Redistricting 2021 Archives - Bass Lake Action Committee

The County has four new draft maps prepared for what should be the final redistricting hearing to determine Supervisor districts for the next ten years. The hearing is scheduled for 1:30PM on Tuesday November 16th.

The maps (with County commentary) can be seen here – https://www.edcgov.us/Government/Elections/Pages/Redistricting-Draft-Maps.aspx

The good news – the Supervisors have heard the voices of the Bass Lake Area

Only thirty written comments were submitted to the Supervisors prior to their last redistricting meeting on November 3rd, and over TWENTY of those thirty written comments were from Bass Lake Residents. The Supervisors heard your concerns and almost all of them agreed that the Bass Lake Villages of Bridlewood Canyon, Woodridge, and The Hills of El Dorado are a community of interest, and should be represented in the same supervisor district.

At the November 3rd hearing, the Supervisors determined that the City Draft Alternative 2 Map and the El Dorado Hills Community Draft Alternative were map options that they wanted to explore, and asked that County staff incorporate our community concerns to come back with the final set of draft alternatives.

Of the four final maps

City Revised 2A – separates our Bass Lake Villages and the Serrano communities on the east and south sides of Bass Lake from the Bass Lake communities on the west side of Bass Lake, putting the east and south sides of Bass Lake into District 2, and keeping the west side in District 1. This is less than optimal for all of our Bass Lake communities, on both sides of Bass Lake.

City Revised 2B – Keeps our Bass Lake Villages in District 1, but separates the El Dorado Hills Communities south of US50 that have asked to remain in a single district (Four Seasons, Heritage, and Blackstone) into District 1 and District 2. Our El Dorado Hills neighbors south of US50 have supported the Bass Lake Area in our desire to remain in a single suburban district, and we would like to support their desire as a community of interest to remain in a single district.
El Dorado Hills Community Revised A – This alternative keeps our Bass Lake Villages in District one, and supports our El Dorado Hills neighbors south of US50. However, it adds a massive area of rural land north of El Dorado Hills to District 1, and more significantly, moves the District 2 boundary so far east, that it takes the District 4 supervisor, and places her residence into District 2. She’s already announced her re-election campaign for 2022. Political alignments and considerations CANNOT be used as part of the redistricting process – but to be honest, Supervisors are the decision makers in this process in El Dorado County, and in all reality, that would be an automatic no-vote from one supervisor out of five supervisors, and we need three yes votes to support our choice.

El Dorado Hills Community Revised B – This alternative is the one that we believe we should support. It keeps the Bass Lake Villages on the east side of Bass Lake in one district with our neighbors on the west side of Bass Lake, and it keeps us aligned with the majority of El Dorado Hills. It also respects the desire of our El Dorado Hills neighbors south of US50 to remain in a single district. Another benefit is that it keeps our neighbors in Cameron Park in one District – they have been separated and underrepresented in two districts prior to this. This combines 19,000-plus Cameron Park residents and 9,000 El Dorado Hills residents south of US50 to become a block of over 28,000 suburban residents out of 38,000 residents in District 2.

**Closeup view of the El Dorado Hills Community Revised B Map**

If you feel that you could support the El Dorado Hills Community Revised B draft alternative, could you submit written comments to the Board of Supervisors before the Monday November 15 4PM deadline?

Here is a sample letter of support you could use. Your previous written comments had a positive impact on letting the Board of Supervisors know that the Bass Lake Area is a significant Community of Interest, and moved the needle for our community in the redistricting process.

Email to:
edc.cob@edcgov.us – Clerk of the Board of Supervisors

cc the email message to each supervisor:
bosone@edcgov.us – District 1 Supervisor
bostwo@edcgov.us – District 2 Supervisor
bosthree@edcgov.us – District 3 Supervisor
bosfour@edcgov.us – District 4 Supervisor
bosfive@edcgov.us – District 5 Supervisor

Subject: November 16, 2021 Agenda Item 40 – Public Workshop on the 2021 Redistricting Process (Redistricting Public Hearing #5)

Honorable Supervisors,

As residents of the Bass Lake Area in El Dorado Hills, we deeply appreciate your concern and instructions to County staff to keep our Bass Lake Community of Interest intact in a single supervisorial district.

