The Daytona Beach City Commission adopted an ordinance on Oct. 1 amending commission district boundaries to align with legal requirements and 2020 Census data.

The ordinance, described by staff as a technical redrawing of district lines, passed on second reading by a 6-0 vote. Mayor Derek Lehi Henry presided over the hearing and commissioners moved and seconded the ordinance; the clerk recorded the motion as carrying 6-0.

City Attorney staff and consultants told the commission the only substantive change since the last version was a technical correction along Nova Road, where the boundary between Districts 2 and 5 was adjusted to follow the east side of Nova Road up to Brentwood. Staff said that correction did not affect population counts.

Members of the public urged the commission to delay or revisit the map. John Nicholson and representatives of the local group VOTE said the public had too few opportunities to review alternatives and that the process lacked additional public workshops with participatory input. Nicholson argued the map did not sufficiently change from earlier versions and warned of renewed litigation. Nick Sagnofsky of VOTE told the commission the public last had an opportunity to speak on redistricting in July 2023 and asked for more time to review alternatives.

City staff and the city attorney’s office responded that the commission relied on the 2020 Census as the legal “safe harbor” for defending maps in court and that using other population estimates would make defending the map more difficult and costly. The city attorney said courts generally accept Census data if maps are within standard margins and that alternative data sources would require a special study.

After brief additional comments by commissioners — including one saying she was disappointed that Beachside communities were split but would represent her new district — the commission voted to adopt the ordinance. The vote was recorded as 6-0 in favor.

Because the hearing was a second-reading public hearing on a quasi-judicial matter, the ordinance will take effect as provided in the ordinance text.

Residents and advocacy groups said they plan to continue monitoring implementation and consider further review of the public-engagement process for future redistricting efforts.