Another special Rules Committee meeting to reshape Jacksonville’s City Council districts resulted in an amended map with several changes.
Not everyone was happy with the latest results.
A map offered by Council member Denise Lee that made several changes to the west and north of the river, including putting the Whitehouse neighborhood back into District 12 from her District 8, was approved as an amendment by the committee and now serves as the basis for other changes moving forward.
Lee said the changes came as a result of a meeting with about half a dozen Council members who agreed on them.
Her map was then amended twice and incorporated a change that reflected a map Council member Don Redman proposed to reunite the Windy Hill neighborhood and keep it in District 4. Under the map approved two weeks ago, it was divided.
While the change might have altered the compactness of the district, which was one of the criteria for reshaping district boundaries, it kept a community of interest together, another criterion, said Council member Lori Boyer.
Council member Bill Bishop then offered an amendment that would keep the Riverside and Avondale historic districts together. Lee’s map was one of several that split them.
A third map, presented by Council member Matt Schellenberg with slight changes to his former proposal, was rejected.
Schellenberg presented his map as a compact alternative that reflected the voice of those who showed up at public hearings about reapportionment.
He said that districts in the 1970s and 1980s were more compact, but in the past 20 years have become less so.
But Schellenberg’s map also effectively eliminated one of the four minority access districts.
Council member John Crescimbeni seconded Schellenberg’s amendment for the map for discussion purposes, but didn’t agree with its makeup. He said the districts needed to be preserved.
Lee was more critical of the effort.
“This map is just terrible across the board,” criticized Lee. “We’re basically losing one (minority access) district.”
Schellenberg defended the map, saying he thought “we’re moving forward in Jacksonville” on the issue of race. His was the sole vote in favor of it.
Lee’s map was approved 5-1, with Rules member Clay Yarborough not present and Schellenberg in opposition.
The amended ordinance will be deferred at the full Council Tuesday to allow for two more weeks of discussion with Council members whose districts have been affected by the latest changes but were unable to attend the meeting.
Nov. 18 is the deadline looms for the final map.
Council member Bill Bishop intends to keep the process on track.
“I’m very pleased to see we’re moving in the right direction,” he said.
If the Office of General Counsel and the City Planning and Development Department determine Thursday’s changes were “substantial” in nature, then another public hearing will have to be scheduled for public input.
A decision on that should be available Tuesday night during the full Council meeting.
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