Public hearings scheduled in April to present draft district maps

Since January, Arapahoe County has been creating new boundaries for its five commissioner districts. Now it wants to hear from you. 

The Citizens Redistricting Advisory Committee, a body of nine County residents appointed by the Arapahoe County Board of Commissioners, will host five public hearings in April so residents can weigh in on new district maps. Feedback from the meetings will be incorporated into three final drafts the Committee will present to the Board of Commissioners for final adoption by September 2023. 

“We’ve created a few versions that we believe are equitable and fair, and we want to get everyone’s input,” said Bill McCartin, chair of the Advisory Committee. 

Meetings will be held in person and livestreamed on the Arapahoe County Facebook page. There will be no agenda items beyond a short presentation on the Advisory Committee’s draft maps, followed by a public comment period.

Colorado law requires counties in which commissioners are assigned by district to use United States Census data to redraw district boundaries every 10 years to maintain equal populations. The Advisory Committee meets regularly with Arapahoe County's Elections, Legal and Geographic Information Services Departments to create new maps and evaluate the potential impact of reforming each district. 

Criteria the Advisory Committee takes into consideration include population growth, maintaining political competitiveness, and not dividing cities, towns, or community groups with common policy interests that benefit from being within a single district.

County residents can also make their own district maps with a tool available on the County’s redistricting webpage: www.arapahoegov.com/redistricting. The tool allows users to rearrange established precincts to create new districts, updating population data to ensure districts are balanced. Users can then save their map and submit it for consideration.

The webpage also features details about the redistricting process, meeting locations and dates, links to recordings of past meetings, and a digital public comment form.

Public Engagement Hearing Dates and Locations:

• Thursday, April 6, 6 p.m.: Eloise May Library (District 4) 
• Monday, April 10, 6 p.m.: Castlewood Library (District 2)
• Thursday, April 13, 6 p.m.: Southglenn Library (District 1)
• Thursday, April 20, 6 p.m.: Arapahoe County Fairgrounds (District 3)  
• Monday, April 24, 6 p.m.: CentrePoint Plaza (District 5)