In reviewing the draft alternative maps as proposed, we believe that the best option for representing the interests of our Bass Lake Community, El Dorado Hills, our El Dorado Hills Neighbors’ Community of Interest south of US50, and our suburban neighbors in Cameron Park, is to support the El Dorado Hills Community Revised B Map.

This map keeps our communities aligned, supports suburban communities of interest where no local city representation exists, keeps the Bass Lake Community intact, keeps Cameron Park in a single district, keeps our Serrano neighbors’ community of interest intact, and keeps most specific plans intact in District 1 and District 2.

Out of the four Draft Alternative Maps, we urge you to support El Dorado Hills Community Revised B Alternative Map. It represents the best available compromise that respects communities of interest in the largest population centers of El Dorado Hills and Cameron Park in El Dorado County. The El Dorado Hills Community Revised B Alternative Draft Map meets each of the mapping factor priorities, and aligns with the desires of our various Communities of Interest:

Geographic contiguity.
Geographic integrity of neighborhoods and local communities of interest.
Geographic integrity of cities or census-designated places.
Natural and artificial barriers, including streets and boundaries of the county when practicable.
Boundaries should be easily identifiable and understandable by residents, and bounded by natural and artificial barriers.
Geographical compactness.

Thank you for supporting our communities.

Please make sure that you remain respectful in your comments, as supervisors instantly turn off pleas based on emotion.

Remember:
Your comments should be submitted BEFORE 4:00PM on Monday November 15!!!
Thank you for your consideration to provide your comments to the Board of Supervisors.

This is an URGENT appeal to Bass Lake Area Residents to provide written comments to the Board of Supervisors by tomorrow, Tuesday November 2 before 4PM.

This is your opportunity to share with the County Supervisors how you believe district boundaries should be drawn to best represent our Bass Lake community.

The final DRAFT alternative redistricting maps are being presented to the Board of Supervisors at a special meeting on Wednesday November 3rd at 9AM. In EACH of the three proposed Draft Alternative Maps the Bass Lake Villages are being split between two districts – the District 1 eastern boundary line is proposed to be the FENCE LINE between Bridlewood Canyon, and Woodridge – meaning that Bridlewood Canyon will remain in District 1, while Woodridge and The Hills of El Dorado will be moved to either District 4 or District 2.

Here is City Alternative 1

Here is City Alternative 2

Here is the Pollock Pines Draft Alternative:

Seeing the exact boundary in these drafts is very difficult – but basically, the boundary is the fence/wall between backyards in Bridlewood Canyon and Woodridge:

These maps were drawn this way because the Serrano Homeowners Association wanted all of their members in a single district – which we support, because they are a Community of interest. But the changes to the Draft Alternatives to accommodate Serrano Homeowners Association’s request also moved Bridlewood Canyon into District 1 with the Serrano Village J7 (where NO RESIDENTS LIVE YET) because they share a property wall. However, no consideration has been given to the separation of Woodridge and The Hills of El Dorado from Bridlewood Canyon, even though as neighbors we have shared a fence line / wall for twenty years.
The Bass Lake Villages are as much a Community of Interest as any other community in the County – we have the same concerns and issues as neighbors on the eastern side of Bass Lake. We are neighbors – dividing our neighborhoods divides our voice in Supervisor representation.

There is currently a conceptual Daft Alternative map from a working group of El Dorado Hills residents, which includes members of the Bass Lake Community, Highland Hills Community, the Serrano Homeowners Association, Heritage Homeowners, the Age Restricted Communities along White Rock Road and Latrobe Road, and the El Dorado Hills Chamber of Commerce – we requested a more natural split of El Dorado Hills north and south using US50 as a natural boundary line, as it does not separate neighborhoods, and provides large representation of El Dorado Hills in two districts (because El Dorado Hills is too large by population to fit in a single district) as the current crop of drafts proposes moving small numbers of El Dorado Hills residents into multiple districts, making our voices weaker.

