North Charleston wants public feedback during its redistricting process

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - As the City of North Charleston grows and leaders work to rebalance the city’s districts, they want the public to get involved.

The city is holding a public meeting Tuesday and city leaders are encouraging residents to come look over the plan and share their thoughts or concerns. Redistricting is meant to make sure that each vote is counted equally throughout the city.

The population of North Charleston jumped more than 20% from around 97,000 in 2010 to around 117,000 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Ryan Johnson, the Public Information Officer for North Charleston, said every district will be affected.

Johnson said specifically, there has been a lot of growth along Dorchester Road, and he said expects the districts that fall within Dorchester County to be drawn smaller to account for population changes.

He said community input in this process is essential because these districts will determine the council member’s areas that will represent the public.

Click here to view the proposed maps and other data and reports from the City of North Charleston.

Tuesday’s public meeting starts at 5 p.m. and will be held on the third floor of North Charleston’s City Hall, located at 2500 City Hall Lane. The meeting can be viewed online here.

Johnson said residents who are unable to attend today’s meeting can submit comments online, or email written comments to fieldsc@northcharleston.org. The maps will also be on display at the Gethsemani Community Center, the Perry-Webb Community Center, the North Charleston Athletic Center and the north Charleston Aquatic Center for the next two weeks.

“We just want to encourage people to look at the new maps, look at the data, and all that’s been involved in that, and give us your opinion and your feedback,” Johnson said.

He said the city may make changes to the proposed draft after receiving public input.

From there, the map will go through the typical ordinance process, requiring a couple of city council readings before being officially adopted.

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