PORT TOWNSEND ­— The Jefferson County commissioners have approved a redistricting plan to equalize the population of all three commissioner districts.

The plan chosen Monday expands the boundary of District 1, which is the Port Townsend area, to Jacob Miller Road and extends a strip of District 3, which covers the western and southern part of East Jefferson County, down to state Highway 104.

The three commissioners chose Alternative 2 of the three possible plans developed with input from the commissioners, the auditor, staff members and the county Central Services Geographic Information System team.

The commissioners chose the option that received public support and that would require the fewest number of people to change districts, said Commissioner John Austin of District 3.

Redistricting occurs after each U.S. Census and is intended to equalize the number of voters in each of three commissioner districts.

This year, the goal was to get the population in each district as close to 9,957 as possible, county Administrator Philip Morley said.

In the final plan, District 1 has 9,958 people while District 2 — which includes Cape George, Marrowstone Island, Port Hadlock and Chimacum — has 9,906 and District 3 has 10,008.

County districts also are used by the Port of Port Townsend and the Jefferson County Public Utility District.

Port commissioner moved

Redistricting moved District 2 Port Commissioner Dave Thompson into District 1.

He will not be able to run for re-election unless he moves after his term ends in 2013.

The plan will have very little impact on county constituent services, Austin said.

“In Jefferson County, all commissioners respond to all requests,” he said.

“If someone has an issue they can approach any of us.”

The one difference, Austin said, was that some people will vote in different districts for the primary election.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Jefferson County’s population increased 15.1 percent from 2000 to 2010, from 25,953 to 29,872.

Population grew in all three districts, but it was slightly more than the county average in District 3 and slightly less in District 1, while District 2 grew at the average rate.

The differences among the options were subtle, redrawing areas north of Highway 104 and near Discovery Bay.

Alternative 2, the option commissioners approved, had the least impact, with a small area north of Anderson Lake Road shifted from one to the other.

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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.