The Palmdale City Council will hold a public hearing during its workshop on Wednesday, March 16, that begins at 7 p.m. at the Palmdale City Council Chamber, 38330 Sierra Highway, Suite B and via Zoom to consider the proposed five-district draft voting maps and discuss the potential move to five council districts and rotating mayor. The public hearing for the maps will begin at 7:30 p.m. Compass Demographics, Inc., will present the draft maps to the City Council to be considered for adoption. The maps are available for viewing at https://drawpalmdale.org/draft-maps. During the workshop, there will also be a presentation of the City’s illegal dumping action plan. The agenda is available at https://www.cityofpalmdale.org/955/Agendas-and-Meetings . The meeting will also be available on Spectrum Channel 27 and via Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89156234087?pwd=NmhmVEZyazVTUTFZazFZcGt4ZERnd z09 .To submit public comments during the meeting via Zoom, dial 346-248-7799 and use webinar ID 891 5623 4087 and passcode 841770.
The City presently has four council districts and a directly elected mayor. The City adopted its current district boundaries in 2016 based on 2010 census data, as required by law. The district boundaries must now be reconsidered using the 2020 census data and in compliance with the Fair and Inclusive Redistricting for Municipalities and Political Subdivisions (“FAIR MAPS”) Act, which was adopted by the California legislature as AB 849 and took effect January 1, 2020. AB 1276 is a subsequent clean-up of AB 849 and took effect on January 1, 2021.
This would be the first of two required public hearings should the council intend to transition to a five-district system with a rotating mayor.
Public meeting materials, draft maps, virtual meeting links, past meeting recordings and additional redistricting resources can also be accessed through the City of Palmdale’s redistricting website at www.DrawPalmdale.org.
The City is in the final stages of its city council redistricting process which, upon completion, will determine the boundaries of City Council voting districts for the next 10 years. Using public input on communities of interest and submitted maps from the public, City Council will adopt a new map in accordance with the FAIRMAPS Act, which states districts must be:
- Geographically contiguous (each district should share a common border with the next),
- Respectful of the geographic integrity of local neighborhoods or communities in a manner that minimizes its division,
- Drawn with easily identifiable boundaries that follow natural or artificial barriers (rivers, streets, highways, rail lines, etc.), and,
- Drawn to encourage geographic compactness with boundaries not drawn for purposes of favoring or discriminating against a political party.
Based on a statutory deadline, a new City of Palmdale district map must be adopted no later than April 17, 2022. The new map and election sequencing would then go into effect for the city’s next election cycle.