Denver City Council is expected to finalize its redistricting process by the end of March. 

City Council members will receive a report detailing the community’s feedback on six potential redistricting maps on Friday and will need to review this feedback before the Redistricting Committee meets Monday to deliberate the merits of each map.

While there were initially six maps up for consideration, District 5 Council member Amanda Sawyer pulled the map she sponsored, Map F, after seeing it wasn’t favored by residents who spoke during a series of community meetings.

By March 14, the Redistricting Committee will need to decide on a map to send to the full council for consideration in a public hearing March 29.

Council members are still able to suggest changes to maps during the deliberation process by working with each map’s sponsors.

At the last two community meetings, residents emphasized not separating neighborhoods, maintaining community diversity, creating clear and defined borders as well as equal voting representation.

Redistricting happens every 10 years with the release of new census data. The goal is to break the city into 11 council districts of relatively even population, while keeping together established neighborhoods and cultural communities.

The city’s new council districts should contain about 65,000 residents each after the release of 2020 census data, an 11-way split of the more than 715,000 people living in Denver. It will be the largest average district population in Denver’s history.

Several districts are far above the 65,000-population goal, with District 9 having more than 75,000 residents, District 8 having nearly 73,000 and District 11 having nearly 72,000. In contrast, districts 2 and 3 have just over 56,000 residents each.