Are Site-Specific Land-Use Referenda a Good Idea?
When the Ohio Supreme Court reviewed the case, it too first bought the argument that somehow, because the site plan was approved by the city council, the action was automatically legislative, and thus subject to referendum. However, in a rare turn of events, the Ohio Supreme Court reconsidered the case and reversed itself.18 Ohio Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton cast the pivotal vote that allowed the reversal of the original decision. Her concurring opinion, written to explain her changed position, provides a useful insight into the instability and arbitrariness that referenda inject into site-specific land-use matters. She began by stating that Buckeye involved a “developer seeking to move forward on an unpopular but worthy project opposed by the homeowners who do not want that project ‘in their backyard.'”19 She then observed: [T]o apply the referendum to everyday administrative decisions, even if the charter of the municipality so allows … is to submit the minutiae o
