Due to technical difficulties during a March 1 hearing on the city’s new proposed district-based electoral map for 2024, Santa Clarita announced Tuesday that future hearings would be in Council Chambers at City Hall.
The city is hosting at least one more hearing to discuss what a district-based map for the City Council’s next election should look like. City leaders have agreed to approve such a map by June of this year, per the terms of a lawsuit settlement over an alleged California Voting Rights Act violation.
The physical setup of the venue resulted in both the in-person and online audiences having difficulties hearing what was going on, according to city spokeswoman Carrie Lujan, which was a challenge also mentioned during public comment at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
“By doing it in a gym, the acoustics, for the people on site, as well as for the people who were watching the broadcast, created several challenges,” Lujan said Wednesday, noting that Council Chambers is already well-equipped to handle such a hearing with its existing audio-video setup.
She also noted the new schedule for the hearings was already updated on the website the city created to help the public track the process, santa-clarita.com/city-hall/district-elections.
The next public hearing is scheduled 6 p.m. April 13 at City Hall.
Anyone who would like to submit a map for consideration at that hearing must do so by April 3, according to the city’s website.
City Hall is located at 23920 Valencia Blvd.
