How many council districts are in Dallas?

The council approved and adopted the redistricting plan that was submitted by the city's redistricting commission on May 16.

Credit: WFAA

Author: WFAA Staff

Published: 8:16 AM CDT June 28, 2022

Updated: 8:17 AM CDT June 28, 2022

DALLAS — The Dallas City Council has approved a new district map, which will go into effect for next May's municipal election, officials said Monday.

The council approved and adopted the redistricting plan that was submitted by the city's redistricting commission on May 16.

The council had 45 days to approve or modify the plan.

The new district map contains few changes to the existing layout.

The changes include extending the downtown District 2 more to the northeast, into parts of District 9 and District 7, and more to the northwest, into parts of District 6 along Interstate 35E.

Other changes include slight expansions of districts: District 1 grows slightly to the southwest, into District 3; District 5 expands slightly to the north and southwest into District 7; and District 11 expands slightly north, into District 12, while District 12 expands to the south, into the west side of District 11.

Read the full redistricting plan and view the full map here:

Credit: Dallas City Council

While District 2's land area expands under the new map, the district loses about 4,900 residents, the biggest drop on the new map.

District 9 in northeast Dallas grew by about 4,700 residents, and District 14 in Uptown and Old East Dallas grew by about 1,400 residents.

“Redistricting is critical to a functioning representative democracy. I am grateful for the work of our Redistricting Commission, skillfully and fairly led by Chairman Jesse Oliver, and I am pleased that the Dallas City Council was able to coalesce around further modifications to the new map,” Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said in a city news release. “I would also like to thank all of our residents who participated in the process by submitting a map, providing feedback, or attending a public meeting. Public engagement is critical to building a stronger city."

After about six months of meetings and public input, the Dallas Redistricting Commission is set to decide on a new map of city council district boundaries for the next ten years on Monday.

City residents will have a chance to weigh in at Dallas City Hall on Saturday and Monday before the 15-member commission narrows down the two finalist maps to one. After the commission approves the map, it would then move on to Mayor Eric Johnson and the City Council, who would have 45 days to make any tweaks and approve the final version.

The new map of Dallas’ 14 council districts would be in effect by the next City Council election in May 2023. Voters will have a say on all 14 positions and the mayor’s seat next year.

The city realigns its Council district boundaries every 10 years after the release of the most recent U.S. Census data to reflect the changes in population. The goal is to make sure all districts have as close to an equal number of residents as possible to ensure fair representation.

Dallas’ population grew by 106,563 residents in 10 years to 1.3 million, 2020 census numbers show, meaning each of the city’s 14 districts should now have around 93,170 residents. Eight of the current districts have populations above that mark. For example, there are nearly 107,000 people in District 14, which includes Uptown, parts of downtown and Old East Dallas.

The redistricting process has seen residents from around the city urging commission members not to split their neighborhoods to preserve existing community and cultural ties. Amendments were made to the last two maps earlier this week to address some of those concerns, but there will still be many residents who will find themselves with new City Council representatives after this process.

Here are some highlights of the boundary changes in the final two maps under consideration by the redistricting commission:

This map would see changes largely in central, southern and eastern Dallas, including shifting one incumbent council member out of the district they represent.

District 1, which currently covers North Oak Cliff, the Bishop Arts District and the Kessler Stevens area, would move west to surround Cockrell Hill, include the Arcadia Park area and much of North Walton Walker Boulevard south of Interstate 30. The district would expand south to the Mountain View College area, the Kenwood area and most of Kiest Park.

The boundary shifts are projected to increase the makeup of residents from 73% Latino of the nearly 78,000 people who live there, to about 83% of close to a projected 89,000 of the district’s total population.

The Bishop Arts District, much of the North Hampton Road area below I-30 and all of Oak Lawn would move to District 14. It also puts the home of incumbent council member Paul Ridley into District 9, which covers the White Rock Lake area and much of East Dallas.

District 9 would shift to cover much of the area east from the Park Cities, including University Crossing and Lower Greenville.

District 2 would keep the Dallas Love Field area and Deep Ellum, but also continue into Far East Dallas along Ferguson Road. The district would lose the Cedars to District 4, which would still cover much of the southern half of Oak Cliff, but also include parts of South Dallas west of the Julius Schepps Freeway.

District 6 in West Dallas would shift east to cover both sides of North Stemmons Freeway into part of the medical district as well as the west side of Webb Chapel Road in the northwest area of the city.

This map is closer to the status quo of the current council district boundaries with some tweaks that are similar to the revised map 17.

Districts 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 13 are kept roughly the same as today. District 1 keeps the Bishop Arts District area but still moves west to cover the area between Chalk Hill Road and Westmoreland Road.

District 4 continues to cover much of South Oak Cliff and, like the other map, shifts north to include the Cedars and parts of South Dallas near South Lamar Street and Al Lipscomb Way. Most of Kiest Park would shift to District 3, which still would cover much of southwest Dallas, but lose some of the Kenwood area.

District 14 would keep areas like Oak Lawn, Lower Greenville and University Crossing. And District 2 would extend to Far East Dallas and the Casa View area.

The commission will meet on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. to get feedback from the public on the two amended maps, then will meet again Monday at 3:30 p.m. to consider selecting the final map.

Anyone who wants to speak during the May 7 public hearing has to register online (www.bit.ly/2021RDCTH) by 10 a.m. the day of the meeting. Anyone who wants to give public comment during the May 9 redistricting commission meeting has to register via email at [email protected] by 10 a.m. the day of the meeting.

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