The Goleta City Council is getting closer to selecting a new district elections map as it will hold a special meeting Thursday afternoon for its fifth public hearing to consider draft maps.
The City Council also will discuss a management plan for the Goleta Community Center during Thursday’s meeting.
Goleta has been undergoing the process of transitioning to district-based elections since last year, when preliminary 2020 Census data were released in August. Previously, City Council members were elected by voters in at-large elections, in which anyone in Goleta could vote for any of the members.
Beginning in November, after a district map is adopted, voters will elect City Council members in their own districts.
More than 50 draft maps were submitted by community members in Goleta — all of which can be viewed on the Draw Goleta website — and if the council selects a map Thursday, the first reading of an ordinance is scheduled to take place during the March 1 meeting.
The second reading and adoption of the ordinance will then take place during the Goleta City Council’s March 15 meeting.
During Thursday’s meeting, the Goleta City Council is set to consider Plan 701, which was drafted by consultants at National Demographics Corp. While the NDC drafted the map, it was derived from Plans 201B and 403 — both of which were drafted and submitted by community members.
Members of the public are invited to participate in this process through the public comment period of the meeting.
The Goleta City Council also will review a draft plan to assume direct management of the Goleta Community Center effective July 1.
The center is currently run by the nonprofit Goleta Valley Community Center organization; however, its lease is ending on June 30, and the city is planning to take over ahead of the upcoming $8 million seismic and ADA improvements capital project.
The draft management plan consists of a fee schedule, a staffing model, a draft budget and a list of one-time startup costs, all of which are attached to the item’s staff report.
The special Goleta City Council meeting will be held virtually at 4:30 p.m. Thursday and can be viewed online on the city’s website.
— Noozhawk staff writer Serena Guentz can be reached at sguentz@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.