Planned shift in districts won't affect current Woodside council members Planned shift in districts won't affect current Woodside council members (May 18, 2005)

By Renee Batti

Almanac News Editor

Incumbent Town Council members won't have to change the template for their re-election fliers after Woodside's district boundary lines shift this summer if the council sticks with its support of the redistricting plan it endorsed last week.

The council on May 10 considered four staff-generated alternatives for realigning the boundaries of the town's seven political districts -- a change required after annexation of an area near Woodside High School called attention to an imbalance in district populations.

Of the four alternatives, only Option D would not bump any of the current council members from their districts -- a significant consideration since there is one seat on the council for each district and a council member must live in the district he or she represents.

The council chose Option D, setting the ball in motion for at least one public hearing to be held before a final decision is made.

The next hearing is set for Tuesday, May 24.

Under Option D, four districts would be affected. Small sections of Districts 1 and 3, now represented by Dave Tanner and Sue Boynton, respectively, would move to District 2, represented by Deborah Gordon. And a portion of District 6, now represented by Carroll Ann Hodges, would shift over to District 1.

Town Manager Susan George noted that all four options would allow the town to meet the criteria set by the council to ensure balanced and logical representation of residents.
Restoring balance

In 2003, the town annexed the unincorporated Ward/Greenways neighborhood east of Interstate 280, and that triggered a town review of district populations, Ms. George said. That study revealed that the districts now vary by as many as 140 over and 158 under the average of 785 people per district.

Ms. George said the criteria used in crafting the options included a standard limiting each district's population range to 8 percent above or below the 785-person average.

Other criteria included consideration of such factors as topography, geography, community cohesiveness and zoning similarities.

Under the council-favored option, the districts would vary by as many as 46 above and 56 below the 785-person average.

Councilman Pete Sinclair offered his own option to the council at the May 10 meeting -- a plan that would have shifted boundaries of Districts 1 and 4. But in a straw poll, only he supported that plan.

With Mayor Paul Goeld absent, the other five council members gave their support to Option D.
INFORMATION

The staff report with information and maps detailing the four staff-generated options is at Woodside Town Hall, 2955 Woodside Road. For more information about the May 24 public hearing, call Town Hall at 851-6790.

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