Keep Caln Twp. precincts together, and in the 74th
Please correct the proposed split of Caln Township into two separate legislative districts. Caln should remain intact and in the 74th Legislative District. The proposed House map shifts three of Caln Township's four precincts into the 155th Legislative District, leaving one Caln precinct in the 74th. Aside from causing confusion for residents, splitting this municipality would dilute the community's representation and political voice in Harrisburg. Caln Township makes up a significant portion of the underfunded, under-resourced, majority-minority Coatesville Area School District. From a "communities of interest" standpoint, Caln is solidly a part of the greater Coatesville area. As a resident of (and a parent in) the Coatesville Area School District, I am very concerned that drawing the bulk of Caln Township out of the 74th, while drawing rural municipalities like Honey Brook Township, Honey Brook Borough, and Atglen Borough *into* the 74th, would lead to the representation of Coatesville Area School District, the city of Coatesville, and the greater Coatesville community being determined by rural areas that are served by different school districts and have very different needs and concerns. Likewise, the residents of the three Caln precincts drawn into the proposed new 155th Legislative District would have their representation determined by residents of the greater Downingtown area, which, while geographically close, is a different school district, a different community, and a different demographic. The proposed House map also separates Downingtown Borough from East Caln Township, with the borough drawn into the 155th and East Caln drawn into the proposed 167th. It would make much more sense from both a geographic contiguity and a communities of interest standpoint to keep East Caln together with Downingtown Borough in the 155th and keep Caln Township together with Coatesville in the 74th. As other commenters have pointed out: - East Caln Township is served by the Downingtown Borough Police Department, fire departments, and emergency services, as well as by nonprofits and community organizations serving the greater Downingtown area. - East Caln Township lies within the Downingtown Area School District. While DASD is too large to remain wholly in one legislative district, assigning East Caln to the 167th would mean further splitting the school district between legislative districts while diluting the interests of that part of the school district. - Geographically, the configurations of primary roads and the borders of Downingtown Borough, East Caln, and their surrounding townships mean that some residents would need to traverse another legislative district to get to their representatives. (For example, along the Route 113 corridor, the primary route from Uwchlan Township in the 155th to Downingtown Borough in the proposed 155th, one must travel through East Caln Township.) - East Caln Township encircles a portion of Downingtown Borough, creating a gerrymandered border if the two municipalities are separated. - Likewise, Caln Township and the City of Coatesville are very much part of the same community of neighbors, served by the same nonprofits, community organizations, and volunteers. Caln and Coatesville are much more closely linked both geographically and culturally than Caln is with Downingtown or Coatesville is with the rural areas to the far northwest and southwest corners of the proposed new 74th district. - The Coatesville Area School District (CASD) is already divided (under the proposed maps) into two other legislative districts, the 74th and the 158th. Splitting Caln Township would place a portion of the school district into a third legislative district. For the above reasons, I urge the Legislative Reapportionment Commission to keep all four precincts of Caln Township together, intact, within the 74th Legislative District and to draw East Caln Township into the 155th Legislative District with its most closely linked neighboring municipality, Downingtown Borough.