Ordinance No. 5,864Published In: THE BAYTOWN SUN 910523-1
Tuesday, May 28, 1991
Wednesday, May 29, 1991 ORDINANCE
NO. 5864
AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING CRITERIA FOR DEVELOPMENT AND
EVALUATION OF A VOTING PLAN FOR THE CITY OF BAYTOWN,
TEXAS; AND PROVIDING FOR THE PUBLICATION AND EFFECTIVE
DATE THEREOF.
WHEREAS, the City of Baytown has been directed to convert
its charter established at=larqe election system into one that
includes a single-member district; and
WHEREAS, it is necessary to apportion the City into council
districts; and
WHEREAS, in effecting the apportionment process, the City is
subject to numerous federal and state constitutional, statutory,
and case law requirements; and
WHEREAS, it is the intent of the City to be sure that the
apportionment is in full compliance with the Voting Rights Act
and with all other relevant law; and
WHEREAS, the City desires to afford all persons in the
community an opportunity to participate in the apportionment
process; NOW THEREFORE
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN,
TEXAS:
Section 1: The criteria is hereby established for
development, evaluation and adoption of a voting plan as follows:
(1) Any plan should have districts of substantially
equal population;
(2) Any plan should create at least one district in
which minorities are approximately 65% of the total
population of that district;
(3) Any plan should not act to dilute the voting
strength of racial or language minority citizens;
(4) Any plan should avoid fragmenting or packing
minority communities;
(5) Any districts should be composed of territory that
is contiguous and reasonably compact;
(6) Any plan should not inexplicably disregard
available natural or artificial boundaries;
(7) Any plan, to the extent possible, should preserve
historic boundaries, should preserve traditional
neighborhoods, should recognize clearly
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go identifiable economic or community interests and
should preserve constituency - representative
relations;
(8) Any plan should be drawn to conform with geographic
boundaries utilized by the Bureau of the Census in
the 1990 census to the extent possible; and
(9) Any plan should be based on 1990 census data.
Section 2: All ordinances or parts of ordinances
inconsistent with the terms of this ordinance are hereby
repealed; provided however, that such repeal shall be only to the
extent of such inconsistency and in all other respects this
ordinance shall be cumulative of other ordinances regulating and
governing the subject matter covered by this ordinance.
Section 3: If any provisions, section, exception,
subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause of phrase of this
ordinance or the application of same to any person or set of
circumstances, shall for any reason be held unconstitutional,
void or invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the validity of
the remaining provisions of this ordinance or their application
to rather persons or sets of circumstances and to this end all
provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable.
Section 4: This ordinance shall take effect immediately from
and after its passage by the City Council. The city clerk is
hereby directed to give notice hereof by causing the caption of
this ordinance to be published in the official newspaper of the
City of Baytown at least twice within ten (10) days after passage
of this ordinance.
INTRODUCED, READ and PASSED by the affirmative vote of the
City Council of the City of Baytown, this the 23rd day of May,
1991.
EMMETT O. HUTTO, Mayor
ATTEST:
EILEEN w �
�. 'HALL, City Clerk
H'ACIO RA.MIRE ,,SR., Assistant City Attorney
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