Every part of a single community should be in the same County Council district, the three people who testified before the Councilmanic Redistricting Commission said May 24.
"I think there's maybe a way to try to keep communities together," Loretta Shields, chairwoman of the Howard County Republican Party, said. She added that in council member Courtney Watson's neighborhood, Watson and one side of a community are in District 1 while the other side is in District 5.
Council member Mary Kay Sigaty, a Columbia Democrat, said in District 4, she has a tiny piece of the St. John's community, but the majority of it is in Watson's District 1.
"I have one side of the road and everyone else is in the other district," she said.
Sigaty said she would like the commission to consider keeping communities in the same district "so that some constituents don't feel that they're not part of an existing community because of the ways that the lines are drawn."
Also testifying at the hearing was Columbia resident Kenneth Stevens, who lives in District 3. His plan for redrawing the council lines would solve one of Sigaty's problems by moving the entire St. John's community into District 1, among other changes.
Overall, Stevens said, he thinks the lines should be drawn in a way that makes the districts relatively compact but ensures the incumbent council members remain in their districts.
"One of the things I looked at was not cheating anybody out of a chance to run again," he said.
Commission member David Marker who served on the panel that the redrew the lines 10 years ago said the small turnout at the public hearing was to expected at this stage.
"People are more reactive than proactive" in this process, he said, noting more residents are likely to testify after the commission comes up with a few plans later this summer.
The commission will hold another public hearing on June 13 at 7 p.m. at the Elkridge Branch Library. The panel will come up with a few plans over the summer to present to the community this fall before selecting a final plan to go to the council for approval.
— Lindsey McPherson