In each year during which a City general election is to be held, Article V, Section 3 of the City Charter requires the City Council, based upon the best available data, (i) to determine the population of the City and of each Council District from which a district Council Member is to be elected, and (ii) whether the population of the Council Districts is materially unbalanced with respect to population.
Data from the most recent (2020) federal census for the City of Houston has been reviewed by the Planning and Development Department Director and staff to determine the population of the City and each Council District. Pursuant to Ordinance No. 2022-816, passed on October 12, 2022, the City Council determined that the distribution of the City’s population among the Council Districts was materially unbalanced based on the 2020 Census and adopted a redistricting plan establishing the boundaries of all City Council Districts.
Under the current plan, the Planning and Development Department has determined that (i) the population of the City of Houston in 2020 stands at 2,304,580, and (ii) that the variation in population from the most populous district to the least populous district is 9.45% of the average district population which is within the range of acceptable variation. The City Council districts, therefore are not materially unbalanced within the meaning of the City Charter.
It is recommended that City Council pass the Ordinance determining the population of the City and each Council District and finding them not to be materially unbalanced.
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Margaret Wallace Brown, AICP, CNU-A
Director
Planning and Development Department