PROCESS & TIMELINE FOR CREATING NAMPA'S FIRST COUNCIL DISTRICTS

Why did we create council districts?

Under Idaho Code section 50-707A, “[a]ny city having more than one hundred thousand (100,000)  inhabitants…shall establish districts and shall elect councilmen by districts for districts so established.” The most recent federal decennial census places the City of Nampa’s population at 100,200. The City of Nampa is therefore required, for the first time in its history, to establish council districts and must do so prior to the City of Nampa’s next general election on November 7, 2023.

On March 21, 2022, the Nampa City Council passed an ordinance to establish the formation of a Districting Committee. This committee is tasked with the work of proposing a recommendation for council districts for public hearing and Nampa City Council ratification. The committee will be comprised of nine citizen members, all appointed by Nampa Mayor Debbie Kling and confirmed by the council, who shall work with three ex-officio members, consisting of Canyon County Clerk Chris Yamamoto (or a designee), Nampa Planner Rodney Ashby (or a designee), and the City of Nampa engineer (or a designee). 

Voting members of the Nampa Districting Committee include nine Nampa residents from diverse geographic areas within Nampa city limits which can be found below. Six members must live in specific geographic areas and three members may reside anywhere within city limits. The below map does not reflect the proposed district boundary lines; it reflects the six areas within city limits divided for the sake of ensuring a geographically diverse committee. 
 
The nine committee members are voting members and serve without salary or compensation for their service. Anyone who serves on the Nampa Districting Committee shall be ineligible to run for a Nampa City Council seat for five years following such service. Several meetings will be required to draft the districting map for city council zones by fall of 2022. The work of the committee is expected to conclude by the end of the year. 

Districting Committee Members

Interested citizens were asked to submit an application

REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMITTEE MEMBERS // Nampa's Districting Committee must include: 

• (AREA ONE IN MAP) one (1) individual who resides in the area north and west of Franklin Boulevard and Interstate 84 as well as south of Interstate 84 yet north of Davis Avenue, Smith Avenue to the west of Northside Boulevard, and 
• (AREA TWO IN MAP) one (1) individual who resides in the area north and east of Franklin Boulevard and Interstate 84 as well as south of Interstate 84 yet north of the Union Pacific Railroad, 11th Avenue North, Garrity Boulevard, Airport Road to the east of Northside Boulevard, and 
• (AREA THREE IN MAP) one (1) individual who resides in the area south of the Union Pacific Railroad, Davis Avenue, Smith Avenue yet north of Lake Lowell Avenue and west of 12th Avenue South,12th Avenue Road, and 
• (AREA FOUR IN MAP) one (1) individual who resides in the area south of Garrity Boulevard, Airport Road, 11th Avenue North yet north of Amity Avenue and east of 12th Avenue South,12th Avenue Road, and 
• (AREA FIVE IN MAP) one (1) individual who resides west of 12th Avenue Road, south of Lake Lowell Avenue, and 
• (AREA SIX IN MAP) one (1) individual who resides east of 12th Avenue Road, south of Amity Avenue. 

The remaining three of the nine committee members may reside anywhere within Nampa city limits.

The following Nampa residents were appointed by Mayor Kling and confirmed by Nampa City Council to serve on the districting committee:

• Tony Berlin
• Stephanie Binns
• Ray Booze
• Adrian Castaneda (Chair)
• Nathan Cleaver
• Mathew Johnson
• Troy Minnick (Vice Chair)
• Kathleen Tuck
• Jane Katherine Zornik

Meetings

The Districting Committee met July 12, July 26, August 9 and August 30 at Nampa City Hall. Their meetings were open to the public to attend in person or online (livestream.com/cityofnampa). An opportunity for the public to discuss and provide feedback was available in August 2022. Agendas for the meetings are available in the agenda center for the committee here.

• Watch July 12 meeting
• Watch July 26 meeting
• Watch August 9 meeting

DISTRICT MAP GUIDELINES FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

The public was invited to share their suggestions for the six council districts. In order to meet statutory requirements, the districts must include the following criteria: 

• The population of each district must be as equal as possible and the population data from the 2020 federal decennial census must be used (additional population estimates or future growth cannot be considered at this time). 

• The difference between the largest and smallest districts cannot be larger than ten percent (10%)*.

*The US Supreme Court in Reynolds v. Symms and in the Idaho Supreme Court in Durst v. Idaho Commission for Reapportionment both recognized that the equal protection clause of the US Constitution requires substantial equality of population in the elected official districts. The courts recognized that a 10% maximum population deviation typically meets that constitutional standard. The maximum population deviation expresses the difference between the least populous district and the most populous district in terms of the percentage those districts deviate from the ideal district population. For example, if among the six council districts, the least populous district is four percent below the ideal population number and the most populous district is four percent above the ideal population number then the deviation would be: 4-(-4) or 8 percent.

• The new districts must keep current voting precincts (established by Canyon County Elections) intact. 
• Precincts in a certain district must be touching.

OPEN HOUSES

The Districting Committee shared a draft map for public comment and invited the community to attend open houses on August 16 and August 19. Additionally, a virtual open house was also available.