PALMDALE – The city of Palmdale is launching its City Council redistricting process with the first of four public hearings scheduled to take place on Tuesday, Sept. 14, at 5:30 p.m., in the Palmdale Council Chamber, located at 38300 Sierra Highway, Suite B.
Members of the Palmdale community are encouraged to participate in this year’s redistricting process to make sure district lines respect neighborhoods, history, and geographical elements.
The redistricting process occurs every 10 years and uses new U.S. Census data to balance out the population count among each district. Residents of Palmdale have an opportunity to help shape the future of the city by redrawing district boundaries and creating new maps based on population changes. Maps are drawn based on population count, contiguity, public input on communities of interest and more.
To ensure the redistricting process accurately reflects the best interest of Palmdale’s diverse community, the City Council has appointed an Advisory Redistricting Commission to gather public feedback and provide recommendations on draft maps. As required by law, the city of Palmdale is holding four public hearings at the City Council Chamber:
- Sept. 14 at 5:30 p.m. – First Public Hearing
- Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. – Second Public Hearing
- January 2022 (TBA) at 7:30 p.m. – Third Public Hearing
- February, 2022 (TBA) at 7:30 p.m. – Fourth Public Hearing
The City has also developed an outreach plan that includes the following community workshops:
- Oct. 12 at 5:30 p.m. – District 1 Community Workshop, Holiday Inn 38630 5th Street West
- Oct. 16 at 1 p.m. – District 4 Community Workshop, Knight High School, 37423 70th Street East
- Oct. 16 at 5 p.m. – District 3 Community Workshop, Palmdale Oasis Park Recreation Center, 3850 East Avenue S
- Oct. 25 at 6 p.m. – District 2 Community Workshop, Marie Kerr Park Recreation Center, 2723-A West Rancho Vista Blvd.
The scheduled community workshops give residents an opportunity to learn more about mapping tools, ensure their community is fairly represented and connect with others interested in the redistricting process. The public is encouraged to attend and make public comments on the process. Comments may also emailed to Redistrict2021@cityofpalmdale.org up until 24 hours before the scheduled meeting.
To help share information about redistricting, gather draft maps and collect public feedback, the city has launched a redistricting website: DrawPalmdale.org. The website includes background information about redistricting, a schedule outlining public meetings and deadlines, frequently asked questions, resources for drawing maps, and more information on how to get directly involved in the redistricting process. As the process moves forward in the coming months, Palmdale will continue to update the website to include additional information on upcoming meetings and events.
To learn more about the redistricting process and future public participation opportunities, visit www.DrawPalmdale.org.
[Information via news release from the city of Palmdale.]
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QH Holdover says
You will get districts when Eastside residents quit voting for Westside candidates. Once you start electing Eastside residents to the City Council the powers to be will cry about lack of control! I mean lack of fair representation for the Westside. Quit electing Westside good ol boys!!!
East Lancaster says
When will we ever get voting districts in Lancaster? We are controlled by a small political elite led by Parris and his hand picked west side puppets. When will East Lancaster ever be represented? When will we have a government that truly represents all the residents of Lancaster? We need new blood. Districts will help. It will put an end to insider deals, cronyism, wasted tax money on pet projects like LEAPS.