Why we should increase the number of Ward 5 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions
Like other jurisdictions across the country, the District redraws its political maps every 10 years to keep up with changes in population that are captured by the Census. On Dec. 21, the DC Council will wrap up the first step of this process when it takes its second and final vote on new Ward boundaries. That sets the stage for part two of the process: the redistricting of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs).
ANCs are hyperlocal bodies composed of anywhere from 2 to 12 commissioners, each of whom represents a single member district. ANCs are intended to help local communities weigh in on zoning, permitting, transportation, and other matters. Under DC law, single-member districts (SMDs) are supposed to be composed of approximately 2,000 people, “shall be as nearly equal as possible,” and “shall conform to the greatest extent possible with the boundaries of the census blocks” (among other requirements).
A huge opportunity awaits Ward 5 in ANC redistricting. Although Ward 5 is not poised to change dramatically this cycle, the same cannot be said for its ANCs. Ward 5 currently has 37 ANC commissioners serving approximately 89,000 residents. To comply with DC redistricting law, Ward 5 will gain 7 to 8 new single member districts.
Ward 5’s commissioners are currently distributed across five commissions. These are the current boundaries and population counts for those commissions:
Technical compliance with DC’s ANC apportionment laws doesn’t narrow the options much, so it’s helpful to think about some of the other factors that can and should be considered in Ward 5 ANC redistricting.
Other factors to consider
Reducing the geographic jurisdiction and size of a commission could make its work more manageable. Because a lot of ANC work involves weighing in on zoning, permitting, alcohol and beverage licensing, and transportation issues within each commission’s jurisdiction, a smaller footprint allows each commission to take on a more manageable workload. And since most commissions have a limited amount of time that they can meet, commissions with a smaller footprint are more likely to be able to accommodate meaningful public input.
In Ward 5, the boundaries of ANCs 5C, 5A, and 5D include large amounts of unpopulated industrial and park land—a feature that adds to the relative workload of these commissions. The upcoming redistricting cycle presents an opportunity to spread this responsibility more evenly.
Commissions struggle to function effectively when they are too small or too big. Curiously, the number of single-member districts per commission is not set in stone. The smallest ANC is currently composed of 2 commissioners and the largest is composed of 12, however, 24 of the District’s 40 ANCs are composed of 7 or 8 SMDs. All but four are between 5 and 10 commissioners.
ANCs commissions have a number of standing legal responsibilities that they must meet regardless of the number of commissioners they have, such as giving due notice of their meeting and agenda, tracking and reporting expenses, recording meetings, and transmitting resolutions and other correspondence. For that reason, commissions with fewer than 5 commissioners are probably ill-advised. At the same time, large commissions can struggle to conduct efficient public meetings and provide meaningful opportunities for resident input.
The upcoming redistricting cycle presents an opportunity to ensure that Ward 5’s ANCs remain a manageable size. If the current boundaries are not adjusted, ANC 5E would likely be composed of 13 commissioners–the largest in the city. ANCs 5A, 5C, and 5D would all have 9 commissioners and could not absorb ANC 5E’s excess SMDs without also becoming unmanageably large.
ANCs are intended to give voice to local residents, so the constituencies they serve matter. The principal purpose of an ANC is to ensure the views of residents are afforded consideration in local zoning, permitting, ABRA, and transportation matters. It is often unclear what defines a neighborhood, but to the extent that a neighborhood has a strong identity that is closely tied to the work of an ANC, it might make sense to try to keep that constituency intact in the redistricting process. Simple geography matters too: barriers like rail tracks or large roads can serve as an impediment to participation in local government if that makes certain residents less likely to attend meetings elsewhere in the ANC.
It’s best to start the conversation by looking at commission boundaries rather than SMDs. In theory, there are two ways to approach this process. One would be to try to create a bunch of 2,000 single-member districts and then group them into commissions. The problem with that approach is that it is very quickly going to lead to a bunch of compromises to the coherence of commission boundaries. In my view, the better approach is to start big picture, think about what the Ward 5 commissions should look like, and then figure out single-member districts later in the process.
Four options to get the conversation going
Here are four options to begin the Ward 5 redistricting conversation. The first two would add two new ANC commissions to Ward 5. The third and fourth options would create only one new commission. Each of these maps could be adjusted in ways big and small, so it is possible that elements from one map could be combined with another.
What’s next?
Once the Council makes final changes to the Ward boundaries this month, the ANC redistricting process will commence. Ward councilmembers traditionally convened ANC redistricting committees to provide suggestions for the council to consider, amend, and finalize by June 2022. We should learn more about this process soon. In the meantime, I hope you’ll share your thoughts about the options above and talk about what other options you’d like to see.