How the city’s wards may be redrawn is taking shape after Columbus councilmen approved the firm overseeing the redistricting process to move forward with its concept.
Chris Watson of Oxford-based planning firm Bridge & Watson presented a map incorporating areas recently annexed into the city, which he will now use as a starting point to achieve population balance in each of the city’s six wards and take in the city’s 1,462 new residents. During a specially called meeting Tuesday, councilmen gave Watson approval to move forward using his concept.
Geographically, Ward 2 would retreat from the west to take in the southern portion of the Lehmberg Road annexation area under the plan as drafted currently. Because that annexed area has a population of more than 1,300 people, it would have to give up territory on its western side. Wards 1 and 4 would grow north and south, respectively, to take in the western portion Ward 2 gives up. Ward 3 will grow into the northern portion of the Lehmberg Road annexation area and grow into territory in what is currently in Ward 4. Ward 6 will also pick up some of what Ward 4 gives up as it shifts to the south. Ward 6 would pick up two small annexation areas with a combined population of 20, one on Woodland Heights Drive and an area around Columbus Middle School. Ward 5 would pick up the annexed area that includes the Riverwalk west of downtown.
The redrawn lines as proposed now are not yet adoptable and will require work to balance population, as there is a 39 percent deviance between the most and least populated wards. That is well over the 10 percent limit. With the new population taken in, the ideal population for each ward would be 4,184. The current draft has 5.365 in Ward 2, which is 28 percent above the ideal number.
Watson said areas of common interest must also be kept in tact along with population balance.
“None of us today know precisely where those lines will be or what the racial makeup will be,” Watson said after the meeting. “My marching orders are to go and figure out those precise details based on conceptual movement of wards. The beginning concept has variance well above accepted level, so the numbers and map will change.”
The city has a year to finish redistricting, but Watson told councilmen he could have a workable plan for them to consider before the year is over. A public hearing will be held before any redistricting plan is finalized.
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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