Supervisors select boundaries for revised districts
By Debra Moore
Following months of work, four public hearings and a host of options, the Plumas County Board of Supervisors adopted new boundaries for county supervisorial districts Dec. 7.
This process is required by law and is repeated every 10 years following the Census. It’s an effort to keep the supervisorial districts as balanced as possible by population. That has always proved a challenge in Plumas County where the greatest population base is Quincy/East Quincy and the least amount of population resides in Indian Valley, which was true even before the fire.
The three final options had areas that were traditionally in the Quincy-centric district (District 4 ) going into other districts, including a map option where Feather River College and Plumas District Hospital became part of District 2 (Indian Valley based) and another, where the fairgrounds became part of District 2.
It quickly became clear that the decision would revolve around what to do about Quincy/East Quincy. The other maps kept the remaining districts fairly consistent with: District 2 retaining the Canyon; District 3 retaining Canyon Dam; District 1 including Iron Horse; and District 5 including Delleker.
“It’s difficult for me personally not to have a possessory attitude toward the community I live in,” District 4 Supervisor Greg Hagwood said. He said that he has lived in the community for 32 years and has served it in various capacities.
Hagwood said that there were portions of each map option that he liked, but he thought the college and the hospital should remain in his district. “I don’t like District 2 coming to the north side of Bucks Lake Road and encompassing PDH and the college,” he said.
Ultimately, because he had to give up something, portions of East Quincy will be going to District 2 and District 5 (Graeagle/Mohawk Valley). The map selected puts all of Chandler Road into District 2 and the ends of some East Quincy streets into District 5.
Hagwood echoed sentiments made by District 5 Supervisor Jeff Engel during the last hearing, when Engel said that the supervisors represent all county residents, not just those within district boundaries. “We are all going to do the best for all of our communities,” Hagwood said.
No public comment was made during the hearing, and the supervisors voted unanimously to adopt Option B.
In selecting a map, supervisors had to use the following criteria as much as possible: (1) geographically contiguous districts (each supervisorial district should share a common border with the next), (2) the geographic integrity of local neighborhoods or communities shall be respected in a manner that minimizes its division, (3) geographical integrity of a city shall be respected in a manner that minimizes its division, (4) easily identifiable boundaries that follow natural or artificial barriers (rivers, streets, highways, rail lines, etc.) and (5) lines shall be drawn to encourage geographic compactness. In addition, boundaries shall not be drawn for purposes of favoring or discriminating against a political part.
This is the new map adopted by the board Dec. 7:
Following are closeups of the supervisorial districts:
