By Hannah McClellan, Chatham News + Record Staff

Chatham County will not proceed with redistricting for the 2022 elections following the release of 2020 Census results, county commissioners decided at their Monday meeting.

“If you recall, several months ago, we visited the issue of redistricting in anticipation of the 2020 Census coming out,” Assistant County Manager Bryan Thompson told commissioners. “We knew it would be coming out later than anticipated, but we just didn’t know exactly what that looked like. So we’re revisiting it now that the data is available and some analysis has been put into it.”

From Chatham County Government’s website

Chatham County is not legally required to redraw its residency districts for the 2022 election, because the district votes at-large, rather than by district. In order for adjusted district boundaries to be used for the 2022 election, the deadline for adopting a resolution changing the districts is Oct. 8. The county would also need to publish two consecutive notices of a public hearing in the News + Record, and host the public hearing, prior to that deadline.

Ultimately, commissioners felt that timeline was too rushed to adjust district boundaries with adequate public input. Commissioner Jim Crawford suggested discussing the possibility of redistricting prior to the 2024 election at the board’s mid-year retreat in January.

“To me the only difficulty is the timeline,” Commissioner Karen Howard said. “I do think that even though we technically vote county wide, there is still the perception of balance that matters to people … I do think it’s important that we have the conversation.”

Chatham is divided into five districts, with one of each commissioners representing a district, though all residents vote for each district. Following Census numbers, district apportionment shows a large increase in Dist. 3, central Chatham, and large decreases in Districts 4 and 5, which cover western Chatham in Siler City and Goldston, respectively.

To comply with the constitutional requirement for “one person, one vote,” electoral districts (not the case in Chatham) must be redrawn so that no district has a population that is +/- 5% of the “ideal” or average district. From a “one person, one vote” perspective, redistricting is a non-issue for Chatham due to at-large elections. Still, as commissioners discussed, many residents still desire to see balanced districts.

According to Census results, Dist. 1 is 8.7% above the “ideal” size, Dist. 2 is .4% above, Dist. 3 is 17.8% above, Dist. 4 is 14.6% below and Dist. 5 is 23.4% below.

Chatham County is an at-large district. In electoral districts, districts must be redrawn following census results so that no district has a population that is +/- 5% of the “ideal” or average district. / Screenshot from Chatham County Board of Commissioners meeting on Monday night

 

Commissioner Diana Hales, who has announced she will not seek re-election in 2022, said she thinks Dist. 3, which she currently represents, will change the most geographically to capture the increase in Northern Chatham’s population.

“That is why I was interested and concerned about having new maps drawn at this time,” Hales said.

Commissioner Franklin Gomez Flores, joined by Howard, raised concerns with maintaining the community integrity of Dist. 4 and 5, which both have large Hispanic and African American populations. If Siler City were to be split on the basis of numbers, Howard said, the county should be equally willing to split Pittsboro and Briar Chapel.

Ultimately, board members felt the redistricting process would be too rushed, and even if thorough redistricting could be done, the appearance of an expedited process might concern some constituents.

The board did not have to take a formal vote to decide not to proceed with redistricting; the board also canceled its Oct. 4 meeting, which was scheduled to address the issue.

“I think we all feel like it’s worth doing,” Howard said. “But is it worth doing now? And in a hasty manner?”

Chairperson Mike Dasher was not in attendance after a possible COVID-19 exposure.

Other meeting business

The board heard updates from county staff regarding potential changes to its legislative public hearings and major subdivision approvals. County Manager Dan LaMontagne said the county started looking into such changes following August’s lengthy meeting, which included several public hearings.

“Commissioner Dasher asked me to look into what options we had to streamline some of our meetings, or at least put some time limits on some things so we can work efficiently,” he said, “and especially in light of more public hearings coming in the future.”

County staff will present suggestions to the board at its October meeting, with hopes to have them in place by the November meeting.

The board heard a presentation on the Haw River Trail from Friends of Lower Haw River State Natural Area. The organization urged the board to approve use of funds from the county’s COVID-19 relief funding and revenue from the Article 46 Sales Tax to invest in conservation efforts at the Haw River, which the group said is subject to major residential development pressures. Gretchen Smith, the organization’s president, presented to the board.

In its consent agenda for the meeting, the board approved a grant application to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) for a Haw River trails corridor/feasibility study. Smith said she was glad to see that agenda item.

“I’m hopeful that the county will be awarded this EDA grant. However, partners on our steering committee have made it clear they are not interested in being on yet another ‘all talk, no action’ committee,” Smith told the board. “And we are at risk of becoming just that if visible progress doesn’t start happening soon, or at least by January.”

Board members expressed commitment to the study, but didn’t want to take formal action that might sabotage their grant application.

The board entertained a presentation on Wastewater Study Commission for Northeast Chatham, the first phase of which involves “education and option exploration.” The board came to a consensus to move forward with the study; the next step is appointing Study Commission Members. County staff is set to bring options for that commission back to the board at its October meeting.

The board heard a second legislative public hearing for a conditional district compact community rezoning request by Herndon Farms One, to build a 55+ compact community with 161 residential units, located in Pittsboro by Williams and Baldwin townships.

• Board members also approved resolutions recognizing the 76th anniversary of National Disability Employment Awareness Month and proclaiming National 4-H Week in Chatham.


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The Chatham News + Record is Chatham County’s source for local news and journalism. The Chatham News, established in 1924, and the Chatham Record, founded in 1878, have come together to better serve the Chatham community as the Chatham News + Record. Covering news, business, sports and more, the News + Record is working to strengthen community ties through compelling coverage of life in Chatham County.