Santa Maria asking public to participate in upcoming redistricting meetings

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- The City of Santa Maria is asking members of the public to take part in two upcoming meetings in order to receive input on how lines should be drawn for councilmember districts.

Due to the nature of the meetings, which the city is hoping will pull in large participation, both meetings will be held at community centers.

The meetings are scheduled for:

• Wednesday, March 2nd, at 5:30 p.m., at Minami Community Center, 600 West Enos
  Drive
• Tuesday, March 15th, at 6:00 p.m., at Maramonte Community Center, 620 East
  Sunrise Drive

The city is required to redraw district lines every 10 years using new census data to reflect how local populations have changed.

The process includes public participation, with the city reaching out to all members of the community, including non-English speaking residents.

Santa Maria adopted its current district maps on May 16, 2017. The new lines were a dramatic change to city elections, moving away from an at-large voting system to a district-based process.

Since the district maps have only been used for the past four-plus years, this marks the first time the city is going through the redistricting process.

There are three draft maps that have been prepared by an outside consultant National Demographics Corporation.

Two maps, named Plan A and Plan B, provide minimal change to the current district structure, while a map named Quadrant Map would offer a more dramatic shift.

In addition to attending an in-person meeting, the public may participate through other means, including email and voicemail.

Members of the public can communication with the city by emailing comments to redistricting@cityofsantamaria.org.

To offer input through the phone, the public may call (805) 361-9505 or Toll-free 1-(866) 789-1117.

Emails and map submissions must be received by 2:00 p.m. on the day of the hearing in order to be viewed by the City Council.

According to the city, live broadcasting of the hearings will not be available on the City of Santa Maria YouTube Live Channel or on Comcast Cable Channel 23.

In addition, Zoom will not be offered for the two upcoming meetings.

A video recording will be made of each hearing and posted to the meetings portal and on the city’s redistricting webpage the following day.

For more information on the Santa Maria redistricting process, click here.