By now you have heard about the City’s 2010 Redistricting Commission. Its task is to re-evaluate the city council districts in light of the 2010 census and to include an additional council district (the ninth). CD1 was the fastest growing in the city and is now significantly in excess of the 2010 target for each district (199,000 versus 144,000). Changes to the current Council District 1 (CD1) will be significant and the Commission is asking us to weigh with our thoughts for the new CD1. Other groups in the city are proposing their own vision for redistricting the city. We recognize their good efforts; however, we don’t want our portion of the city to be backed into a new district cobbled together with the leftovers from other proposals! Some of your community leaders have developed a template for the new CD1 that we call the “Coast & Canyons Plan.” A growing number of community organizations are endorsing it. The new CD1 would include the communities of Carmel Valley, Del Mar Mesa, Fairbanks Country Club, Flower Hill, La Jolla, Pacific Highlands Ranch, Torrey Pines, Torrey Hills and University City. This is essentially the old CD1 except that Rancho Penasquitos, Black Mountain Ranch and Torrey Highlands would shift to an inland district. The proposal also returns portions of University City and La Jolla to CD1. There are compelling reasons why this proposal is as good for the current constituents of CD1 as well as the city. Further, the proposal exceeds the requirements of the city charter. Please send your support for the Coast & Canyons Plan to [email protected]. Better yet, join us at the Commission’s May 11 meeting (La Jolla Library, 7555 Draper Ave, 6 p.m.) to request adoption of our plan. —?Joe LaCava is the former president of the La Jolla Community Planning Association and the Bird Rock Community Council. He can be reached at [email protected].