Farmers Branch commission selects Plan 6 as primary map to refine after election

The Farmers Branch Redistricting Commission voted unanimously at its May meeting to adopt “Plan 6” as the commission’s primary map to review and refine after the upcoming election results.

The vote followed more than two hours of discussion comparing Plan 6 and Plan 4. Commissioners said Plan 6 better preserves communities of interest and produces more compact districts, particularly in the way it reshapes the southern boundaries where districts 2, 4 and 5 interact. Commissioners and staff also reviewed voting-age and registered-voter counts for several districts while assessing legal risk.

Why it matters: The commission’s recommendation will be included in the report presented to the City Council on the June 6–7 agenda; any final adjustments will be made after the commission reviews election returns and before a final report is submitted. The map choice affects which neighborhoods are grouped into council districts and can influence electoral representation and resource outreach.

What the commission discussed and found

Commission members walked through the two leading options, noting that Plan 4 leaves districts 1 and 3 unchanged from an earlier unanimously approved drawing while Plan 6 “cleaned up” southern borders for districts 2, 4 and 5. Staff read deviation and compactness figures aloud during the review: a deviation figure of 3.37 was cited for one plan during the session and Plan 6’s deviation was reported as 4.92 when the group evaluated it. Commissioners also compared registration totals by district: registered voters in District 1 were reported as 3,076 versus roughly 4,957 in District 5 in the materials the commission reviewed.

Commissioners used a previously distributed scorecard to rate maps against criteria such as identifiable geographic boundaries, preservation of neighborhoods, census-block splits, population deviation from ideal district size, contiguity and compactness. Members said Plan 6 scored better on compactness and on preserving neighborhoods in single districts. One commissioner noted Plan 6 “gives 5 a portion” of apartment populations, which the group said helps distribute apartment-resident turnout across districts rather than concentrating it.

Legal review

City legal counsel (identified in the meeting as Bob, City Attorney) told the commission that both maps appeared legally defensible and that compactness scores alone were unlikely to be the basis for successful litigation in Farmers Branch. Citing past case law (including Chen v. City of Houston), he said courts generally look for evidence that map lines were drawn to produce a racial result; he said the current plans do not present that issue and thus legal risk is low. The commission also confirmed the maps comply with criteria in the City Charter, including the provision cited in the meeting (charter Section 7.10) about redistricting criteria and neutrality toward incumbents or potential candidates.

Formal action

One commissioner moved to adopt Plan 6 as the primary map to review and work from after the elections; another commissioner seconded the motion. The commission approved the motion by unanimous voice vote; the motion was recorded as adopting Plan 6 “as the primary map to review,” with the commission reserving the right to revisit and make changes after election returns are available and before the final report to council.

Next steps

The commission directed staff to present results and to reserve two weeks for a focused map-editing session after election results are in; members said they will limit post-election edits to the two lines most likely to be affected by new voting data. Staff will also provide compactness calculations and any updated deviation figures for the next meeting. The commission’s recommendation (Plan 6 as the primary option, with Plan 4 retained as an alternate) will be included in the packet for the June 6–7 council consideration.

Ending

No further substantive items were raised before the meeting adjourned. The commission will reconvene after preliminary election results are available to run a timed, targeted editing session and to prepare its final report to the City Council.