As Goleta divides into four voting districts , it is also splitting the sitting councilmembers into those with a district and those without. Two members of the council — Kyle Richards and James Kyriaco — both live in Old Town, which is likely to be in a district occupying the city’s southeast quadrant.
Among the 53 maps submitted by the public, most split the city between north and south along Highway 101, and east to west at Glen Annie/Storke. A couple of innovators sliced Goleta into four segments following lines created by the watersheds; each went right across the highway, with one resulting in a population distribution that was about 112 percent out of whack.
To be considered, maps had to pass the minimum legal requirements of evenly apportioning 32,754 residents among the four districts, while retaining a contiguous boundary and also keeping neighborhoods and communities with common interests together. Each district could hold about 8,100 people, with a variance allowed of less than 10 percent.