Hearing to be set on Sussex redistricting plan

The only questions being raised about the county council’s proposed redistricting map deal with how the lines are being drawn in eastern Sussex County.

During the public comment portion of the agenda, Catherine Ward, president of the League of Women Voters of Sussex County, asked council to reconsider the importance of communities of interest in the resort area. She noted the proposed map has South Bethany in District 5 and Bethany Beach in District 4. “How can you separate the resort areas with their particular interests?” she asked.

She also questioned District 5 that spans across the southern section of the county from one border to the other. “In this district the interests are terribly varied,” she said. District 5 ­– held by Vance Phillips – not only includes Laurel and Delmar in western Sussex, but also includes Dagsboro, Millsboro and Frankford in central Sussex and Fenwick Island and South Bethany along the coast.

The league’s proposed map provides a more dramatic change to the council’s five districts by redrawing lines in districts 3, 4 and 5 to include the resort areas within two districts. District 5 would not include the coastal area under the league’s proposal.

Councilman George Cole, R-Ocean View, said the map appears to split Millville and neighboring Ocean View into two different districts as well.

At county council’s Sept. 20 meeting, county attorney Everett Moore said he could have an ordinance drafted within two weeks. Once introduced by council, it would require three weeks of advertisement before a public hearing sometime in late October or early November.

Most changes in the council’s proposed map occurred in districts 1 and 3 where the population shift over the past decade has been most pronounced. District 1 in western Sussex lost residents while District 3 in the Cape Region gained population.

Under the county’s proposed map, because of population changes, District 1 was expanded north to Bridgeville to capture more residents. Bridgeville residents would no longer be part of District 2 under the proposed plan.

To reduce the size of District 3, the northern border was redrawn removing Milford-area residents. Those residents would be added to District 2.

The draft map was drawn with public input by Moore; consultant Richard Carter, a lifelong Sussex countian and historian who has 20 years experience in drafting redistricting maps; and intern Ryan Adams, a senior at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va.

With an updated county population of more than 197,000 residents, each council district must be within 5 percent of 39,429 residents. Districts can have no fewer than 37,458 residents and no more than 41,401 residents. Moore said the county’s proposed numbers fall closer to a 1 percent population deviation.

Moore said for the first time in history, four of the five council districts have a majority of their constituents east of Route 113. Based on the 2010 census, 56 percent of the county’s population lives east of Route 113. Also for the first time, county residents had two opportunities to comment on redistricting prior to the council’s public hearing.

Districts 4 and 5, which were already within the designated population allotments, remain relatively unchanged under the proposed county redistricting plan. Each of the five districts would have a slight majority of Democrat voters.

The proposed map does not match a map submitted by the League of Women Voters of Sussex County. The league’s map revamped the western Sussex County districts to place most of District 5, held by Vance Phillips, west of Route 13. District 5 currently stretches from the western to the eastern border of the county.

By law, the county must adjust its council districts following each decennial census to equally distribute the population among the five districts. Based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2010 population results for Delaware, Sussex County’s population increased nearly 26 percent between 2000 and 2010.