This month, the Council will be focusing on listening to your comments regarding redistricting for City Council district seats. If you are thinking, “Wait a minute, didn’t this already happen?” you’re probably not alone.
Now that congressional, state legislative, and county council boundaries have been finalized, it is time for cities to revise their council boundaries.
“A big challenge with redistricting the Council seats in West Jordan is that we have seen tremendous growth on the west side of the city within the last ten years,” explained Council Member David Pack. “This means that in order for districts to comply with the ‘one person, one vote’ principle, the boundary lines must be redrawn to ensure an equitable number of people reside within each district.”
In the January 26th work session, the Council was presented three different map options by the City Recorder. After some discussion, the Council determined that the “horizontal map”—which had districts spanning from east to west across the City—probably wasn’t the right fit for the community.
Currently, the Council is still considering two maps; one divides the City into a quadrant (with revised boundary lines that accommodate recent population growth), the other divides the City into four vertical slices.
“Redistricting is an important issue, which is why two public hearings will be held on the topic this month,” said Council Member Pamela Bloom. “Something that would be helpful for me to hear from residents is opinions on which redistricting map would allow for optimal representation from Council.”
Residents can view the maps at https://bit.ly/wjmaps2022 and send comments to councilcomments@westjordan.utah.gov
