Resident urges clearer ward maps, plain‑language descriptions for residents

John Squires, a resident, told the City Council during the public‑comment period that the city’s ward maps are difficult for residents to read and urged clearer boundaries and plain‑language descriptions. "We need to work on our ward maps," Squires said, adding that new residents and others "have no idea what we're at."

Squires spoke about technical issues with online maps, saying the publicly available map he viewed appeared frozen on a February 2024 view and that he had to magnify the screen and still could not identify which streets fall in particular wards. He said "we have over 5,000 people in each district" and urged the council to mail notices to all affected areas rather than only some neighborhoods.

During his three‑minute comment, Squires recommended the municipal code’s ward descriptions be rewritten in plain English so residents can understand ward boundaries without reading complex legalese. "Make it in plain English. Make it in plain language," he said, contrasting the need for legal precision with the public’s need for clarity.

The council did not take any formal action during or immediately after the comment; the item was recorded as public comment only. Miss Bass, the clerk, introduced the commenter and noted that another scheduled speaker, Darling Emery, was not present. No staff response, directive or timeline for changes to maps was recorded in the meeting transcript.