Other/Miscellaneous Request Template (Appointments; ROW; Code Changes; Zoning Action, etc.)
Date Submitted: 3-10-22
Requesting Agency: Denver City Council
Division:
Subject Matter Expert Name: Councilmember Clark
Email Address: Jolon.Clark@denvergov.org
Phone Number:
Item Title & Description:
(Do not delete the following instructions)
These appear on the Council meeting agenda. Initially, the requesting agency will enter a 2-3 sentence description. Upon bill filling, the City Attorney’s Office should enter the title above the description (the title should be in bold font).
Both the title and description must be entered between the red “title” and “body” below. Do not at any time delete the red “title” or “body” markers from this template.
title
A bill for an ordinance amending Article II of Chapter 15 of the Revised Municipal Code for purposes of approving a new redistricting plan for the eleven council districts of the City and County of Denver for the municipal election on April 4, 2023, and for any general or special council election held thereafter.
Describes the district boundaries depicted on Map D. The Committee approved filing this item at its meeting on 3-14-22.
body
Affected Council District(s) or citywide?
Executive Summary with Rationale and Impact:
Detailed description of the item and why we are doing it. This can be a separate attachment.
The submitted map adheres to all of the rules put forth in our City Charter, and to the greatest extent possible to the additional criteria set forth in Council Resolution 21-1059. The largest district is 8.3% larger than the smallest, falling well within the 10% goal. Special attention was put toward preserving communities of interest (COI) based on the final report provided to Council using the 14 group COI areas and 154 individual COIs that were submitted by members of the public. Additionally, this map puts forward a plan that also preserves the constituencies traditionally represented by each district to the greatest extent possible.
This map re-unites several statistical neighborhoods that have, in the past, been split while minimizing drawing district boundaries through neighborhood boundaries whenever possible. For the Neighborhood Planning Initiative (NPI) neighborhoods were analyzed and then grouped together after carefully considering the following elements; shared histories, issues, and aspirations, built environment and natural features, planning need, character, context, development patterns, major destinations, and common infrastructure. This plan also makes several moves to put neighborhoods that are grouped in the NPI together in the same Council District.
During the re-precincting process, the Clerk & Recorder’s Office reduced the number of precincts in Denver by 51 precincts. One of the areas of the city most affected by this change is along the southern border of District 5 and northern border of District 6. Due to the larger precincts, Map D had the unintended effect of dividing both the Virginia Vale and Winston Downs neighborhoods between Council Districts 5 and 6. During the redistricting community meetings, we received numerous comments from residents that neighborhoods should be kept whole whenever possible. As a result of that community feedback, we have altered map D to move the Virginia Vale neighborhood into District 6, and the Winston Downs neighborhood into District 5. This change results in an approximately .04% population change, which is minimal, but keeps both of those neighborhoods intact and represented by a single Councilmember. It also creates a natural border at Leetsdale Drive, and keeps George Washington High School in District 5 and McMeen Elementary School in District 6 where they have been historically.
The sponsors of this map believe that this map represents the best scenario for creating district maps that are compact, contiguous and abide by the allowed standard deviation while giving a strong voice to each resident, neighborhood, and community of interest.
Address/Location (if applicable):
Legal Description (if applicable):
Denver Revised Municipal Code (D.R.M.C.) Citation (if applicable):
Draft Bill Attached?