A citizen group seeking to put a Worthington City Counil zoning decision to allow a proposed housing development on the ballot in November 2027 recently submitted 3,976 petition signatures to the city, according to a Sept. 21 press release.
The zoning decision at the center of citizen group Democracy Before Developers' efforts is Worthington City Council's July 20 vote that rezoned around 20 acres of land at 445 E. Dublin Granville Road to allow a $52.4 million, 248-unit housing development on land currently owned by disability nonprofit I Am Boundless. Under Ohio law, local petition referendums need 35% of the number of voters in the city who voted in the last gubernatorial race to validly sign a petition to get it on the ballot. For Worthington,
that number is 3,017 signatures.
Democracy Before Developers campaign coordinator Marty Shumway said he was pleasantly surprised by the feedback they got from the community on their petition.
"When we started this process, I personally felt like it was Mission Impossible and I was going to give it my best shot. Within a couple weeks, we started to gain the confidence and continued to have volunteers pitch in. And it was a citywide effort too, which is really exciting," he said in an interview with The Dispatch.
The petition drive began July 23 and ended Sept. 21, according to Democracy Before Developers. Worthington will hold the signatures for ten days before sending them onto the Franklin County Board of Elections, which will validate the gathered signatures and certify the ballot issue if it finds the petition meets the state's referendum requirements. Shumway estimated 85% to 90% of their signatures will be deemed valid.
The Worthington Chamber of Commerce, development group Building Worthington's Future, several members of Worthington City Council and I Am Boundless have all stood by the July rezoning as the petition effort has progressed.
Patrick Maynard, president and CEO of I Am Boundless, previously told The Dispatch that if the petition is certified and placed on the November 2027 ballot, it would further delay the housing project and increase costs for the developer.
I Am Boundless plans to sell part of its land to developer Elford Development, and the nonprofit agreed to retain its existing jobs and expand its workforce by 65-80 jobs for the housing project. The community would be delayed access to walking trails that the developer planned to make part of the project, among other benefits, Maynard said.
Transportation and neighborhoods reporter Nathan Hart can be reached at NHart@dispatch.com, @NathanRHart on X and nathanhart.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Worthington citizen group submits 3,976 signatures to get zoning change on ballot
