Local residents are split on how Bend should be divided when new maps of Oregon House and Senate districts are drawn later this year.

Every 10 years, census numbers are used to redraw the districts for members of congress, state representatives and state senators to ensure each district contains a nearly equal number of residents. On Saturday, members of the Oregon House and Senate committees on redistricting met with about 75 local residents at Oregon State University-Cascades Campus to consider the options.

The challenge is to redraw the map to create districts that not only have similar populations, but borders that align with geographic dividing lines, and to avoid needlessly splitting “communities of interest” — which can be anything from racial and ethnic groups to common industries to shared transportation networks.

Some of the more interesting and potentially contentious map-drawing this year will be in Central Oregon, especially around Bend, where a decade of rapid growth means districts created in 2000 are now well above their target populations for 2010.

House District 54, centered on Bend and represented by Republican Jason Conger, is over the 2010 target population of 63,851 by 17,958.

Conger’s district has been referred to locally as the “doughnut hole” surrounded by the larger “doughnut,” House District 53, represented by Gene Whisnant, of Sunriver, and covering the rest of Deschutes County minus the largely uninhabited far eastern end. District 53 is also over its target population, by 9,930 residents.

Oregon Senate districts are made up of two adjoining House districts; locally, Bend Republican Chris Telfer represents Senate District 27, consisting of both the “doughnut” and the “doughnut hole.”

Saturday, local residents and political leaders offered their thoughts on how to divide the Central Oregon region into sensible communities of interest.

Residents of southern Deschutes County, including La Pine City Councilor Stu Martinez and Sunriver resident Leland Smith, said their communities have close economic and cultural ties with Bend, and should not be placed into a district that doesn’t include at least some portion of Bend.

Thomas O’Brien, a Bend resident and the board president of the Bethlehem Inn, said he doesn’t want to see Bend split down the middle. While the Deschutes River, Greenwood Avenue or U.S. Highway 97 might seem like natural dividing lines, O’Brien said the most populated city in the region should remain as intact as possible under redistricting.

“I don’t see it as the Great Wall of China,” O’Brien said. “I think the community of interest should include the core city center.”

O’Brien said Bend might be better served by a map that broke off a smaller piece on the north or south of the city, putting the border along Empire Avenue or Reed Market Road.

Conger, who lives on Bend’s east side, said splitting the city population between two districts could be advantageous, if it means Bend can send two representatives to Salem to advocate in the city’s interest.

Michael Graham, a board member with the Boyd Acres Neighborhood Association, said districts combining large pieces of Bend with outlying areas could create resentment from those living outside the city.

“Splitting Bend in half results in the potential domination of two House districts, which is probably not psychologically healthy for rural residents and small communities,” Graham said.

Mike McLane, a Powell Butte Republican who represents House District 59, said he took issue with the idea that a new map should start with the goal of creating a district favorable to Bend. McLane said doing so can create “leftover districts” like his, a sparsely populated district ranging from north of Prineville all the way to the California border.

“We are all legitimate and equal districts; we are all communities of common interest,” McLane said.

Redrawing Oregon’s five congressional districts is unlikely to be quite so complex. The Central and Eastern Oregon district of Greg Walden, the only Republican in the state’s congressional delegation, is not expected to change significantly — despite population gains in Central Oregon, population losses in more rural areas put Walden’s District 2 just 3,772 residents over its target of 766,215.

The Legislature has until June 30 to agree to a new redistricting plan, or the issue will be passed along to Secretary of State Kate Brown.