METRO Redistricting Will Have Little Impact on Resources

Last week, Metro Councilors approved changes to the regional government's representation lines.

According to staff, the new map, which shifted the government's six districts to meet the population movements catalogued under the 2010 census, won't change much in terms of daily operations.

Unlike districts at the state or federal level, Metro does not allocate resources based upon population concentration within district boundaries, according to staff speaking on background.

Some of the changes include moving the city of Happy Valley into District 2; the city of Maywood Park and other portions of East Portland were moved from District 1 to North Portland's District 5; and the eastern boundaries of District's 4 and 5 now follow the boundaries of the city of Beaverton.

The council also sought to maintain the current "communities of interest" which include communities of 15,000 or less, as well as regional centers, town centers, school districts, neighborhood associations and organizations and other established community organizations

The new districts will take effect in January 2013.

According to Metro, the new districts are described as such:

Beginning with the 2012 election cycle, the six Metro Council districts will cover the following areas:

District 1 will include all of the cities of Fairview, Gresham, Troutdale, Wood Village and Damascus, plus Boring and unincorporated areas in Multnomah County east of Gresham and Troutdale. It will also include all of the City of Portland east of 122nd Ave. (and east of 112th Ave. south of Foster Rd.). District 1 will no longer include the cities of Happy Valley (now in District 2) and Maywood Park (now in District 5).

District 2 will include all of the cities of Happy Valley, Gladstone, Johnson City, Lake Oswego, Milwaukie, Oregon City, Rivergrove and West Linn, along with many unincorporated areas in northern Clackamas County. It will also include a portion of Southwest Portland and unincorporated Multnomah County to the east and south of Interstate 5 and south of SW Canby Street east of Brier Pl. The district will include all of the Stafford area within Metro's jurisdiction (the portion of Stafford south of Interstate 205 was previously in District 3).

District 3 will include all of the City of Beaverton to the south of Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy./Farmington Rd. east of Watson St., south of Broadway between Watson St. and Cedar Hills Blvd., and to the south of Tualatin Valley Hwy. west of Cedar Hills Blvd. It also includes all of the cities of Durham, King City, Sherwood, Tigard, Tualatin and Wilsonville, plus the unincorporated communities of Aloha (south of Tualatin Valley Hwy., which was previously in District 4), Raleigh Hills (south of Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy.), Bull Mountain, Garden Home and Metzger. It will no longer include any portion of Stafford.

District 4 will include all of the cities of Forest Grove, Cornelius and Hillsboro. It will also include a portion of the City of Beaverton and unincorporated areas in Washington County to the north of Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy./Farmington Rd. east of Watson St., north of Broadway between Watson St. and Cedar Hills Blvd., and to the north of Tualatin Valley Hwy. west of Cedar Hills Blvd., except for the unincorporated community of Cedar Mill lying north of U.S. Hwy. 26 and north and east of the Beaverton city limits, which will become part of District 5. District 4 will include the unincorporated communities of Aloha (north of Tualatin Valley Hwy.), Raleigh Hills (north of Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy.), Bonny Slope, Bethany, West Slope and Cedar Hills. District 4 will be entirely within Washington County.

District 5 will include all of North and Northwest Portland, all of Southwest Portland north of U.S. Hwy. 26 (including downtown), and all of Northeast Portland north of Interstate 84 and west of 122nd Ave. District 5 will include the City of Maywood Park, which was previously in District 1. District 5 will also include an area in Washington County north of Hwy. 26 and north and east of the Beaverton city limits (the Cedar Mill area), which was previously in District 4.

District 6 will include all of the east side of Portland south of Interstate 84 and west of 122nd Ave. (except for the portion south of Foster Rd. and east of 112th Ave., which will be in District 1). District 6 will also include all of Southwest Portland south of U.S. Hwy. 26, west and north of Interstate 5 and north of Canby St. east of Brier Pl. District 6 will be entirely within Multnomah County.