DeKalb County officials unveiled their latest proposal for local redistricting, releasing an interactive map showing their attempt at creating new commission district lines.
The new maps — crafted by the county’s geographic information system (GIS) team with input from commissioners — are slightly different than the original proposal presented last week. Overall, the most significant changes to current maps are on the northern end of the county, in commission districts 1 and 2.
Rather than splitting the municipalities as they do now, District 1 would include all of Chamblee while District 2 would take all of Brookhaven.
The county’s interactive map allows those interested in the details to zoom in and out, and add and remove layers to see existing and proposed district lines.
Like those at the state and federal level, county government maps are generally redrawn every 10 years to better reflect new data from the U.S. Census. The authority to draw district lines within counties ultimately lies with Georgia’s General Assembly, but input from local officials is generally considered by legislators.
DeKalb gained a little over 72,000 new residents since 2010, bringing its current population up to about 764,000. The new target was to include about 152,000 people in each of the county’s five regular commission districts.
Under the latest proposed maps, all districts would be under 3% deviation from that target. The map’s total deviation would be about 5.44% — well below the mandated 10% deviation, but higher than the recommended “best practice” of 3%.
The county commission plans to vote on the proposed maps during its next meeting on Tuesday. From there, they would be submitted to the state’s reapportionment office.
That office would offer feedback before the county formally submits their proposed maps to local legislators.
