Pacific Grove council selects Map 101 for district elections, sets staggered 2026/2028 schedule

The Pacific Grove City Council on March 5 chose “Map 101” as the district boundary plan to transition the city from at-large to district-based council elections and approved a staggered sequencing that will put districts 1, 3 and 5 on the 2026 ballot and districts 2, 4 and 6 on the 2028 ballot.

The decision followed a consultant presentation that reviewed nineteen eligible draft maps and summarized demographic measures, population deviation, and citizen voting-age population (CVAP) for neighborhoods of interest. The consultant told the council the target population per district, based on the 2020 census population of 15,125, would be about 2,521 residents and noted courts allow up to a 10% deviation.

Public commenters and council members debated neighborhood integrity, shared commercial centers, and how many coastal districts the city should have. Several speakers argued to keep specific neighborhoods intact — including the Retreat and the Forest Grove condominium association — and urged transparency about where council members live in relation to the proposed lines. The council heard public comments both after map presentations and again during sequencing discussion.

After discussion, councilmembers made a motion to select Map 101; the motion was seconded and adopted on a roll-call vote of 7–0. Council then set the sequencing for elections so that, under Map 101, the districts labeled A, D and F on the map will hold elections in 2026 (to be numbered later as Districts 1, 3 and 5) and districts B, C and E will hold elections in 2028 (to be numbered as Districts 2, 4 and 6). That sequencing vote also passed unanimously.

The city attorney read an ordinance title to implement district-based elections and to adopt the chosen map; the council voted to approve the ordinance introductions and related recommendations and directed staff to place the finalized Map 101 and sequencing in the ordinance text for the second reading. The consultant will deliver an updated Map 101 showing the chosen sequencing to the city clerk’s office this week for the next public hearing and the second reading of the ordinance.

Why it matters: The map selection and sequencing finalize how Pacific Grove voters will elect council members beginning with the 2026 election cycle, a structural change the council began considering in public hearings starting in November and which the consultant and council characterized as required to comply with state law and best practices. Sequencing also determines which incumbents finish their at-large terms and which seats are first contested by district-resident candidates.

What the council said: Councilmembers explained their choices in the public record. Councilmember WalkingStick described his top criteria as keeping neighborhoods of interest together and maintaining socioeconomic balance; Councilmember Rao emphasized avoiding gerrymandering and keeping Del Monte Park intact; other members cited alignment with school trustee lines and preserving business clusters and coast access as deciding factors.

Next steps: City staff will insert Map 101 and the adopted sequencing into the draft ordinance language, circulate the updated map and ordinance text for public review, and present the ordinance for a second reading and final adoption at a subsequent meeting. The clerk was directed to retain the map and related materials on the city website for ten years, consistent with staff remarks.

Meeting chronology and record: The map selection concluded a series of public hearings that included consultant briefings, public map submissions, and two public-comment periods on March 5. The council recorded the motions, second, and unanimous roll-call votes on the record.