Tyler City Council approves redistricting map

Published 1:00 pm Wednesday, December 8, 2021

The Tyler City Council has approved a new map for the city’s six districts.

Redistricting occurs every 10 years with the release of the U.S. Census. The 2020 census showed the city’s districts experienced uneven growth, making the redistricting process required.

Tyler’s population as of 2020 was 105,917 people, meaning the ideal size of each district is 17,653, said Philip Arnold with the law firm of Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta.

Data showed that the largest district was District 5 with a population of 19,243 people, while the smallest was District 3 with a population of 16,223.

The city’s population growth made the total deviation in the six district 17%, and according to federal law, the deviation cannot be greater than 10%.

With the newly adopted map, the total deviation is about 9%.

The new populations of each district are 17,943 in District 1; 16,749 in District 2; 17,336 in District 3; 18,349 in District 4; 17,226 in District 5; and 18,314 in District 6. District 4 is now the largest, and District 2 the smallest.

The changes in the adopted map include moving a northern portion of District 2 into District 3; moving a southwest portion of District 4 into District 2; moving a northern portion of District 1 into District 2; moving a portion of District 2 to District 1 (this is a piece of land in the southwest corner of the city that was not contiguous to District 2 and needed to be moved); and moving a northern portion of District 5 to District 4.

Along with adopting the new districts map, the council also had to revise a portion of the city code that refers to the redistricting map in relation to new annexations. As new land is annexed, it will be added and used on the new map.

All new annexations will be added to the district closest to it in order to remain contiguous, said City Attorney Deborah Pullum.

A reason why the council looked forward when creating the new district maps was to prepare for future growth and development, she added.

To learn more about the redistricting process and see the new map, visit cityoftyler.org/government/departments/legal/redistricting .