A redistricting proposal will determine the legislative districts for the King County Council, whose representative for Federal Way and South King County is Pete von Reichbauer (District 7).

The new plan will extend South King County’s district further east and south than previously, with that being the only significant change for voters in the area, from what can be seen of the proposal.

A public hearing will be held 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 3 at the King County Courthouse council chambers for input on the King County Districting Committee’s proposed plan. The proposal can be found at www.kingcounty.gov/districting, and members of the public may comment online through that same site.

“This redistricting plan was carefully drafted to balance population, meet legal requirements, and incorporate the public input we received,” said committee chair Terrence Carroll from a Sept. 21 press release.

District boundaries are required by law to be redrawn after every U.S. Census, the most recent being in 2010. The intent is to make each district as equal in population as possible, according to the county, and the target population for the proposed district plan was 214,583. All districts in the proposed plan are within one-quarter of one percent of the target. The county states that “population data may not be used for purposes of favoring or disfavoring any racial group or political party.”

The final plan must be approved by January 15, 2012.