(a) The Council shall appoint by resolution a Redistricting Commission not later than April 1 of the year following each decennial census date. The central committee of each political party shall nominate three persons to serve on the Commission if, at the time of nomination, at least twenty-five percent of the total number of registered voters in the County are affiliated with the political party. The Council shall appoint all such nominees as members of the Commission as well as two or three additional members of the Commission, as the case may be, who are unaffiliated with any political party for at least two years prior to the date of appointment, to ensure that its total membership equals an odd number. The Chair of the Commission shall be elected by and from the Commission members. No person shall be eligible for appointment to the Commission who holds elective office.
(b) By November 15 of the year following each decennial census date, the Commission shall present to the Council a plan of Council Districts, together with a report explaining it. Within thirty days of receiving the plan of the Commission, the Council shall hold a public hearing on the plan. If within ninety days after submission of the plan no other legislation reestablishing the boundaries of the Council Districts has been enacted, the plan as submitted shall become law.
(c) Any Council District established in accordance with this section shall be compact, contiguous, substantially equal in population, and have common interests as a result of geography, occupation, history, or existing political boundaries.
(d) An ordinance establishing Council Districts shall be exempt from referendum.