 6:00 p.m. DIRECTIONS TO STAFF Chair Grafton asked staff to draw up Board Plan 5 so that Vice-Chair Blankenship could review it. She also requested the minutes reflect the public's comments. She stated her appreciation to Mike O'Halloran for all of the work he has done and said he always provides good information. She thanked Beverly Willis as well. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:06 p.m. %N*av-- kid!) Holly ose , Records Coordin r Jii: Grafton, Ch•, 4