Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District would expand westward, from the end of the H-1 freeway and along Farrington Highway out to the coast, under a proposed redrawing of political maps that will now go to public hearings for further input and crafting.

Traditionally representing urban Honolulu, the district would include portions of Makakilo, Kapolei and Ko Olina under the proposed draft, reflecting a trend in Oahu’s population growth over the past decade.

Members of the state Reapportionment Commission voted 5-4 on Friday, along party lines, to accept what was dubbed the "H1" plan. It was chosen over a proposal that would have included a portion of Wheeler Army Airfield along Kamehameha Highway and most of Makakilo and Kapolei in the 1st District but stopped short of Ko Olina.

Commissioners also adopted, unanimously, proposed new maps for state House and Senate districts.

Public hearings on all the plans begin Aug. 30. The commission has until Sept. 26 to submit a final plan.

The "Wheeler" plan, as it came to be known, for the congressional districts was favored by the commission’s four Republican appointees, while the H1 plan was backed by the panel’s four Democratic nominees.

Commission Chairwoman Victoria Marks, the court-appointed chairwoman, cast the tie-breaking vote.

"First, I didn’t think it was appropriate to break up Wheeler Air Force Base … especially since this is a congressional plan," Marks said afterward. "Second, the deviation — which means how equal are District 1 and District 2 — was one-tenth of 1 percent with the H1 plan, so (it was) very close in terms of population between the two plans."

The deviation between the districts under the Wheeler plan was 0.58 percent.

Left unsaid by commission members in their deliberations, but raised during public testimony, was the perceived benefit that the 1st District’s incumbent could have under the Democrats’ plan.

U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, a lifelong resident of the Waianae Coast who owns a home in Ko Olina, said recently she had rented a property on Queen Street, near the federal building, to satisfy a campaign promise last year to move into the 1st District if she won.

Living in the district is not a requirement for congressional office, but it was made a campaign issue last year. Under the proposed plan, Hanabusa’s Ko Olina home would be in her district.

Members of the commission’s technical committee — two Democrats and two Republicans — that drew up the competing plans said their main goal was to draw district lines representative of the population.

Clarice Hashimoto, a Democratic appointee, said the west-side area encompassed by the H1 plan features mixed use such as condominiums, resort and retail.

"We thought that it totally fit into the general nature of CD1," she said.

Calvert Chipchase IV, a GOP appointee, said the committee wanted to expand the district where needed and into areas where all members could agree. Once the deviation was within the legally permitted range of 1 percent, then the addition of areas previously not included in the district should be an issue decided based on community input.

"In other words," Chipchase said, "draw a map that satisfies the rules for deviation and then take it out to the public and let the public say whether they believe — sitting in CD2 now — that they are more appropriately part of CD1."

Marks said she did not take political considerations into account when casting the deciding vote.

"I don’t know what all the political background is behind it. I don’t think I need to know," she said. "I do know that the population base has shifted west, and I know in my mind that Wheeler Air Force Base shouldn’t be split up when you’re dealing with a congressional plan."