I wonder how much difference this rule would make:
The land area added by making the shape of a district convex (ie, putting a "rubber band" around it) cannot be more than 50% of the area of the district.
That would limit the weirdness of the shapes a bit.
__________________
_________________
|...............| We live in the nick of times.
| Len 17, Wid 3 |
|_______________| [pics]
|