With Election Day less than two weeks away, most coverage of Grove City’s Issue 28 has read like a proclamation from a democracy movement. Few outlets have examined what the 12-page charter amendment really says and would do to the city.
In this space, we've objected to Issue 28 for its overreach and its supporters’ tactics. Letters to the editor and guest columns we’ve published raise concerns well beyond data centers.
They point to noise limits that could reach a Friday night high school football game. They point to fines of up to $500,000 (yes, you read that right). They also point to the acreage threshold that could ensnare The Buckeye Ranch, Mount Carmel Grove City, and churches.
That’s why NBC4 deserves credit. Reporter Gracie Collins found someone with no skin in the game. Collins sat down with Rachel Hampton of Capital University Law School to compare the ballot language with the full amendment.
Hampton noted that the ballot describes the referendum process but leaves out the regulatory and enforcement pieces. “The amendment talks about noise restrictions. That’s not noted here,” she said. Lighting rules are missing too, and existing businesses that cross the thresholds would become subject to the entire amendment.
We believe that’s a road paved for economic and city service chaos.
Hampton’s points echo concerns attorneys raised with us when the amendment was filed. One said it was less a ballot issue and more a document built for litigation targeting Ohio land-use law. Supporters like to point to data centers. But read the fine print, and Issue 28 looks more like a plan to stop future development and install a bureaucratic kingpin who could dictate terms to city officials.
Are we calling that democracy now?
The only thing missing from the report was a response from whoever drafted the amendment. But we’ll give Collins some grace here. We’ve worked to find the amendment’s author ourselves, and the most we got back was “a qualified attorney,” which is code for “none of your business.”
Too often, a news package means one voice from one side and “sources” that read suspiciously like a search engine. Maybe the attribution should just say “Google told me.” But not in this report.
This time, at least one outlet sat down with a law professor and laid out the facts of Issue 28.
Bravo, NBC4. Watch the report here.
This editorial reflects the views of The Pennant Editorial Staff. Questions or comments are welcome at [email protected].