For the purpose of electing the members of the City Council commencing with the November general municipal election, the City shall be divided into single-member districts equal in number to the number of City Council members, exclusive of the Mayor (each such district a “District” and, collectively, “Districts”). The City Council shall, by ordinance or resolution adopted on or before July 8, 2016, establish the names and respective boundaries of the Districts that shall be used for the election of the Council members, and the transition plan from at-large elections to District elections. Said Districts shall be in compliance with applicable laws and such other permissible criteria as the City Council may specify by ordinance or resolution.
Following each decennial federal census, and at other such times that the City Council by at least a two-thirds vote determines that a sufficient change in population has occurred, the City Council shall, by ordinance or resolution, adjust the boundaries of any or all of the Districts of the City so that the Districts shall be as nearly equal in population as may be, consistent with law applicable to the creation and rearrangement of the boundaries of local districts. No ordinance or resolution authorized by this section that would change District boundaries created by a prior ordinance or resolution may be adopted within 180 days prior to any general municipal election.
Any territory annexed to or consolidated with the City shall, prior to or concurrent ly with completion of the proceedings therefor, be added to an adjacent District or Districts by the City Council by ordinance, which addition shall be effective upon completion of the annexation or consolidation proceedings notwithstanding any other provision of the Charter to the contrary. (Amended November 4, 2014, filed by Secretary of State January 5, 2015.)