Per the Monument Home Rule Charter, and months of work from the redistricting commission, an ordinance establishing the revised districts for the upcoming November election has been approved.

The Monument Town Council had its regular meeting April 1 at town hall where it reviewed the proposed ordinance changing the town council residential district boundaries. The ordinance was born from the work of the town’s redistricting commission over the past few months to project population changes and respective geographic locations.

From the research performed, new boundaries are to be established to keep the populations between the two districts as close as possible. Monument’s Geographic Information System (GIS) Technician Connie Driedger presented the background information for the commission’s determination and recommendation.

Driedger explained the projections for Monument’s population were based on several aspects including new housing developments which would be completed by November.

Having determined a 2.78 person population growth per unit dwelling in Monument and with two new apartment complexes since 2020, at the time of the last U.S. Census report, being The Marq at Monument Ridge and the Alta25 Luxury Apartment Homes, it was determined an additional 1,273 persons should be included in the town’s population by November, based on the number of unit dwellings between those complexes.

In addition, growth was added by the number of residential unit building permits, excluding multifamily and senior living facilities, issued by Pikes Peak Regional Building Department from 120 days prior to April 1, 2020 and up to late Feb. 2024. The 120 days was based on conversations with PPRBD and area builders to determine the timeline from issuing permit to certification of occupancy.

Nine hundred nineteen permits were issued during that time and, multiplied by 2.78 persons, it was determined another 2,555 should also be added to Monument’s population by November. With the total projections, it was determined Monument’s population would grow from 10,539 in 2020 to an estimated 14,367.

Given the locations of the two new complexes and location at geographical locations for where building permits were issued, and after the redistricting commission looked over the data, it was determined a change of district boundaries was in order, Driedger said.

The present population between the two districts reveal a 12-percent difference, 1,243 persons. Without moving the boundaries, given the estimated population come November, the disparity would reach about 17 percent.

“With the town growth since 2020, you really can see the districts have gotten farther apart from being equal, so this really helps us understand we need to redistrict,” Driedger said. “Understanding all this data, the commission outlined two possible new districts and really just moved the line over to Jack Creek from I-25.”

With the proposed new boundaries for District 1 and District 2, the estimated difference in population would be 0.7 percent, with a difference of 105 persons.

Mayor Mitch LaKind thanked the commission for the work it performed gathering and analyzing the provided data. He said determining new districts to bring the difference down to 0.7 percent was an unbelievable job.

“There really can’t be anybody who would have a problem with the way this was drawn out, and you did a great job geographically and making sure all the groups were taken care of and acknowledged in the report,” LaKind said.

The ordinance was approved 7-0.

LaKind explained per the Home Rule Charter, and after the ordinance is passed, the redistricting commission is to be disbanded and look for new citizens to serve on the next commission which would be assembled for the next municipal election cycle.

“The council can change. The planning commission can change. Citizens move away,” the mayor said. “We would look for a new commission in the same timeframe before the 2026 election.”

The municipality is required to pass an ordinance redetermining districts, if needed, 180 days before the election day. The next step for the new redistricting for the Town of Monument council is to submit the findings and ordinance to the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder’s office.