Sacramento redistricting commission finalizes new City Council map

Update, Dec. 17

Sacramento’s Independent Redistricting Commission approved a map Thursday night that would make major changes to the City Council boundaries for the next decade.

The approved map is mostly the same as the one finalized just a week prior, with minor tweaks to areas that have no population and changes that were made based on a swell of community comments.

What you need to know about redistricting in the city of Sacramento

Those changes would move the Robla community back into District 2, put all of Meadowview into District 8, and slide part of Valley Hi into District 5.

The finalized map will take effect immediately. Registered voters in Sacramento have a 30-day window to challenge it in court.

Original story, published Dec. 9

Following six hours of public comment and tediously drawing lines with digital mapping software, Sacramento’s Independent Redistricting Commission finalized a map Wednesday night that will set City Council boundaries for the next decade.

The new map will be made available to the public to view and comment on until Dec. 16, when the commission will vote whether to adopt it before sending it to City Council.

The map would make significant changes to Sacramento’s current districts and set the stage for several political battles.

Some of the new district changes include:

• In Natomas, District 1 would inch farther into part of north Sacramento.

• The Central City would change dramatically. Midtown and downtown would remain united, but District 4 would now include East Sacramento.

• District 3 — which currently comprises East Sacramento and the River District — would move north of the river, to South Natomas.

At Wednesday’s meeting, several people who spoke took issue with the redrawing of the districts south of Broadway — especially Districts 7 and 8, which has split the Meadowview neighborhood for the last decade. District 7 would now encompass Pocket, Little Pocket and all of Land Park, and District 8 would have most of Meadowview, Valley Hi and North Laguna.

The map would unite Land Park and Curtis Park.

The changes to Districts 3 and 4 could lead to hard-fought political battles between renters in the central city, who elected Katie Valenzuela in 2020, and wealthier East Sacramento residents who’ve kept Jeff Harris in office since 2014. As it stands, Harris — who’s up for re-election in June — would no longer be able to represent District 3, because he wouldn’t live in the district.

At next week’s meeting, the commission will take public comment on the finalized map. If Wednesday was any indication, callers will likely voice their frustrations about the Parkways being broken off from Meadowview and East Sacramento joining the Central City in District 4.

By approving a map on Wednesday, the commission conceded to making no major changes at the next meeting — only minor adjustments to streets and neighborhoods.

Next, they’ll vote to adopt the map and send it to City Council.

Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified the Land Park and Curtis Park boundaries before 2010.