MINDEN - With Douglas County's growth over the past decade centered in Carson Valley, officials in the coming weeks will have to change voting districts combining the Lake Tahoe district with some valley precincts.
District 4 - which includes Glenbrook, Skyland, Zephyr Cover, Round Hill, Edgewood, Kingsbury and Dagget - falls 1,600 people short of what the county needs to meet the threshold for equal voter representation, said Douglas County Clerk Barbara Reed.
To maintain a population balance in the five districts, additional valley precincts will be reworked, Reed told commissioners.
"You really are controlled by what the law says," she said. "You don't have a lot of flexibility. You have to follow the precinct boundaries and you have to follow the population guidelines."
By law, each of the five districts must be within 10 percent margin of the ideal district population. The figure, 8,252 residents in each district, is based on 2000 Census figures, Reed said.
Because of growth restrictions placed in the Tahoe district by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the number of residents that reside in Stateline has remained stagnant while the population in Carson Valley has inched upward.
The Tahoe district seat is held by Commissioner Don Miner. Under three options presented to the board Thursday, Miner's seat could include the voting districts of Genoa, Westwood, and Mottsville.
But a fourth option, hammered out by Reed late Thursday night, could be a more viable option.
In the fourth option, District Four would encompass all of Lake Tahoe, plus Genoa and Jacks Valley.
However, the fourth option is the closest to the 10 percent threshold, Reed said. Under the fourth option, district three would have a precinct population of 8,573.
Miner said he's pleased with the fourth option because it retains all of the Tahoe district.
"It's a very fair, meaningful compromise," Miner said. "It's a tighter area that stays within 10 percent."
The three redistricting maps presented to commissioners offer three options.
Under option 1 guidelines, District 2, represented by Jacques Etchegoyhen, would encompass Valley areas as well as Tahoe precincts Kingsbury and Dagget. District 4 would include Glenbrook, Skyland, Zephyr Cove and Round Hill.
Option 2 shows all of Tahoe in District 4, which also would include Genoa and Westwood.
Option 3 places all of the Tahoe precincts, except Glenbrook in District 4, which would include Genoa and Mottsville. District 5, represented by Kelly Kite, would take in Glenbrook along with Valley precincts.
Map options will be available for viewing on Monday on the county's Web site, .
Reed encourages all Douglas County residents to view the options and submit their comments either on the Web siteOs redistricting survey or at the Nov. 1 commission meeting.
A final decision on the redistricting maps will be made at the Dec. 6 commission meeting.
ON THE WEB
What: Maps of Douglas County's redistricting options will be available for viewing Monday on the county's Web site:
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