The San Diego County Board of Supervisors sent a proposed plan for redrawing supervisorial district boundaries back to staff so one of the districts would have a population mostly made up of minority residents.
The supervisors unanimously ordered staff during a Tuesday meeting to make the change but maintain the character of the map created by an advisory committee that met numerous times.
The plan was challenged by the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties, which alleged it violates the Voting Rights Act. County staff rejected an alternate plan created by the civil rights organization, but supervisors were willing to see the creation of a mostly minority district.
"There are so many communities of interest to take into consideration and sort out -- they don't fit easily into five supervisory districts of the same size population," Supervisor Greg Cox said. "I want to adopt a map that would keep, as much as possible, the integrity of the work that committee has accomplished."
The major feature of the current plan is that it moves the district of Ron Roberts toward the coast, taking La Jolla from Pam Slater-Price. The other districts had only minor adjustments.
The staff will now make more changes, and the supervisors hope the future maps will be placed online before a public hearing scheduled for Sept. 6.
The five districts originally proposed to the supervisors were formed by a commission that used 2010 census data. The supervisors make the final decisions.
The census shows Latinos now make up more than a third of San Diego County's population, while Caucasians make up less than 50 percent.
The board is currently made up of five supervisors who are all white and all Republican. They have each held office for more than four terms.
