Huber Heights to Rezone Carriage Trails 2.0 as Emergency Measure

Rezoning up for Public Hearing at Monday's Meeting

On the same night that the Huber Heights City Council will hold the second reading on nine ordinances that will add over $55 million in debt to the city’s balance sheet, the City of Huber Heights will hold a public hearing and the first reading of the ordinance rezoning the recently annexed “Carriage Trails 2.0” development, encompassing nearly 300 acres in the Bethel Local School District.

The land was annexed to the City of Huber Heights back in July, and this publication discussed the vote in this edition of this newsletter:

On the heels of the annexation, the developer wasted very little time applying for a new zoning designation and the Huber Heights Planning Commission recommended a Planned Development for the land:

So, with the land annexed and the Planning Commission signing off, it’s now time for the City Council to make the decision to zone the property as a Planned Development and the agenda for the September 23rd meeting of Council will begin that process by holding a public hearing and the first reading of the ordinance permitting the new zoning.

Where is the Emergency?

However, this zoning request isn’t your typical measure — this ordinance is being discussed as an emergency measure. This is a curious move by the City Council, especially considering when this ordinance was discussed at the September 17th Council Work Session, it did not have any mention of the zoning being an emergency measure. From the city’s own documentation, it appears between September 17th and the date of this publication, someone in City Hall decided that the zoning of this property needed to be adopted as an emergency ordinance.

But, what is an emergency ordinance? Fortunately, the City’s Charter lends guidance on this topic.

According to Section 5.06 of the Huber Heights City Charter:

“Each emergency ordinance shall determine that the ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare, or for an emergency in the operation of the City, and shall contain a statement of the necessity for the emergency in a distinct section of the ordinance hereinafter referred to as "the emergency clause".

In addition, all emergency ordinances must be approved by a 2/3rds majority of the council, as outlined in Section 5.06(c) of the City Charter.

Researching the emergency ordinance up for the first reading at Monday night’s meeting, “the emergency clause” is in Section 4 of the ordinance up for the first reading. The section reads as follows:

In all honesty, this is thin gruel for an emergency ordinance. Is this City of Huber Heights really telling the residents that in order to preserve the public peace, health, safety and welfare of the community, the developer needs to complete 38 unfinished lots in Carriage Trails I and passing this measure as emergency ordinance is the most effective way to do that? That is going to leave a lot of people scratching their heads.

Hinging the “public peace, health, safety and welfare of the community” on the ability of a private developer to finish 38 lots seems to be quite the gift of generosity on behalf of the City Council. But, maybe there is more here than meets the eye.

Keeping Citizens out of the Process

Section 12.01(b) of the City Charter provides guidance on the referendum procedure in the community, and it reads as follows:

Referendum. The qualified voters of the City shall have the power to require reconsideration by Council of any adopted ordinance or resolution provided that the power to require reconsideration shall apply only to the first ordinance, resolution or other measure required to be passed and not to any subsequent ordinances, resolutions or other measures relating thereto, and further provided that such power to require reconsideration of ordinances and resolutions shall not extend to the tax budget, or any ordinance relating to the appropriation of money, or salaries of nonelected City officers or employees or ordinances or resolutions adopted as emergency measures. If Council fails to repeal an ordinance or resolution so reconsidered, the voters may approve or reject such ordinance or resolution at a general, primary or special election.

The bold section (emphasis added by this publication) specifically states that emergency measures are not subject to the referendum process. Plainly stated, the City Council does not want residents that object to this plan to have the opportunity to bring it in front of the voters at the ballot box.

Frankly, it’s not a stretch to come to that conclusion. Earlier this summer, when the “Carriage Trails 2.0” annexation was approved, residents collectively worked together to get the annexation measure on the ballot, and while that effort couldn’t get enough signatures, it was organized to the point where the City Council doesn’t want to go through that process again. This publication talked about the referendum effort here:

Your Rights Are at Stake

The right of referendum is enshrined in both the Ohio Constitution and the Huber Heights City Charter, along with the initiative process and the recall process. These three measures guarantee that the political power of a community is enshrined with the citizens of the state and the community — not simply with the politicians in elected office. Every official should do their level best to ensure these tools are available to the electorate at every legitimate opportunity.

By adopting this measure as an emergency ordinance, the City Council is taking away the ability of the citizens to exercise their abilities to call for a referendum vote on this measure; it clearly seems as inappropriate and an abuse of the emergency ordinance clause in the City Charter.

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