Your input is requested to shape Shafter Recreation and Park District's new Board of Directors divisions!

What is a Community of Interest (COI)?

A COI is a group of people in a defined geographic location that share a common bond or interest.  The definition is broad, leaving communities a lot of discretion in determining which issues are  important to them. Communities of Interest are often defined as “a contiguous population which  shares common social and economic interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of fair and effective representation.”

Communities of Interest are best documented through oral, written, or digital input from individuals or  groups with first-hand knowledge of them. Census and other outside data can lend support, but  cannot replace personal knowledge of the community. That’s why we want to hear your feedback  on your community; you know it best! 

The 3 Steps to document your Community of Interest:

Please answer the following questions: 

1. What is the nature of the bond or common interest of your community?

Please describe what the common interests of your community are, and why or how they are  important. For example: 

● If your Community of Interest is built around a school then your testimony should include  the name and location of the school and describe the community’s involvement in it or  why it is important. You might say that the surrounding community is involved with the  school in various ways and perhaps accesses a variety of educational and recreational  opportunities there. 

● You may also identify a Community of Interest based on a shared culture or heritage of  residents in a specific area. Please indicate why it is a common bond, e.g. “because of our shared history and language, we work together on cultural projects and this creates a  sense of unity and understanding.”

2. Where is your community located?

Tell us where the exterior boundaries of your COI are so we can locate it on a map. For example,  write down landmarks, streets, bodies of water, or railroad tracks that indicate the location of  the outside border of the community. 

A map showing the location of the COI, along with oral or written testimony identifying the  location, can be extremely helpful to locate the COI. A map can be created using free online  programs, such as drawmycacommunity.org. Please find directions for how to submit COIs online in our handout “How to Create Your COI Online Instructions''.

3. Why is it beneficial for your community to be kept together in one Division?

When you talk about your Community of Interest, consider explaining why it should be kept  together in a district or division and why splitting it would be problematic. For example:

● A Community of Interest working together to fix a public health concern in their area may find it more  effective when residents in the respective area can work together with one, rather than multiple representatives. 

● A small COI that is working to receive government support may find that it has lesser  chances of receiving support if split into two.

You’ve documented your COI: now what?

Please get the information about your Community to us in one of the following ways: 

●       Attend one of the SRPD Districting hearings! You can let the Board know about your  COI by providing a public comment during a hearing. 

●       Email the information to district@shafterrec.com

●        Call and provide the information verbally:  1-661-746-3303

●       For more information, please see our website: www.ShafterRecreation.com/districting

Please submit your COI testimony before January 10, 2024, for it to be considered in the first draft map(s). Thank you for participating in this important project!