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.
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.