SD County Board of Supervisors Redistricting Plan to Trim District 1 Population

Based on the results of the 2010 census, the lines that determine which residents are represented by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors will be redrawn.

Districts 1 (which includes IB), 3 and 5 need to lose population, and two districts, 2 and 4, need to gain population.

Those who want to participate in the process of revising district lines in their community are encouraged to submit comments to the County Redistricting Advisory Committee or directly to the Board of Supervisors before the July 12 vote.

Cities, states and counties are required by federal law to redraw district lines based on census results so that every elected representative speaks for nearly the same portion of the population. 

"So District 1 will need to shrink," losing 35,786 residents to other districts, according to Nicole Temple, the county’s Redistricting Project Manager.

"IB is not in danger of being left out of District 1, nor should it be," according to Andrea Scorepa, District 1 appointee to the Redistricting Advisory Committee. She said that communities north of San Diego Bay are more likely to be annexed before IB.

"You want your community to be represented, to make sure that the districts are drawn fairly and evenly, and that everyone has the opportunity to be heard," she said. Which district you're in, and what supervisor represents you, depends on where lines are drawn. 

This redistricting is for the County Board of Supervisors electorate, and is not to be confused with other redistricting activities such as state or city of San Diego redistricting commissions.

Starting in February, the County Board of Supervisors appointed an Advisory Committee to illustrate five different redistricting options and to make recommendations about where new lines should be drawn.

Scorepa said that one goal of redistricting is to maintain community cohesion, to avoid fragmenting a district or separating communities with similar political, social, ethnic or economic characteristics.

"In District 1, we want to keep all the people who are around the bay together," said Scorepa. 

District 1 currently includes most of central and southern San Diego's coastal communities, including Pacific Beach, Mission Bay, Crown Point, Ocean Beach, Point Loma and portions of the city of San Diego, as well as the cities of Coronado, National City, Chula Vista, and Imperial Beach, among unincorporated communities like Bonita, Jamul, Spring Valley, San Ysidro and Lincoln Acres.

When it's done right, each of the five supervisorial districts has an "ideal population" equal to one fifth of the total county population of 3,095,315 calculated in the 2010 census, Scorepa said, or 619,063 each.

In one plan titled "051611 RAC Draft Plan 1," northern areas from Pacific Beach to Ocean Beach would be annexed from District 1, while Point Loma and Coronado would remain with other communities lining the San Diego Bay.

According to Scorepa, Pacific Beach and Ocean Beach are different than the South Bay geographically and otherwise. "Their issues are more along the ocean [where] the Coastal Commission plays a big role."

IB is "a family place. In that way it's much more community-oriented," she said. 

In contrast, students come to live in Ocean Beach, where most businesses are built around its beach, she said. IB has a different focus, without much commercial property along the ocean.

To view proposed plans online, visit the San Diego County Redistricting website. Select "View Current Districts with 2010 Census Data," hover your cursor over "Choose Plan," then "Current Legislature."

The deadline to submit formal plans has passed; however, the public can still participate by submitting suggestions at the board’s June 28 meeting or via email at redistricting2011@sdcounty.ca.gov.