Staff outlines 2026 commission redistricting proposal; recommends villages-centered district

City staff presented a proposed 2026 redistricting plan at the March 10 Leesburg City Commission meeting that redraws the city’s five single-member districts to reflect growth in The Villages and other housing since the 2020 census. Staff said it used census blocks, building permit data and American Community Survey estimates to extrapolate population changes and applied different household multipliers in The Villages (1.9 persons per unit) and elsewhere (2.3 persons per unit).

The presenter described target district population as roughly 6,300–6,700 people and said staff’s total city population estimate was about 32,750, meaning each of five districts should fall within the plus/minus guideline. "District Number 1 is really tricky because District Number 1 has historically been our minority district, since the mid nineties," the presenter said when explaining efforts to preserve a majority-minority District 1 by including two high‑percentage African‑American census blocks in that district.

Staff explained three guiding principles used in the plan: equal population (not voter‑age), continuity with census blocks and natural boundaries, and preserving communities of interest. Commissioners discussed incumbency protection for seats up in 2026 (Mayor Reisman, Commissioner Berry, Commissioner Peterson) and concerns about drawing compact, contiguous districts while preserving communities of interest. Commissioner Canel had worked with staff on a modified map that concentrates undeveloped Village parcels into the villages district to reduce malapportionment in the district that experienced large in‑migration.

There was no vote; staff asked for input and said the next step would be to draft ordinance language for adoption and set an effective date timed to candidate qualifying in the next election cycle.