City Of Redlands: Residents Invited To Learn About Redistricting And Share Ideas

Press release from the City of Redlands:

September 14, 2021

The City of Redlands invites residents and community members to
learn about redistricting and share their ideas about how shifts
in population might affect the boundaries of the five City
Council districts based on 2020 Federal Census data.

Every 10 years, cities with voting districts must conduct a
redistricting process to ensure a proper balance of populations
exists between all districts. State law requires cities such as
Redlands to engage communities in the redistricting process by
holding public hearings and conducting public outreach. Residents
are highly encouraged to participate and each meeting is open to
all residents in the city.

The finalized maps will define the five City of Redlands district
boundaries and determine how City Council members are elected for
the next 10 years.

The first of a series of public hearings on the redistricting
process will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21, in the City
Council Chambers at Redlands City Hall, 35 Cajon St. Two
additional public hearings will be held Jan. 18, 2022, and Feb.
15, 2022, with adoption of the final maps planned for April 17,
2022.

A virtual workshop will be held via Zoom from 5-7 p.m. Thursday,
Sept. 30. The Zoom ID is 862 2201 6993, or join by phone at (669)
900-6833. Participants in the virtual workshop will learn about
the current laws that govern the redistricting process, an
overview of the timeline to complete redistricting, an
explanation of communities of interest, and a demonstration of
mapping tools the public can use to define communities of
interest and how to submit redistricting plans for the City
Council to consider.

Under state and federal law voting districts must meet the
following criteria:

The public is invited to submit information regarding their
communities of interest and proposed district boundaries for the
2021 redistricting process. Draft maps will be available after
the 2020 U.S. Census data is released, which is estimated to be
at the end of September 2021.

Redlands residents can learn more about the process for drawing
new election districts at https://drawredlands.org/. The
site will be updated regularly as draft maps are available.

This press release was produced by the City of Redlands. The views expressed here are the author’s own.