Metro council members inched closer to adopting a redistricting plan last week, generally supporting a third proposal for balancing council districts.
At a council worksession April 26, councilors seemed to be leaning towards supporting so-called Option 3, which most significantly changes the boundaries of districts 1, 2, 3 and 4.
The third iteration of Metro's redistricting proposal responded to stakeholders in Wilsonville, who wanted to stay in the same Metro Council district as Tualatin and Sherwood. But it raised concerns from Metro Councilor Kathryn Harrington, whose home city, Beaverton, would be split among three council districts if the plan is approved as-is.
The placement of Wilsonville in District 3, currently represented by Metro Councilor Carl Hosticka, is the biggest difference between Option 3 and the first proposal produced by Metro staff, now called Reference Plan 1.
Councilor Carlotta Collette, who represents the bulk of Clackamas County both currently and in all of the redistricting proposals, said the shared focus on industrial development and transportation projects prompted representatives from Wilsonville to ask that it stay in the same district as the rest of the south I-5 corridor.
"Those three cities have been working very hard to collaborate," Collette said in an interview last week. While Wilsonville participates in county-wide efforts like the Clackamas County Coordinating Committee, Collette said its planning is less attached to the rest of the county than to Tualatin and Sherwood.
"From a working opportunities perspective, they have more in common with those other two cities," Collette said. "It makes a lot of sense for them to stay together."
With Collette's district needing to expand to ensure a population balance, Option 3 would push District 2 further east, extending all the way to 172nd Avenue in Happy Valley on the east. The district boundary for the last decade has extended no further east than 142nd Avenue.
The map is still subject to refinement. One of the larger conversation pieces last week was whether to extend District 5 into the Cedar Mill area of Washington County, near the Sunset Transit Center. Councilor Kathryn Harrington, who currently represents the area, said Beaverton is considering annexing parts of that area, which would split Beaverton into three districts.
But Harrington was complimentary of the way the map avoids splitting town and regional centers into multiple council districts.
"With our focus on redevelopment in centers, corridors and station communities, I think (Option 3) has a little bit more cohesiveness," she said. "I think we should, just as the City of Wilsonville has an opinion, the City of Beaverton may have an opinion that needs to be solicited."
The council is scheduled to introduce a redistricting ordinance at its May 12 meeting, with public hearings May 12 and May 19. A vote is expected May 19.