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Board of County Commissioners <br />November 2, 2021 <br />Page Two <br />The following criteria were adopted by the Board: <br />1) Districts shall be as nearly equal in population as possible with final population figures not <br />exceeding a deviation of 6% between the largest and the smallest district, and not exceeding a <br />deviation of 3% between any district and the "ideal population" (defined as the total population of <br />the County divided by five). <br />2) Districts shall be compact, rather than sprawling. <br />3) Districts shall be contiguous — that is, no portion of a district shall be geographically separate and <br />apart from the rest of the district. <br />4) Respect for Existing Districts, with current commissioners being maintained in their current <br />districts. <br />5) Neighborhoods and other communities of interest shall be included within a single district, rather <br />than split among two or more districts. <br />6) Districts shall follow major natural or man-made boundaries — e.g., major roads, rivers, bridges, <br />canals, etc. <br />7) Districts shall follow United States Census Bureau blocks. <br />8) No district shall be drawn to split or minimize the political influence of any group of residents. <br />The County GIS Division, primarily through the efforts of Paige Lester, GIS Analyst, using the criteria set <br />forth in the 2021 Redistricting Plan, developed three redistricting proposals. On October 19, 2021, after <br />taking public comment, the Board voted to direct County staff to make revisions to the first redistricting <br />map proposal, including reducing the deviation between Commission districts without creating awkward <br />boundaries between Commission districts, maintaining the City of Sebastian and the City of Vero Beach <br />in two Commission districts, and maintaining McAnsh Park in one Commission district. The GIS <br />Division has revised the proposed map which is attached as 1B. Copies of the revised redistricting map <br />has been provided to the Supervisor of Elections, the five municipalities within the County, the School <br />Board and to Senator Debbie Mayfield and Representative Erin Grall. The County Attorney believes that <br />the proposed redistricting map meets the requirements of the law and the criteria established by the Board. <br />Per the Board's direction, County staff conducted a workshop in the Gifford community on November 1, <br />2021 at 6 pm. The workshop was held at the Gifford Youth Achievement Center. At the workshop, the <br />residents raised several issues about redistricting. Please be aware that these comments do not necessarily <br />reflect the opinions of all of the speakers. The comments included the following: <br />1) Desire to have barrier island as one district and in a separate district from Gifford in order to avoid <br />having a wide income gap in District 2 <br />2) Desire to have the City of Vero Beach in three commission districts <br />3) Concern that the Gifford community has decreased in size <br />4) Concern that Gifford has not received its share of funding from the County <br />5) Desire to include Grand Harbor with Gifford community <br />6) Concern with connection between the Gifford Neighborhood Plan and the Gifford community as a <br />designated area for purposes of redistricting <br />C:IU rsUegin rUppDamlLocaATempOCL Techwl giesl yPDF81QBCLQ380FF938WCL@380FF937.di c <br />113 <br />