MROSD splits the coastside between two wards

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) has chosen to divide up the coastside between two existing wards. The downside to this arrangement is that it splits the already small coastside community into really tiny constituencies.  From MROSD’s press release:

A total of about 30 people attended the public meetings and personally gave input on the redistricting alternatives to include the Coastside Protection Area, and another 20 people provided input via a survey on the District’s Web site. Results of the public comment clearly showed the one-Ward and two-Ward scenarios were the top choices of coastsiders for democratic representation of their community.

Ward 6 Director Larry Hassett, whose ward would include San Gregorio and La Honda under the new plan, said "Although the one-ward scenario was a consideration among coastside residents, the two-ward scenario is a tribute to the coast. Receiving many inquiries from the public during this process made me realize that having two directors represent the coastside would allow the sharing of the workload and provide greater Board availability and access for coastside residents."

According to MROSD, the San Mateo County Farm Bureau echoed a similar opinion and supported the two-Ward scenario because under this configuration there would be a Board member election every two years, rather than every four years, providing greater opportunity for a coastside resident to become a District Board member.

Reading between the lines suggests that coastsiders who expressed an opinion preferred the one-ward alternative. The upside of this arrangement for the MROSD board is that it assures bayside control of the wards and decreases the likelihood any incumbents needing to campaign on the coast. Director Hassett’s explanation of this as a "tribute" to the coastside sounds patronizing to my ear and I’d like to talk to some folks at MROSD about it. With the holiday tomorrow, I may not be able to get them on the phone til Monday.  I’ll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, please share your reaction to the new ward boundaries in the comments on this story.

Click on the "Read more" link to see the MROSD press release.

For Immediate Release Contact:  Cathy Woodbury November 10, 2004       Planning Manager (650) 691-1200

Open Space District Approves Redrawn Ward Boundaries

—Wards 6 and 7 to Represent Coastside Residents—

LOS ALTOS, CA [November 10, 2004] – The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District’s Board of Directors voted last night 6 to 1 on a final redistricting plan, which has resulted in two wards, Wards 6 and 7, expanded to represent about 30,000 constituents in the Coastside Protection Area. Reapportionment of the ward boundaries was necessary in order to democratically represent coastside residents who became District constituents when the Coastside Protection Program became official on September 7, 2004.

The District’s commitment to establishing a public participation process for reapportionment of the District’s Ward boundaries was noticed in a February 2004 District Resolution, and was also a condition of the San Mateo Local Agency Formation Commission’s (LAFCo) approval of the Coastside Protection Program in April of this year. In late October and early November, the District held public meetings in Half Moon Bay, Pescadero, and at the District’s Skyline Boulevard field office to obtain public input on how the District’s ward boundaries should be redrawn.

A total of about 30 people attended the public meetings and personally gave input on the redistricting alternatives to include the Coastside Protection Area, and another 20 people provided input via a survey on the District’s Web site. Results of the public comment clearly showed the one-Ward and two-Ward scenarios were the top choices of coastsiders for democratic representation of their community.

Ward 6 Director Larry Hassett, who is the only Board member who currently lives adjacent to some of the District’s open space land, and who’s Ward is now one of two Wards extended to include part of the Coastside Protection Area said, “Although the one-Ward scenario was a consideration among coastside residents, the two-Ward scenario is a tribute to the coast. Receiving many inquiries from the public during this process made me realize that having two directors represent the coastside would allow the sharing of the workload and provide greater Board availability and access for coastside residents.”

The San Mateo County Farm Bureau echoed a similar opinion and supported the two-Ward scenario because under this configuration there would be a Board member election every two years, rather than every four years, providing greater opportunity for a coastside resident to become a District Board member.

By law, the Open Space District is limited to a maximum of seven wards, each of which has to contain roughly the same number of people. Since the Coastside Protection Area includes a population of about 30,000, the District had to reapportion all of the existing wards to include the new constituents and make sure that each Ward contained approximately 100,000 individuals.