Northport Seeks Feedback On Redrawn Council District Maps

NORTHPORT, AL — Northport city officials are seeking public feedback on redrawn election district maps that have been proposed and are now available for viewing on the city's website.

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The maps are preliminary and were formulated by the West Alabama Regional Planning Commission, which was contracted by the city for the undertaking.

Click here to view the proposed maps and provide feedback to City Hall. Comments can be submitted online and there are directions for how to navigate the proposed maps.

Northport City Administrator Glenda Webb was in attendance for a come-and-go public information meeting at City Hall on Thursday, with copies of the proposed maps on display for the public to see.

She told Patch that, by law, the City Council must approve the new district maps six months before the next municipal election, which is set for August 2025. She then said this would provide ample time for the public to look over the maps and submit questions or concerns.

"This is a first look at the lines proposed by West Alabama Regional Commission, so if there are needed changes or comments we'll go back and work with the Regional Commission to address that," Webb said. "We're soliciting comments, too, and we did put a potential timeline on our website but that's subject to change depending on the type of comments we receive."

For those unfamiliar with the redistricting process, federal and state law mandates that a city's population be evenly distributed across its election districts. During this process, cities are given wiggle room of 5% in either direction for each district's population when redrawing the lines.

Here's a look at Northport's breakdowns following the 2020 census:

City Engineer Tera Tubbs told Patch that the two districts that will see their populations decrease will be Districts 4 and 5 — due to their rapid population growth in recent years. She then said District 3 is the only one that saw its population remain relatively unchanged in the four years leading up to the last census.

Tubbs explained that the ideal population following the 2020 Census came out to 6,255 residents per City Council district.

"Obviously Districts 4 and 5 had to lose a lot of people because they have grown so much, while mainly Districts 1 and 2 are the ones that had to grow," she said.

Despite the positive shifts in population for the two smaller districts, both still came in slightly under the ideal population total but within the 5% margin as mandated by state and federal laws.

Here's a look at the proposed populations of each district based on the current maps being considered by city officials:

City officials say the tentative next step will be a first reading of an ordinance establishing district boundaries at the Sept. 23 council meeting. If this goes on as scheduled, then it will be followed by a second reading of the ordinance at the Oct. 7 council meeting for final adoption.

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