Highland Heights Council Rejects GetGo Petitions

City Council unanimously rejected initiative petitions to change sections of the zoning code in the Local Business District classification.

The petitions were circulated by developer Lance Osborne, who wants to build a GetGo gas station, convenience store and car wash, as well as another 17,265 square feet of retail space, at Wilson Mills and Brainard roads.

Council's vote was at a special meeting scheduled on Tuesday because the city had to act within 40 days after Aug. 2, when Osborne submitted the petitions. Osborne now has the option to file a written request to put the issue before council again next week.

"I'll probably come back," Osborne said after Tuesday's meeting.

What will happen then is unclear. Law Director Timothy Paluf said that, according to the city's charter, if the petitioner files a written request at the next council meeting, council has to forward the petitions to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.

However, he also issued an opinion that the petitions are flawed because they address more than one subject. Paluf said that there should be two issues, one regarding square footage and another allowing gas stations and car washes in Local Business District zoning.

Osborne said his legal counsel advised that the proposed changes are all related to a single ordinance and can be presented to voters as one issue.

There's also disagreement about whether the petitions were submitted in time for the Nov. 8 general election. Osborne said the petitions were presented to the city within 90 days of the election, but Paluf said the 90-day clock doesn't start until council takes action and forwards the petitions to the board of elections.

Osborne said he wouldn't want to wait until next May's ballot, but it's up to the board of elections to decide if it's too late to make the November election.

Before voting to reject the petitions, Councilman Edwin Hargate said he agreed with Paluf's opinion that the changes being proposed needed to be separated.

"I think it's fatally flawed because they have many items that should be separate issues," he said.

Council President Scott Mills said the petitions were an attempt to circumvent the city's zoning codes.

"We're trying to put too many things into one initiative change," he said.