Now that Cypress has formally voted to redistrict their city, they are under time pressure to produce suitable districts called for in the settlement agreement the Council has approved (see related story).
Following the Council’s vote to switch to by-district elections, Cypress City Clerk Alisha Farnell issued a public notice outlining dates and times for six public hearings called to get citizen input on drawing the maps that will now presumably govern future elections.
According to the Settlement Agreement signed by the city, they must select an electoral map no later than Feb. 26, 2024, and identify the two districts that will elect Council Members in November 2024.
The other three districts will elect Council Members in November 2026. This approach preserves the City’s current Council Member election sequence and respects the terms voters elected Council Members to serve in the November 2020 and November 2022 elections, city staff confirmed in its staff report.
According to Farnell’s notice, the by-district electoral meeting schedule has been set as follows:
• Monday, Jan. 22, 2024 at 6 p.m.
• Monday, Jan. 29, 2024 at 6 p.m.
• Monday, Feb. 12, 2024 at 6 p.m.
• Monday, Feb. 26, 2024 at 6 p.m.
• Monday, March 11, 2024 at 6 p.m.
“The public hearings will be held at 5275 Orange Avenue, Cypress, CA in the Council Chambers. At the January 22 and January 29 public hearings, the public is invited to provide input regarding the composition of the districts. Following the second public hearing, draft maps of potential City Council election district boundaries will be published on or before February 5, 2024, for consideration and public input at the third and fourth public hearings.”
Farnell said that at the February 12 and February 26 public hearings, the public is invited to provide input regarding the content of the draft maps and the proposed sequence of elections.
She said all interested persons are invited to attend the public hearing(s), in person or virtually, and are invited to express opinions or submit information. The public may also provide comments in writing prior to the public hearing(s) via email to the City Clerk’s office (cityclerk@cypressca.org) by 3:00 p.m. on the day of each hearing to allow sufficient time for comments to be included in the online agenda packet. Instructions for participating in the public hearing virtually will be published with each City Council agenda, at least 72 hours prior to each meeting, available online at https://www.cypressca.org/government/city-council-meetings.
Information about district elections, why the city is making this change, and the process is available on the city website at https://www.cypressca.org/government/district-elections.
According to the notice, for questions, residents are asked to contact the City Clerk’s Office at (714) 229-6685. Accommodation requests should be made at least three working days prior to the hearing so reasonable arrangements can be made.