Atlanta Begins Redrawing City Council Maps

The Atlanta City Council held its first public hearing Thursday night on its redistricting process, presenting four proposed maps that would redraw the city’s council districts based on 2010 Census numbers.

In order to account for 2010 census data, each of the city’s 12 districts must have a population of 35,000.

City planners have developed a total of four maps for consideration. Sean Brown of the city’s planning department said that maps 1A and 1B maintain as many of the city’s current racial and community balances as possible, given the new population numbers.

In East Atlanta Patch, Councilman Kwanza Hall, whose District 2 includes the Old Fourth Ward, Inman Park, Downtown and Midtown, has said his area is one that will have to be reconfigured because it has experienced a population boom.

Councilwoman Felicia Moore, who chaired the public hearing, said that more changes to the maps are on the horizon.

“I’m sure there’s going to be some more tweaking to all of these proposed maps,” said Moore. “And there will probably be some more scenarios coming out of the council.”

Moore also said that maps 2A and 2B may face some legal challenges if approved in their current form.

The second redistricting public hearing will be held Thursday, Nov. 17, at 6 pm, in the Atlanta City Council chambers. The maps are scheduled for final approval by the city council on Monday, Dec. 5. If approved, the maps will then be reviewed by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, who will decide whether to forward them on to the U.S. Department of Justice for final review.