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Sussex County Council Redistricting Process Update
December 14, 2021
Current 2011 Councilmanic Districts (slide viewer left or right to view map with or without population deviations)
Facts on CENSUS and Redistricting
The population of Sussex County is 237,378 based on the results of 2020 U.S. census. That is an increase of 40,233 residents in 10 years.
Redistricting is required every 10 years following each census to equally redistribute population among Council districts.
Given the 2020 census figures, each Council district must be within plus or minus 5 percent of an ideal population of 47,475.6 residents.
The Need for Redistricting
Unlike 10 years ago, when only two Sussex County Council districts were outside the acceptable deviation ranges, four of the five current Council districts are now outside the bounds of the acceptable deviation, based on the 2020 census figures.
- District 1 is below the deviation, thus creating the need to expand its geographical boundaries;
- District 2 is below the deviation, thus creating the need to expand its geographical boundaries;
- District 3 is above the deviation, thus creating the need to contract its geographical boundaries;
- District 4 is above the deviation, thus creating the need to contract its geographical boundaries;
- District 5 is the only district within the acceptable deviation, however, in its current form, the district lacks communities of common interest.
Goals for Redistricting Process
- Impartial process managed by County legal, consulting staff
- Keep together ‘communities of interest’
- Follow roads, streams and other landmarks to the extent possible
- Look at both current and historical trends and data
Enacted DE House of Representatives Districts
Adopted by Delaware House of Representatives Oct. 28, 2021
Enacted DE Senate Districts
Adopted by Delaware Senate Oct. 25, 2021
School District Boundaries
School Districts
- Using the school districts as a template, the desire is to keep communities of interest together as much as possible ('sense of community')
- Municipalities and communities are bonded to their school districts, e.g., the Delmar Wildcats, the Laurel Bulldogs, the Seaford Blue Jays, the Woodbridge Blue Raiders, the Milford Buccaneers, the Cape Henlopen Vikings, the Sussex Central Golden Knights and the Indian River Indians
- Unfortunately, the school districts' geography cannot be used in an exact fashion, especially in the eastern part of the county with the larger districts and population distribution
Process of Redistricting
- Legal and consulting staff looked at the towns, landmarks, school districts and County's current Council district maps
- Using this process we had many derivations
League of Women Voters' Submitted County Council Districts Proposal
LWV Proposed Sussex County Council Districts, Submitted November 2021
Proposed Sussex County Council Districts
Proposed Councilmanic Districts: 2020 census
Comparison of League of Women Voters and County's Proposals
Variation Area 1
Zoomed View - West of Seaford (Expand image to view Legend)
- The LWV maps showed the northwest boundary with District 2 at Reliance Road. That would split much of the Seaford community
- Under the County plan, the line is moved north on the westernmost boundary to just south of DE Route 18. This was a logical boundary as it is the line separating the Seaford/Woodbridge school districts
- County legal and consulting staff could not follow that line further east due to the numbers
Variation Area 2
Zoomed View - Slaughter Beach area (Expand image to view Legend)
- The County plan adds this small area northeast of Milford. The rationale for this change is that there are fewer people in this district, it is part of the Milford School District, and is in close proximity to the Milford city limits
Variation Areas 3 & 4
Zoomed View - Milton area (Expand image to view Legend)
- The County proposal moves this area east of DE Route 1 from the Georgetown/Millsboro District 5 (as proposed by the LWV) to District 3
- The County proposal also deviates from the LWV map here by adding additional area around Milton to allow for future annexations and growth in the Town, thereby keeping the community intact
Variation Area 5 &6
Zoomed View - Southern half of Sussex County (Expand image to view Legend)
- This deviation from the LWV map follows the school district lines for a portion of the adjustment and also straightens a line at the bottom of the map
Council District Details
District 1
Proposed Sussex County Council District 1
The overall redistricting process began with this district.
Because of population changes, the district had to expand to capture more residents.
To align communities of interest, Bridgeville was moved to District 2 and Delmar and Gumboro were moved from District 5 to District 1.
The district is wholly contained in western and southern Sussex, and includes all of Laurel, Seaford, Blades, Bethel, Gumboro, and Delmar.
It contains most of the Seaford School District, all of Laurel and Delmar school districts and a portion of the Indian River School District.
District 2
Proposed Sussex County Council District 2
This district gained Bridgeville from District 1 and Milton from District 3. However, it lost Georgetown to District 5.
The District has most of the Woodbridge School District, parts of the Cape Henlopen, Indian River, and Milford school districts.
District 3
Proposed Sussex County Council District 3
Because of the large population increase, this district underwent significant changes.
With geographic limitations to the east, changes were achievable in the western and southern part of the district.
This district contains all of the Delaware Bay beach communities, Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach, as well as some of the areas on the northern stretches of the inland bays.
The district contains much of the Cape Henlopen School District, as well as parts of the Milford and Indian River school districts.
District 4
Proposed Sussex County Council District 4
The district lost much of its northern reaches, but picked up Fenwick Island.
In addition to Bethany Beach, South Bethany, and Fenwick Island, the district includes Frankford, Dagsboro, and Selbyville (the southern US Route 113 corridor) and many of the small southern towns and villages.
All of this district’s area is within the Indian River School District.
District 5
Proposed Sussex County Council District 5
Although this was the only district that was within the mandated deviation, it has undergone the most dramatic change.
This is now the central Sussex district. Georgetown was added to this district, while Fenwick Island (added to District 4), Gumboro, and Delmar (added to District 1) were removed.
The district spans portions of the Cape Henlopen and Indian River school districts.
Interactive Web-Mapping Application
This application can be used to toggle layers of interest on and off and view statistics of Sussex County's demographic data.
Compare the Current 2011 Councilmanic Districts to the proposed 2021 Districts
2021 Proposed (slide right) | 2011 Current (slide left)
Slide viewer to compare the existing and proposed Sussex County Council districts map
Next Steps
Sussex County will accept written public comment on the proposed map until 4:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 7, 2022
- Comments can be submitted by the form below, via direct email to redistricting@sussexcountyde.gov, or by standard mail addressed to: Clerk of the Council, PO Box 589, Georgetown, DE 19947
The ordinance to adopt the proposed 2021 Sussex County Council districts map will be drafted and prepared for introduction on Jan. 11, 2022
- The public hearing on the proposed map will be held February 2022.