ASHVILLE, Ohio – The Supreme Court of Ohio ruled Friday that the village of Ashville must certify a citizen referendum petition challenging a local agreement with data center developer EdgeConneX, clearing a key procedural hurdle for potential placement on the November ballot.
In a per curiam decision in State ex rel. McNamara-Smith v. Grube (Slip Opinion No. 2026-Ohio-3035), the court granted a writ of mandamus directing Ashville Fiscal Officer April Grube to submit the petition to the Pickaway County Board of Elections. The ruling centers on Resolution No. 06-2026, adopted by Ashville Village Council in April 2026. That measure approved a development and supply agreement term summary with EdgeConneX for construction of two single-story data centers and a natural-gas power-generating facility on village property.
The term summary indicated EdgeConneX intended to seek authority from the Ohio Power Siting Board for the power plant. Council declared the resolution an emergency, stating it was “immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, and safety of the municipality” and needed to accept terms “as soon as possible so that this project is not unnecessarily delayed.”
Village residents, including Laura McNamara-Smith, Brian Meyers, and Allison Meade, circulated a referendum petition seeking to repeal the resolution. The Pickaway County Board of Elections validated 669 signatures, exceeding the number required to place the issue before voters. Petitioners submitted the materials to Grube for certification and transfer to the board of elections.
Grube declined, arguing the resolution was passed as emergency legislation (generally exempt from referendum under Ohio law) and constituted an administrative action rather than legislative action subject to voter review.
The Supreme Court rejected the emergency justification. Under R.C. 731.30, emergency ordinances must be necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety. The court held that simply restating the statutory language or citing a general desire to avoid delay is insufficient. “All emergency measures are presumably designated as such because commencement of the underlying matter should not be delayed,” the opinion stated. “But Resolution No. 06-2026 does not explain why waiting 30 days for the resolution to take effect would unnecessarily delay the EdgeConneX project.”
Because the resolution lacked sufficiently specific reasons for the emergency declaration, it is not exempt from referendum. The court further held that a village fiscal officer lacks authority to determine whether a measure is administrative or legislative. That question falls to the board of elections, with potential for later judicial review. Under the Ohio Constitution, voters may use referendum to overturn legislative actions but not purely administrative ones.
The court ordered Grube to certify the petition and directed the Pickaway County Board of Elections to treat it as timely filed, given the delay caused by the refusal to certify. The board is expected to consider the matter at its next meeting. Certification does not guarantee the measure will appear on the Nov. 3 general election ballot; the board must still evaluate whether the resolution qualifies as an administrative action outside the scope of referendum.
