Persuaded by Dimond residents and City Councilwoman Jean Quan of District 4, District 5 Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente agreed last Tuesday to keep the lower Dimond in District 4 -- a move that pushed the council's final vote on the city's new political boundaries back by two weeks to April 29.

De La Fuente's decision not to move Dimond into District 5, as he and councilman Larry Reid had proposed last month, came after some 40 residents of the neighborhood made their case last week to maintain a "community of interest," rather than divide it.

"No matter how much (Quan) would have pushed, it was up to De la Fuente to listen and recognize the Dimond as a community of interest," said Arturo Sanchez, a policy analyst for District 4 Councilwoman Quan,.

At a March 31 meeting hosted by De La Fuente and Quan, residents spoke of efforts related to Dimond Park, the Sausal Creek watershed and the importance of a unified business district.

"I don't see this as a compromise," De la Fuente said. "I see it as arguments that make sense."

The latest redistricting plan also reunites the Glenview neighborhood, which has been divided between district 2 and 4 along Park Boulevard for the past 10 years. Glenview will become part of District 5, if the council approves the plan later this month, as expected. This would move District 5 above (or north of) the I-580 freeway for the first time.

The latest plan keeps Canon Avenue from Wellington Street to MacArthur Boulevard, and the area south of I-580 between Champion and School streets -- including Fruitvale Elementary School -- in District 4.

Many Dimond residents had feared that dividing the area between two district would "marginalize it," according to Chris Burmester co-chair of the Dimond Improvement Association. The area has seen some economic development and neighborhood improvements recently, and more plans are in the works that may benefit from unification, Burmester said.

Businesses moved into many of Dimond's vacant commercial spaces last year, and residents convinced Safeway management, which was planning to close the grocery store, to remodel it instead. A Subway sandwich shop moved to the intersection of MacArthur Boulevard and Fruitvale Avenue. And neighbors expect the former Albertson's site to be filled shortly.

Dimond residents also have been hard at work on another ambitious project -- a plan to qualify the area for Metropolitan Transportation Commission funding. The plan involves more "streetscape" improvements, bus shelters and a bike route. The bike route would connect to the well-established bike path on MacArthur that runs through the Laurel district.

The plans would cost $15,000-30,000 to develop, Burmester said, which Dimond residents hope the city will help them fund. Eventually, they want to get some $1.2 million from MTC.

"In an odd way, the redistricting process made us think about what our community is and made us realize that we share issues with Glenview," he explained.

"My experience is that council is responsive to an organized group," Burmester said. "But in a symbolic way (uniting the Dimond) makes the community feel united, which further fuels the renewal of the district."