The City of Brighton divides the City into four (4) wards. The City Council members are elected and Planning Commissioners are appointed as representatives of these wards. As the population of the City grows, the ward populations grow and change. However, the populations within the wards do not grow evenly.
The Brighton City Charter requires the division of the City into wards consistent with the relevant provisions of the Colorado Constitution. Section 46 of Article V of the Constitution of Colorado requires that each ward have “…a population as nearly equal as may be …, but in no event shall there be more than five percent deviation between the most populous and the least populous district ….” Case law has interpreted this provision to mean that the sum of the percent by which the largest district’s population exceeds that of the ideal district and the percent by which the smallest district population falls short of the population of the ideal district must be less than five percent (5%).
The City needs to update the ward boundary map that takes into account the population growth and the availability of population data from the 2020 Census. Based on the uneven growth in the different wards, the ward boundaries will need to be balanced for 2021.
The City is looking for a consultant to help provide options for amending the Ward Boundary Map, based on Census 2020 data. The new ward boundaries must keep existing City Council representatives and Planning Commissioners within their respective wards. The new ward boundaries must also meet the requirement of no more than a 5% deviation between the ward populations. The City will need a consultant to present the research and Ward Boundary Map options to the City Council and, possibly, make amendments to those options based upon feedback from the City Council. The consultant will need to meet with City staff to set up the parameters for the project, share research, and discuss various Ward Boundary Map options. The consultant will need to provide all of their research and ArcGIS layers with the City throughout the process, including the final product.
