Norwood's Board of Selectmen Approves Voting Redistricting Map

NORWOOD, MA - The Board of Selectmen at its meeting Tuesday unanimously approved the new voting district map, a process that must be undertaken every 10 years in response to U.S. Census data.

Assistant Town Engineer Andy Murphy explained that Norwood's population has jumped by more than 3,000 people over the last decade, resulting in new district lines being drawn.

If the population had increased by 4,000, this would have necessitated the creation of a new voting district.

"There was a lot of growth in the town over the past decade," he said. "We've had a 10-percent shift in population, which really drives shifting these lines."

He noted that all of the voting districts have to configured to have relatively equal numbers, within five percent of the number of people.

"The law requires that the town review the district boundary lines to ensure that the statutory requirements are met," said Town Clerk MaryLou Folan.

The process actually began in 2018, when Folan had to send information to the state about the new streets created in response to development in the town. The state then compares this with demographic data to be sure that all districts are divided evenly. This information is used to create congressional districts that are representative of the current population, and they will be in place for 10 years until the next census is undertaken. The districts also need to be balanced and have major streets of landmarks as boundaries.

"This year because of COVID, everything was delayed," Folan explained. One part of the data collection process that was stalled was the in-home visits by census takers to homes where residents did not respond to the census form.

The map for the new districts, which Folan presented, must be returned to the state for approval by Oct. 31. It was initially drawn by the state and sent to the town for review. A committee including Folan, Murphy, General Manager Tony Mazzucco, Board of Selectmen Chair Thomas Maloney and the Town Clerk's staff reviewed the boundary lines to make sure they were congruent with the neighborhoods they will represent. The Secretary of State's office gave guidelines as to whom should be on the review committee.

"We all agreed that they map that they had drawn all the lines on had met all the requirements for the new district boundaries," Folan said.

With the board's approval, the next step is to submit the map and data to the Secretary of State's office for final review. The state will then announce the exact street boundaries.

This process is not new to either Folan or Murphy. The pair has worked together in the Town Clerk's office for more than three decades. This is their third time working on a redistricting process.

Maloney asked if the 10-percent increase was unusual for the town.

Mazzucco explained that the population previously had been projected to grow every year since the 1950s but remained relatively consistent until this census. The population now equals what it did about 40 or 50 years ago, he said.

"It's likely due to the fact that the town is fully built out," he added. "There's not that much housing being added, and family size continues to get smaller."

The town also has a large commercial base, fueled by the Route One corridor.

The town's population now is 31,611, according to Murphy. Over 50 years, there was only an increase of 800 people.

"What makes the past decade all the more remarkable is the fact that there's been a lot of growth in the past 10 years, but not a lot of shift in the map," Maloney said.

Selectman Helen Donohue questioned why there were no community members on the review panel, which had been a past practice about 30 years ago.

"I remember there was a very conscientious effort that there were citizens on the committee, Democrats and Republicans, in equal numbers," she said.

However, she added that the changes to the map "were very logical."

Selectman David Hajjar asked how the individuals impacted by the district changes will be notified.

Folan said that, once she receives the final approval from the state, "they will get notice after notice after notice."

There will be at least two notices sent before the April election, as well as information in local and social media.

Folan explained that the new districts will take effect on Dec. 31 and will be implemented for the April election.