4 Adjusted Precinct Boundaries Set To Be OK'd In Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Saturday's Alexandria City Council meeting includes final approval of adjusted precinct boundaries and other notable agenda items.

As part of the state redistricting process, new maps of congressional and state legislative districts were approved by the Virginia Supreme Court in late December. While Alexandria has two House of Delegates districts now (45 and 46), the redrawn map has three House of Delegates districts in Alexandria. Del. Charniele Herring's 46th District will become the 4th District, Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker's 45th District will become the 5th District, and Del. Alfonso Lopez's 49th District will become the 3rd District and add part of Alexandria. Those districts won't become effective until the next Virginia House of Delegates and Senate general elections in 2023.

But due to the redrawn House of Delegates maps, some voters' precincts will change with City Council approval Saturday. According to Virginia law, precincts must be completely in a single congressional district, State Senate district, and House of Delegates district. Adjusted boundaries for the Naomi L. Brooks, Blessed Sacrament Church, Chinquapin Center and G.W. Masonic Temple precincts are proposed to align with new House of Delegates districts.

The changes will assign 574 registered voters to a new polling place but will not change their assigned congressional, state Senate, or House of Delegates representation. Affected voters will be notified of the precinct change.

City Council had a first reading of the adjusted precinct proposal on Tuesday. Residents can view the 2021 voting districts and 2022 voting districts maps in the City Council meeting agenda.

In other redistricting news, a proposed ordinance to adjust Alexandria School Board boundaries will be brought to City Council in March. Virginia law requires the city to "ensure school board districts are compact and contiguous and substantially equal in population," according to a city manager memo to City Council.

Other major items on Saturday's meeting agenda include a proposal for the ParcView II affordable housing building, a request to expand seating and hours for the Classical Movements outdoor entertainment series, and sale of a city public parking lot to the Alexandria Housing Development Corporation for affordable housing development.