- April 26, 2024
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U.S. Census data necessitates zone adjustments.
Palm Coast City Council elections are just months away, and now, some candidates vying for a seat on the council may not be able to run after all.
According to the Palm Coast City Charter, the city must reevaluate its districts within 90 days of final U.S. Census data being released.
The City Council will appoint a five-member District Commission to evaluate population numbers from the 2010 U.S. Census and determine if certain districts need to expand or contract.
City Manager Jim Landon said: “This does have an impact on who can and cannot run for the city election this fall.” Landon originally planned to do the redistricting in-house; however, it must be done by outside members who were registered voters in the most recent general election and can’t be city employees or hold an office. Candidates vying for a City Council seat later this year can qualify, though.
It is possible that a candidate currently living in a district with an open seat might be rezoned to a district that doesn’t have an open seat. If that happens, the candidate would be ineligble to run.
At the May 10 City Council workshop, Landon said the shift in population over the last 10 years has been “fairly significant.”
Landon suggested at the workshop that districts 1 and 2 would likely need to expand, while districts 3 and 4 would need to contract.
Each City Council member will recommend someone at the May 17 regular meeting to join the District Commission. District changes will have to be finalized by the beginning of August.
