SEAL BEACH : Council to Discuss Boundary Changes

The City Council is scheduled to discuss proposed changes in council district boundaries at its meeting tonight.

The changes were suggested by a council-appointed committee charged with using 1990 census data to equalize populations in each of the five districts. Under state law, redistricting is required to keep district populations as equitable as possible.

Since Leisure World suffered a population loss, some of the districts had more residents than others, City Manager Jerry L. Bankston said.

The council discussed possible new boundaries at a study session last Monday and appeared to reach consensus on boundaries for districts 2, 4 and 5.

Those changes, which the council will vote on tonight, mean that Leisure World is totally self-contained within two districts, 2 and 5, and District 4 becomes more inclusive of College Park East, Bankston said.

There are still some questions, however, about the boundaries for districts 1 and 3.

The redistricting committee submitted five alternatives for boundaries between the two districts and the council suggested several other possibilities as well, but was not able to agree.

With the changes in the other three districts, District 3 has about 300 to 400 fewer residents than District 1, Bankston said.

One suggestion is to take Surfside out of District 1, which is primarily made up of Old Town, and put it in District 3, primarily the Hill area.

Another suggestion is to take some inland Old Town area from District 1 and place it in District 3. District 3 now includes the Seal Beach Center, the Trailer Park, Naval Weapons Station housing, the Hellman property and other areas.