WHITEHALL, Ohio (WCMH) — Whitehall City Council approved three tax breaks for a high-end development despite public pushback. Now citizens are taking the vote back.
Despite opposition, city council approved three tax breaks for the Fairway Cliffs development. Unsatisfied, citizen organizers turned to referendum petitions, which allow citizens to take an issue to a citizen vote with enough signatures. Working quickly, organizers submitted their completed petition on Wednesday afternoon. If approved, citizens will be able to vote on the tax breaks themselves in the November election.
“Whitehall residents overcame significant odds against being able to get the required number of signatures of 283 per each ordinance,” referendum organizer and city council candidate Holly Stein said.
In Whitehall, organizers needed to collect signatures equal to 10% of all voters who participated in the last mayoral election. In Whitehall, that meant collecting 283 signatures on three different petitions, each opposing one of the tax breaks. They also had just 20 days after the April 15 vote to do so.
Stein helped organize mass signing events to meet these goals, which began on April 20. Stein and other volunteers set up shop in public parks and places for “drive-thru petition signing” where registered Whitehall voters could sign all three petitions in rapid succession. In just 10 days, organizers collected 430 signatures per petition.
Whitehall citizens like Stein have spoken out against tax breaks for Fairway Cliffs development since 2023, with opposition culminating at a packed city council vote on April 15. Despite opposition, city council approved collecting Fairway Cliffs’ taxes separately for 45 years to fund an HOA and pay for the development’s upkeep. The nearly 50-unit development will also be exempt from property taxes for 15 years.
Stein hand-delivered the petitions on Wednesday to City Attorney Brad Nicodemus, who will now review them. With his approval, the petitions will go to the Franklin County Board of Elections for review. If the petitions are found to be valid and sufficient, all three tax break ordinances will go to a public vote on the Nov. 4 general election ballot.
“But Whitehall got 430 signatures in 10 days against those odds, and from all parts of Whitehall,” Stein said. “Whitehall residents have made their voices heard through their signatures.”