Since the County seems intent on continuing to divide Cameron Park into multiple districts, our working group’s proposal is to place a significant part of Cameron Park into District 1 along with the areas of El Dorado Hills north of US50, and to move everything in El Dorado Hills south of US50 into District 2.

This will give El Dorado Hills more than 73% representation in District 1, with more than 25% of Cameron Park, and then also provide over 27% of El Dorado Hills residents to be in District 2 – keeping El Dorado HIlls with a significant population voice in two suburban-oriented districts. This also results in Cameron Park being over 30% of District 4, giving Cameron Park residents a large voice in two districts.

No official Draft Map for this community alternative is prepared from County Staffers yet.

We have been told that this El Dorado Hills Community Draft Alternative Map could be presented as the fourth draft option to the Board of Supervisors for their Wednesday November 3rd meeting, but there are no guarantees.

If you feel that you would support a draft alternative that keeps our Bass Lake Villages together, could you provide your comments to the Board of Supervisors in an email?

Our primary concern is keeping our Bass Lake neighborhoods in a single district, instead of allowing the County to split us apart based on a fence line.

If you choose to provide comment, here is a form letter that you can use:

Email to:

edc.cob@edcgov.us – Clerk of the Board of Supervisors

Subject: October 3, 2021 Agenda Item 1 – Public Workshop on the 2021 Redistricting Process (Redistricting Public Hearing #4)

Honorable Supervisors, As residents of the Bass Lake Area, we ask that you consider keeping our Bass Lake Area neighborhoods whole, and not allow them to be split across multiple districts, as Draft City Alternative Revised 1, Draft City Alternative Revised 2, and the Draft Pollock Pines Alternative proposes to do.

The Bass Lake Villages on the eastern side of Bass Lake – Bridlewood Canyon, Woodridge, and The Hills of El Dorado – have existed as a Community of Interest for twenty years. We are neighbors, with similar concerns, interests, and needs. Dividing our community based on a fence line, as each of the three proposed draft alternatives seeks to accomplish, will diminish our voice as neighbors. A fence line is an artificial, arbitrary boundary for supervisorial districts.

We are a community of interest in respects to:

Our Town – the Bass Lake Villages were included in the borders of 2005 EDH Cityhood Ballot Measure
Our proximity as neighbors with similar concerns to our immediate local interconnected roads, public safety, and our natural environment
Our properties all exist in the El Dorado Hills CSD boundaries
Our properties all exist in the El Dorado Hills Fire Department boundaries
Our children all attend the same public elementary and high schools (Rescue USD and El Dorado High School District)

From your own meeting slides materials, the mapping factors in order of priority are:

Geographic contiguity.
Geographic integrity of neighborhoods and local communities of interest.
Geographic integrity of cities or census-designated places.
Natural and artificial barriers, including streets and boundaries of the county when practicable.
Boundaries should be easily identifiable and understandable by residents, and bounded by natural and artificial barriers.
Geographical compactness.

Keeping our Bass Lake Villages in a single district accomplishes each and every one of these goals. To do otherwise violates each and every element of the listed priorities.

The Bass Lake Villages are as much a Community of Interest as any other community in the County – as neighbors we have the same concerns and issues as residents of the eastern side of Bass Lake. We are neighbors – dividing our neighborhoods divides our voice in Supervisor representation.

In the event that the El Dorado Hills Community Draft Alternative map from a working group of El Dorado Hills neighbors is provided as an option prior to your meeting, we would encourage you to utilize this Draft Alternative, as we believe that it is the option to best represent the Bass Lake Area, as well as the best representation for El Dorado Hills and Cameron Park.

Our priority is to keep our Bass Lake Neighborhoods together in a single district.

Please make sure that you remain respectful in your comments, as supervisors instantly turn off pleas based on emotion.

Remember:
Your comments should be submitted BEFORE 4:00PM on Tuesday November 2!!!
Thank you for your consideration to provide your comments to the Board of Supervisors.