Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

Slight boundary changes to NCFPD election zones expected

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

The North County Fire Protection District will be altering the NCFPD board election zones to reflect 2020 census changes in the district's population, although the election zone changes are expected to be minor.

"The boundaries will be adjusted slightly," said NCFPD Fire Chief Keith McReynolds.

A community workshop on proposed redistricting maps was held Oct. 5. "It was a great meeting. There was a lot of great discussion, a lot of collaboration, cooperation," McReynolds said. "I think everybody left pretty pleased with where we are."

In April 2019, the NCFPD board approved a change from elections at large to seats by election zones. Elections by zone require candidates to live in that zone, and the election for that seat is by voters within that zone. The maximum allowable variance between the highest-populated and least-populated election area is 10% based on the most recent census data.

When the map was adopted based on the 2010 census, the variance between the most populated and least populated zones was 4.8% with no zone deviating from an equal share of the total population by more than 2.3%.

A new census triggers a review of the election zone map. "We're in the process of redistricting, which is something we do every 10 years," McReynolds said. "We evaluate our election districts to determine if any adjustments are needed."

New election zones were on the agenda of the Sept. 21 NCFPD board meeting. "As a result of that first hearing, the board decided to hold a public workshop," McReynolds said.

The Oct. 5 workshop was legally a special meeting, but the redistricting was the only item on the agenda. Approximately a dozen community residents participated. "It was a good meeting. It was well-attended," McReynolds said.

Three maps were provided at the meeting, including a map with the existing boundaries. The census update revised Fallbrook's population from 49,355 to 55,317, which would require approximately 11,000 residents in each trustee area. "We moved the boundaries to be able to accommodate that," McReynolds said.

Much of the growth has been along the Interstate 15 corridor. "That ended up causing us to change our boundaries just a little bit, not much," McReynolds said. "There were a few adjustments that were made, no major changes."

NCFPD apparatus engineer Dustin Glasgow is also a geotech specialist and was able to create boundary changes in real time. A fourth map with the minor changes was created.

Zone 1 covers the Downtown Fallbrook area, including NCFPD Station 1 on Ivy Street. Zone 2 covers the eastern end of the town and also covers Reche Road and Stage Coach Lane, and NCFPD Station 2 in the Winterwarm area of Fallbrook is in that zone. Zone 3 covers Rainbow and other NCFPD territory north of East Mission Road and includes NCFPD Station 3 in Rainbow. Zone 4 east of Gird Road and north of State Route 76 includes Live Oak Park and Pala Mesa, and Station 4 is in Pala Mesa. Zone 5 covering Bonsall and southern Fallbrook including the Olive Hill area is where Station 5 in Bonsall is located.

The revised maps retain one fire station in each election zone. "That's helpful from a community standpoint," McReynolds said.

A public hearing on the proposed maps will take place at the NCFPD regular board meeting Oct. 26. "That will allow for additional public input," McReynolds said.

The NCFPD board is not required to adopt the new map. "The board still has the ability to look at all four of them," McReynolds said.

 

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