Residents appointed to a redistricting committee have been drawing a new City Council districts map since early this year. Their task is to better balance population among the 10 districts based on changes seen in the 2020 U.S. Census.
“We do not believe our neighborhood’s best interest has been considered throughout this process,” Egbert wrote. “While we have been long-term residents of District 1, we are still suffering from fallout of the pandemic.”new City Council districts map Moving the western edge of downtown into District 5 went undiscussed for months. The area in question includes City Hall, San Pedro Creek, Market Square, H-E-B headquarters and Frost Tower.
After months of losing an uphill battle, residents of Los Jardines on the West Side notched a win: District 6 will regain the Old Highway 90 community and Cuellar Park, as is the case in the current map. Previous proposed changes had those areas shifting in part to District 5. The Los Jardines neighborhood will still be split between districts 5 and 6, but the key assets will remain in District 6 as residents had repeatedly requested.
John Ybanez, a District 6 representative, said the compromise took many late-night communications. They didn’t reach an agreement until less than an hour before the meeting was set to begin, he said. Many of the business owners who gave feedback don’t live in District 1. Kastely said the committee is meant to deal with residents to balance population — not the will of a powerful business community.