The independent citizen Districting Committee charged with redrawing the boundaries of the county’s Council districts and reducing their number from 13 to nine will make public and deliberate on alternative draft districting plans at its meeting on Monday, January 3. 2005.

These are the initial draft plans prepared by Districting Master John Schlosser for the 2004-2005 King County Districting Committee, which meets at 9:00 a.m. in the Southwest Room, King County Courthouse, 12th floor. The Committee may choose to give direction to the Districting Master to modify the alternative plans, eliminate one or more of them, or create additional draft districting plans.

The initial draft plans should be posted online by mid-day on January 3, 2005 at the Districting Committee’s Web site at www.metrokc.gov/council/districting

The public then has a chance to testify on the draft plans at 2 public hearings in different locations throughout King County:
• Wednesday, January 5, 6:00 p.m., at Lake Forest Park City Hall, City Council Chambers, 17425 Ballinger Way NE
• Thursday, January 6, 6:00 p.m., Auburn City Hall, City Council Chambers, 25 West Main

One final draft plan will be the focus of a public hearing on:

• Saturday, January 8, 10:00 a.m., King County Courthouse, Council Chambers, 516 Third Ave., Seattle

All of the public hearings will be taped and retransmitted by King County Television on Comcast Cable 22 or Millennium Cable 72/80. The Committee is also taking online testimony through its Web site.

The Committee will then hold one or two more working meetings, which are also open to the public but not for the purpose of taking public testimony.

• (tentative) Wednesday, January 12, 9:00 a.m. in the Southwest Room, King County Courthouse, 12th floor – review of public testimony and work toward adoption of the final districting plan
• Saturday, January 15, 10:00 a.m. in the King County Council Chambers, King County Courthouse, 10th floor –adoption of final districting plan

State law requires the Districting Committee to draw the boundaries of each district to be as nearly equal in population as possible, to ensure equal representation, and to correspond as nearly as practical with the boundaries of existing municipalities, election precincts, census tracts, recognized natural boundaries, and communities of related and mutual interest.

Read more about the Districting Committee at
www.metrokc.gov/council/districting