MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon voters might see a Vernonview Drive referendum on the Nov. 5 General Election ballot.
Upland Terrace resident Don Carr is spearheading a group that seeks to overturn the rezoning of land on Vernonview Drive.
On June 24, city council members approved rezoning the 40 acres from R-1 single-family residential to PND, planned neighborhood development, in a 4 to 3 vote.
Carr turned in petitions to City Auditor Terry Scott on Monday with 701 signatures of citizens who support overturning council’s decision. Four hundred and ninety-seven are required.
“If it qualifies and is validated, there might be a second referendum on the November ballot,” Carr said.
Scott has 10 days to review the petitions before sending them to the Knox County Board of Elections.
The BOE has 10 days to verify the number of valid signatures. The BOE returns them to Scott, who, along with Law Director Rob Broeren, drafts the ballot language.
The ballot language then comes back to the BOE.
“We put it in our system, which corrects it according to the Ohio Revised Code, and we send it to the Secretary of State’s office. The Secretary of State’s office does a final scrub and gives final approval,” BOE Assistant Director Jack Goodman said.
“The Secretary of State returns it to us, and we create a ballot.”
Goodman noted there is a tight window to get the referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot.
“We should receive the draft language on Aug. 8. If we didn’t, it wouldn’t go on the ballot until next year,” he said.
The final ballot will be available 45 days before Election Day.
Vernonview Drive referendum
Residents have opposed the Vernonview rezoning since it first came before the Municipal Planning Commission (MPC) in May 2023.
Joshua Williams of the Brookes Group initially planned a 232-unit townhome community. He requested a zoning change from R-1 to R-3, multi-family housing.
The MPC denied his request. Commission members agreed a PND designation might be more appropriate and give the city more control.
Another developer, KNG Equity, requested a zoning change to PND in April. KNG’s plan called for a mix of single-family, owner-occupied homes, multi-family units, and townhomes.
The planning commission approved the change, with reservations about the apartments and townhomes.
Two days before city’s council’s June 24 meeting, KNG Equity sent revised plans calling for 124 owner-occupied units.
KNG eliminated the multi-family units and hopes to include some townhomes with the single-family housing.
The Vernonview Drive referendum is potentially the second referendum Mount Vernon voters will see.
The Secretary of State’s Office is reviewing a referendum to block city council’s approval of the Edgewood Road improvement project.
