PALMDALE — The City Council, on Wednesday, will consider an urgency ordinance regarding appointments to the Planning Commission.
The ordinance is necessary because the Council changed from four districts and a mayor elected from the city at-large to five council districts. This conflicts with the existing appointments to the Planning Commission, in which the four council members each nominated a commissioner from their district, with the mayor making the appointment and one commissioner selected by the mayor from the city at-large.
It is necessary to change the ordinance to reflect the new district format now, as three commissioners’ terms ended, on June 30, and new appointments must be made, even though council members have not yet been elected from the new five districts.
Additionally, under the new district boundaries, four of the five commissioners reside in districts other than those for which they were appointed, and four of the five now reside in the same districts, according to the staff report.
The ordinance to be considered by the Council will state that each of the five council members will appoint one commissioner from their district, with consent of the entire Council.
Until the fifth district has an elected council member, the mayor will make the appointment of a commissioner for that district, according to the staff report.
The ordinance would also renumber the two-year terms of each commissioner, so that those in Districts 1, 3 and 4 expire in even years, and 2 and 5 in odd years. This would mean the least disruption to the terms for existing commissioners, should be retained.
The urgency ordinance requires a four-fifths vote of the Council to be enacted.
The agenda for Wednesday’s meeting also includes an item for the Council to vote on, removing all existing members of the Planning Commission, then making appointments following the new ordinance, should it pass.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m., in the Council Chambers, 38300 Sierra Hwy. Members of the public may also participate via Zoom at
