Orange County redistricting committee hears pleas to keep Pine Hills, Horizon West intact and votes to reject two proposed maps

ORLANDO — At a public meeting of the Orange County Mid Decennial Redistricting Advisory Committee on April 30, dozens of residents urged the panel to keep established communities of interest together as members considered sponsor-drawn maps. After presentations and a 15-minute discussion period, the committee voted to reject two maps sponsored by Member Spears.

Why it matters: The committee is redrawing county commission districts following the 2020 census and the county charter change that added two seats. The maps the committee approves will shape local representation, influence which communities share a commissioner, and factor in legal obligations including the Voting Rights Act.

Public comment focused on Pine Hills, Horizon West, flooding and local landmarks. Several speakers asked the committee to keep neighborhoods that share problems and institutions in a single district so they have unified representation. “I want to make sure that all of the residents who live along the Rio Pinar Canal are — are all grouped together,” said Cassie Lynch, a third-generation resident who described persistent flooding along the Rio Pinar Canal. Speakers from Pine Hills, including Bernice Jean Baptiste and Alida Jean Baptiste, urged that Pine Hills remain whole. “Pine Hills is an older community … we are crucial contributors to the business development,” Bernice Jean Baptiste told the committee.

Horizon West residents pressed a different request: separate representation to address rapid growth. “We are the fastest expanding part of Orange County,” said Luke Karnikoff, who urged making Horizon West its own commission district to concentrate attention on infrastructure and services.

LatinoJustice, a national civil-rights organization with a regional office in Orange County, urged compliance with federal law and argued that the county can create several minority-majority districts. Delmaria Alisaia, senior counsel for voting rights at LatinoJustice, said Orange County’s demographics support multiple minority-majority districts and urged the committee to design plans that do not “pack” communities of color into single districts. “Given these demographics, at least 5 minority majority districts can and should be drawn,” Alisaia said.

Map sponsors presented competing approaches. Member Spears said his SPEARS 1 plan began by keeping the City of Orlando largely intact and then carving the remainder of the county into compact districts. “I have kept the city of Orlando largely, probably 98% within 3 county commission districts,” Spears said, arguing the city constitutes a distinct urban community of interest.

A second sponsor map (SPEARS 2), presented by Eugene Staccardo on behalf of the League of Women Voters, used existing district lines and local GIS layers as starting points and emphasized preserving certain basins and municipal boundaries. Staccardo said he drew District 6 after feedback from the Pine Hills community and that he had repeatedly revised the plan after community input: “D 6 … was shaped by the people of Pine Hills coming out and speaking.”

County counsel examined both sponsor proposals and flagged population deviation and community splits. For SPEARS 1, the county attorney’s office reported a maximum population deviation of 6.17%, which the attorney said is under the 10% threshold that typically satisfies one-person, one-vote standards. For SPEARS 2, staff reported a maximum population deviation of 2.15%. The analysis also noted several split municipalities and census-designated places (for example, portions of Ocoee, Orlando, Alafaya, Conway, Pine Hills and Union Park were divided across districts in the sponsor plans).

Committee discussion emphasized competing priorities. Several members said they supported compactness and preserving municipal boundaries; others emphasized the need to create districts that allow historically underrepresented communities to elect candidates of choice. Member Afont and other commissioners expressed concern about maps that would reduce the Hispanic share of the existing District 3 voting-age population; staff analysis for SPEARS 1 showed proposed District 3 and proposed District 7 would include Hispanic voting-age pluralities while proposed District 6 would show a Black voting-age plurality under that plan.

Votes and procedural outcomes: Before the discussion of sponsor maps, the committee approved the April 23 minutes. Later, following presentations and member discussion, the committee took votes on the two Spears-sponsored plans. Member de la Portilla moved to reject SPEARS Map 1, seconded by Member Pizzini; the motion passed. Member Arias moved to reject SPEARS Map 2, seconded by Member Afont; that motion also passed. The committee chair confirmed both sponsor maps were not advanced from the discussion agenda. (Roll-call detail is recorded in the meeting minutes.)

What’s next: Member Baga’s map remained on the informational agenda and will be discussed at the committee’s next meeting, scheduled for May 7 at the Board of County Commissioners chambers, 201 S. Rosalind Avenue. County staff reminded the committee that map reports and plans are posted online, and the technical reports include incorporated/unincorporated breakdowns by district.

Commissioner comments and budget context: Commissioner Uribe, who greeted the committee at the start of the meeting, thanked residents for attending and encouraged participation in future hearings. Commissioner Scott, who later attended and spoke briefly, reminded attendees that districting and the ensuing commission make-up affect how budget allocations and local projects are prioritized; committee members discussed the potential economic consequences of how districts are drawn, including how incorporated and unincorporated areas receive funding.

The committee heard additional technical and neighborhood-specific detail — for example, requests to include Ocoee wholly in a single district, concerns about splitting Winter Garden, and repeated public requests that the Rio Pinar Canal corridor be kept intact to coordinate flood remedies. Speakers also urged improved accessibility and language access during the process; LatinoJustice recommended at least one meeting conducted entirely in Spanish to increase participation.

The committee did not adopt any sponsor map on April 30. Members and staff indicated additional maps and refinements will be posted and debated at future meetings as the advisory group prepares a set of proposed district plans for the county commission to consider.

(For the committee’s full roll-call votes, technical reports and map files, see ocfl.net/back/redistricting and the official meeting minutes.)