City staff briefed the City Council Monday on the progress of the City Council District Boundary Commission. The nine-member Commission met twice after being appointed by the City Council in January and held a public hearing March 22, where it presented two possible options for revising Council district boundaries. After receiving public feedback, the Commission is recommending Option A for the City Council’s District Boundary public hearing set for April 25.
Criteria used by the Commission for examining/developing new district boundaries and choosing Option A were:
- The total deviation between the highest populated district and the lowest populated district does not deviate from the ideal district size (i.e. total population divided by four) by more than 10 percent
- Districts should have identifiable boundaries such as highways, creeks, rail lines, etc.
- Avoid splitting neighborhoods and communities of interest
- Each district should be compact and contiguous Avoid placing current Council members together in the same district
The City Charter requires review of City Council district boundaries by a boundary commission every 10 years, after a Census has been completed, and that the population distribution among City Council districts be approximately equal.
More information: www.cor.net/boundarycommission
