The population imbalance among different political wards in Grand Forks was pretty lopsided, but deciding how to redraw the ward lines turned out to be pretty straightforward.
The City Council's Redistricting Committee agreed Thursday to changes that shifted ward lines minimally, which members hoped means fewer voters would see their polling stations shift, and anticipates future growth.
Committee member Curt Kreun said it was "pretty easy."
The city must redraw ward lines every 10 years to account for population shifts between the decennial Censuses.
Equalizing populations is meant to ensure equal representation for residents of each ward. In Grand Forks, growth to the west and south means council members in those wards represent more residents, while council members in the north and east represent fewer residents.
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The committee's recommendation now goes to the full City Council for approval.
Small shifts
From the 2000 to the 2010 Censuses, Grand Forks grew from 49,300 residents to 53,000, which means each ward's ideal population should change from 7,000 to 7,600. But Wards 3 and 4 in the north and east lost population while Wards 1, 2 and 6 in the west and south grew significantly.
The biggest difference was between the 6,800 residents of Ward 4, in the central-east area, and the 9,500 residents of Ward 6, in the southwest.
The city's Planning Department offered two options, one that that swaps smaller pieces of land among different wards and one that also radically extends Ward 3 to the center of the city.
Ward 3 council member Eliot Glassheim said he prefers the former plan because it keeps communities that are alike together. The committee later selected that option.
Both options anticipate demographic changes of the past decade to continue. They boosted populations of the under-populated wards slightly above the 7,600 ideal and reduced the populations of the over-populated wards under the ideal. Ward 4 would have 7,800 residents and Ward 6 would have 7,400.
Kreun said new construction since 2000, especially of high-density housing such as apartments, means that population shift has already begun.
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Council members will work out changes to polling places, if needed.
Online: To see the proposed changes to ward lines, go to www.GrandForksHerald.com .
Reach Tran at (701) 780-1248; (800) 477-6572, ext. 248; or send email to ttran@gfherald.com .
