Fort Myers will begin a redistricting process to reassess fair distribution of the population across the City’s six wards. The process is set in motion by the 2020 Census report, which indicates that the population of Fort Myers has increased by more than 38% since 2010.
The City will host six in-person community meetings as well as two virtual meetings to facilitate resident involvement with the redistricting process. The first meeting will take place December second at 6pm at the Riverside Community Center in Fort Myers.
The candidate maps lineup has been narrowed to five options, which may be accessed online at cityftmyers.com/redistricting. The public may submit additional maps for consideration until December 31, 2021.
In February 2022, the City Council will review all submitted maps and formally vote to establish the new City ward boundaries.
How to Participate
Email - submit your questions or map suggestions to the email: redistricting@cityftmyers.com
Public Meetings - Attend one of the many public meetings listed below:
- December 2, 2021 - Ward 2 - Riverside Community Center 6:00pm - Ward 2 Community Meeting
- December 7, 2021 - Ward 1 Enterprise Center 6:00pm
- December 9, 2021 - Ward 3 STARS Complex 6:00pm
- December 13, 2021 - Virtual Public Meeting - 2:00pm
- December 14, 2021 - Ward 4 Fire Station 11 6:00pm
- December 15, 2021 - Ward 5 Alliance for the Arts 6:00pm
- December 16, 2021 - Ward 6 Fire Station 15 (Treeline) 6:00pm
- December 17, 2021 - Virtual Public Meeting - 11:00am
Additionally, you can contact your local elected Council OfficesContact your councilperson's office
The Public Process of Redistricting
Redistricting is a public process. The final ward boundaries are selected by a majority vote of the city council at a public hearing that has been advertised and publicly noticed according to state law.
- A series of public meetings began with a city council work session on November 17th at the Southwest Florida Enterprise Center at 2:00pm to review map scenarios to bring forward as candidate maps.
- Map options will then be presented to the public at meetings at various public facilities to obtain comments and suggestions.
- A second city council work session will be held on January 3rd, 2022, to discuss public comments and review for a final selection of the updated ward boundaries.
- January 17th City Council Meeting – Permission to advertise for a public hearing to select a final map option.
- February 7th City Council Meeting public hearing to adopt new ward map.
Once adopted the final new ward map will be sent to the local supervisor of elections office to begin the voter precinct updates for the 2022 elections.
Candidate Maps
Download the current set of maps being reviewed by city council
This final set of candidate maps have been selected by the city council. The proposed maps will also be presented at various public meetings to obtain public input and answer questions about the process.
A web map has been created. You can zoom into any area and see the street names and property lines. Click on the layer button, and you will see a list of all the candidate maps.
City of Fort Myers 2020 Census Results by Ward
The City of Fort Myers increased nearly 39% in total population from 2010 to the 2020 Census. This population growth was not uniform. Each Ward grew at a different rate and demographic changes over the decade make redistricting more challenging.
- Ward 1: 12.8%
- Ward 2: 31.88%
- Ward 3: 24.02%
- Ward 4: 20.29%
- Ward 5: 10.51%
- Ward 6: 128.49%
- Citywide Growth: 38.70%
Demographics
The city also changed demographically over the last decade. Some demographic groups experienced significant increases, while others declined.
Download the Population and Demographic Report for The City of Fort Myers
