The Palmdale Water District (PWD) board of directors will hold its final public hearing on redistricting on March 14 rather than on March 28 as initially scheduled. The earlier hearing will provide final boundary lines before the District advertises for the opening of the Division 1 director’s position.
Rescheduling the hearing allows for the open position to be advertised on March 15, giving potential applicants at least three weeks to apply. The seat will be vacant effective March 1. The Board voted last week to fill the position by appointment rather than a special election.
“We’ve had a public workshop and a public hearing on redistricting and have yet to receive any comments,” said PWD General Manager Dennis D. LaMoreaux. “It is important that we have the new map set so that potential applicants will know if they live within the Division 1 boundaries.”
By law, the PWD Board has 60 days from March 1, or until April 30, to make an appointment. A public notice of the vacancy will be posted in three or more conspicuous places in the District at least 15 days before the appointment is made. The appointee will serve until December 2024, the remainder of the vacated term.
Details of how to apply for the position will be released on March 15. Applicants must reside in Division 1, which roughly borders Avenue P to the north, Avenue R to the south, 35th Street to the east, and Highway 14 to the west, and between 10th and 20th Streets West, from Avenue N on the north to Avenue O-12 on the south. The final boundaries will be available after March 14.
PWD undergoes redistricting every 10 years to ensure fair representation of the nearly 127,000 constituents in its service area. The 2020 U.S. Census numbers show PWD’s five divisions are within the 10-percent deviation allowed by law. The PWD board will choose between keeping the current division boundaries and one alternate map for the divisions.
The maps are available on PWD’s website at www.palmdalewater.org.
