PATA History Pages

Roshon Development facing Referndum Attempt

Petitioners have 30 days

New development in PLSD calls for 200 homes
Township residents plan referendum against proposal for Roshon property
Thursday, May 27, 2004

MICHAEL J. MAURER
ThisWeek Staff Writer

About two dozen residents of Liberty Township met May 20 to organize a referendum in opposition to a new 200-home subdivision in the Pickerington Local School District.

Originally proposed last year, the 103-acre subdivision on Heimburger Lane would have included 240 units, including both condominiums and single-family homes.

In a redesigned proposal approved by Liberty Township trustees on May 17, the condominiums were dropped from the plan in favor of a total of 200 single-family homes. Trustees Ivan Ety and Keith Taylor voted to approve the project over the opposition of trustee David Keller.

Although most of the Pickerington Local School District is located within Violet Township and the city of Pickerington, the district also includes largely developed land within the cities of Columbus and Reynoldsburg and undeveloped land in Liberty Township, stretching from Saylor Road to south of state Route 256 near Bickel Church Road.

Speaking to the Liberty Township trustees last summer, PLSD Assistant Superintendent Lew Stemen estimated that 0.8 students are added to the district for every new home built.

Stemen said the Roshon development was important because it would set a pattern for all the undeveloped land in Liberty Township.

"It is not acceptable or fair to the students we already have to keep crowding (more students into) our school district," he said.

Opponents of the Roshon development agreed that it would set a pattern for further building in the township.

"You can't live the same (forever)," said township resident Nancy Montell. "Things have to change. You have to grow. But the one way it can grow is in a healthy way, or in a poor way. Whatever happens will set the stage for the entire Liberty Township."

Referendum organizers said they had retained Lancaster attorney John Clark to assist them in complying with detailed referendum procedures under Ohio law.

Township resident Dempsey Ohlinger said the group would look closely at several referendums attempted during last two years in the city of Pickerington that were ultimately rejected in the courts.

"They tossed them out in Pickerington because they were capitalized," Ohlinger said. "They said, 'You capitalized (only) the things you were interested in and that biased it.' These details are important."

The referendum opponents have 30 days from May 17 to collect enough signatures from registered voters in Liberty Township to equal 8 percent of the voters in the last gubernatorial election, Montell said.

Because some signatures likely will be found to be invalid, it is ordinary practice to collect more signatures than required. However, Montell said that if more than three times the required number of signatures is submitted, the board of elections will toss the petitions out entirely.

"If you go over that limit, they throw everything out," she said.

Referendum organizers said they expect to gather the signatures quickly.

"Realistically, you can get the signatures in one week," Montell said. "People are very willing to listen."


mmaurer@thisweeknews.com