The City Charter requires a review of the district councilmember lines within 180 days of a general election in which the Mayor regularly elected. This is to be done so that the population in each of the districts will be as nearly equal as practicable.
In 2002, the City Council passed Ordinance No 15219 establishing the current City Council Districts. This redistricting was due to population growth and shifts causing the existing Council districts to not be nearly equal in population. An analysis of the Council districts was conducted after the 2010 Census but no changes were made.
The official population provided by the US Census for the City in 2020 is 123,011, an increase of approximately 6,200 people. Based on the 2020 Census population, the ideal district norm for the Council districts would be the population divided by four (4). This equals 30,753 people per district. Using the 2020 Census population and the current Council district boundaries, the population of each district is shown in the table below.
If the current Council district boundaries were to remain, the deviation to the norm would be 7.28% (above the norm) to -9.36% (below the norm).
The Council district boundaries were adjusted to get the population in each of the districts will be as nearly equal as practicable. Staff used Census Blocks, the smallest geographic area for which the Bureau of the Census collects and tabulates decennial census data, in adjusting the district boundaries. Census Blocks are formed by streets, roads, railroads, streams and other bodies of water, other visible physical and cultural features, and are the legal boundaries shown on Census Bureau maps.
The boundaries were adjusted while maintaining the Noland and 23rd Street intersection. Staff started with District 4 as it was closest to the norm and moved counterclockwise adjusting the boundaries to get the population of each district as close to the norm as practicable. See the included Council District Map that highlights the changes to the current boundaries in blue crosshatch:
· The crosshatch area between Districts 3 and 4 indicates the highlighted area will move from District 3 to District 4.
· The crosshatch area between Districts 2 and 3 indicates the highlighted area will move from District 3 to District 2.
· The crosshatch area between Districts 1 and 2 indicates the highlighted area will move from District 2 to District 1.
The population of each proposed district is shown in the table below. The deviation to the norm has been significantly reduced to from 0.0001% to 0.1236%.
Staff used population estimates out to 2026 to test whether the proposed Council district population holds. Based on population estimates provided by ESRI, the district population remains similar when projected out to 2026.