The City of Palmdale is hosting its final community workshop on Monday, Oct. 25, at 6 p.m. Residents are encouraged to join in-person at Marie Kerr Park Recreation Center, located at 2723-A West Rancho Vista Blvd. or participate via Zoom webinar.
The Zoom webinar link is https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85657555425?pwd=Y3crR01yWTdKNFRGVjJZRmVDRyszUT09, Zoom number: US: +1 253 215 8782, webinar ID: 856 5755 5425, passcode: 090933.
The 2020 Census data has indicated that the City of Palmdale’s population has significantly changed over the last 10 years, creating incompliant voting districts. In order to ensure each of the four City Council members represents the same number of constituents, the City is undergoing the process of redistricting and seeking public feedback on how district boundaries should be adjusted.
To date, the City of Palmdale, along with the Advisory Redistricting Commission, has held three community workshops to give residents an opportunity to learn more about redistricting and share their opinion on where the new voting district lines should be drawn. At each of the workshops, residents participated and provided insight into Palmdale’s neighborhoods and communities of interest. The feedback received at each of the workshops is available on the City’s redistricting website.
At the Oct. 25 workshop, participants will learn more about the available mapping tools, connect with others interested in the redistricting process, and ensure their community has a voice throughout the process. Residents will also have a chance to ask the City’s demographer questions regarding current districts and the various mapping tools.
Palmdale residents have an array of tools and feedback mechanisms available to them. The paper maps and the interactive review map are loaded with the official 2020 Census data. DistrictR is in the process of uploading the official data onto their platform, and their online mapping tool is expected to launch in the coming weeks.
Residents are not required to submit complete maps; they can simply draw boundaries for their own desired district or highlight what they consider to be their neighborhood boundaries. Draft maps can be submitted to redistrict2021@cityofpalmdale.org.
To give the public more time to draw maps for the first round of consideration, the initial review of draft maps is now scheduled for the Advisory Commission’s next meeting on Nov. 9, 2021. The deadline to submit maps for consideration at this meeting is Nov. 4, 2021. Residents can still submit maps for consideration at future meetings.