Worthington PulseWorthington Pulse

Issues 35 to 38, Explained: Worthington's Four Charter Questions

Election 2026Charter Review

Four amendments to Worthington's city charter are on the November 3 ballot. Three came from the Charter Review Commission and one came from a resident petition. Here is what each would do and what supporters and opponents say about each.

Yard signs about Issues 35, 36, 37 and 38 are going up across Worthington. All four would amend the city charter, which City Manager Robyn Stewart has called "essentially our local constitution." They appear only on Worthington ballots, on November 3.

The four questions came from two different places. Issues 35, 36 and 37 are recommendations from the Charter Review Commission, an 11-member commission that City Council appoints at least every ten years. Council voted to send its recommendations to voters. Issue 38 came from a resident petition by the group Our City Our Vote. Once enough valid signatures were verified, council was legally required to put it on the ballot.

This guide covers what each question does, where it came from, and what each side argues. Worthington Pulse does not endorse a position on any ballot issue.

The short version

  • Issue 35 (Charter Review Commission): Shortens the time to collect signatures for a zoning referendum from 60 days to 30.
  • Issue 36 (Charter Review Commission): Sets referendum signatures at 10% of Worthington's voters in the last governor's race, about 862.
  • Issue 37 (Charter Review Commission): Bundles the commission's other recommendations, mainly merging three development review boards into one.
  • Issue 38 (resident petition): Sets referendum signatures at 10% of voters in the last city election, about 580, and applies to "any ordinance or other measure."

Background: why referendum rules are on the ballot

A referendum lets residents challenge a council decision. If enough registered voters sign a petition within a set window, the decision is put on hold until the whole city votes on it.

Three of the four questions are about how hard that is. They come in two parts: how many signatures a petition needs, and how long petitioners have to collect them.

Signatures. Worthington's charter uses the state's signature requirement. For decades that was 10% of the city's voters in the last governor's race. In 2025, the Ohio legislature raised it to 35%, which in Worthington (as of right now) means 3,017 valid signatures. Issues 36 and 38 offer two different ways to lower it:

  • Current state law (in effect now): 35% of voters in the last governor's race. That's 3,017 signatures, based on the 2022 race.
  • Issue 36, if it passes: 10% of voters in the last governor's race. That's about 862, based on the 2022 race.
  • Issue 38, if it passes: 10% of voters in the last city election. That's about 580, based on the 5,794 people who voted in 2025.

City elections in odd years draw far fewer voters than governor's races, so Issue 38's base is smaller. These numbers will move soon: Ohio elects a governor on November 3, so both governor-based figures will be recalculated from 2026 turnout. Issue 38's figure would stay tied to the 2025 city election until the next one in November 2027.

Time. Most city ordinances take effect 20 days after publication, and that is the window for a referendum petition. Zoning changes are different: in 2015, Worthington voters approved a citizen-led charter amendment, which was also numbered Issue 38 that year, giving residents 60 days to petition against a zoning change.

A live example. In July, council unanimously rezoned the Boundless campus on East Dublin-Granville Road for Elford Development's apartment project. A resident group, Democracy Before Developers, gathered signatures during the 60-day window. The city announced on October 7 that 3,476 of the 3,976 signatures submitted were valid, more than the 3,017 required, according to The Columbus Dispatch. Because the petition came in after this year's August ballot deadline, and the charter currently allows referendums only on a November general election ballot, that rezoning goes to voters in November 2027. (It is not one of the four questions on this year's ballot.)

Stay connected to what's happening in Worthington, Ohio.

Issue 35: A shorter window for zoning referendums

What it does: Shortens the time residents have to collect signatures against a zoning change from 60 days to 30. Zoning changes would take effect 30 days after publication instead of 60, and council still could not pass them as emergency measures. The amendment also limits zoning referendums to "ordinances," removing the phrase "or other measure," and moves the zoning rules into the charter sections on how ordinances pass and take effect.

How it got here: Council voted 6-1 to place it on the ballot. Council Member Pete Bucher voted no, calling the 60-day period "an important tool that the community wanted in 2015".

This is the second charter review to take up the 60-day rule. The 2016 commission discussed it about seven months after voters approved it and recommended no change. One member asked "if there is any data that this is not working," and Rebecca Princehorn, who chairs this year's commission, suggested "letting it work for a while and maybe it will be a matter for the next charter commission," according to the June 6, 2016 minutes.

Supporters say:

  • Most of the 16 Central Ohio cities the commission surveyed use 30 days, which is also the state default. At 60 days, the commission and the Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce say, Worthington is an outlier.
  • A long window leaves projects in limbo. The Chamber says that uncertainty raises costs and discourages investors.
  • Zoning matters would still get more time than other ordinances (30 days versus 20).

Opponents say:

  • It reverses a choice voters made directly in 2015.
  • Volunteer petitioners need time to understand a zoning change and organize. "Developers have lawyers, money, and staff. The citizens have weekends," one resident told council in July.
  • The commission received more than 150 public comments during its 10-day comment period, and this change drew more than any other. About three-quarters of the comments on it were opposed, according to the commission's own June report. Opponents also say there is no evidence the 60-day window has deterred development.

Issues 36 and 38: Similar in nature, with some impactful differences

Issues 36 and 38 both rewrite the same section of the charter, Section 1.05, to lower the referendum signature requirement from today's 3,017. Either one would write Worthington's own number into the charter, so a future change by the Ohio legislature would no longer change it. The main difference is the base used to count signatures. Issue 38 also adds language about what can be challenged, which the two sides read differently.

Issue 36 (commission) reads in full: "Notwithstanding Section 731.29 of the Ohio Revised Code, the signature requirement for a referendum petition shall be ten percent of the number of electors who voted for governor at the most recent general election for the office of governor in the municipal corporation."

Issue 38 (petition) reads in full: "Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Charter, the power of referendum on any ordinance or other measure passed by the Council may be exercised in the manner provided by the laws of the State of Ohio except that the petition signature requirement shall be ten percent of the electors of the City, based on the total vote cast at the last preceding general municipal election."

Why there are two versions: Our City Our Vote filed its petition on June 15. The commission, whose draft recommendations hadn't changed the signature requirement, asked the public for feedback on the petition and then wrote its own version at its final meeting on June 23. That became Issue 36. Our City Our Vote calls Issue 36 a "copycat" written to counter its petition, and the commission's report notes that the petition's leaders "did not discuss their effort with the Commission."

Issue 36

Supporters say:

Opponents say:

  • Our City Our Vote calls it a "copycat" written to compete with its petition, and points to the commission report's account that the recommendation took shape at the commission's final meeting.
  • The group says Issue 36 "arbitrarily ties signature requirements to votes for governor, in an effort to make it harder for residents to be heard."

Stay connected to what's happening in Worthington, Ohio.

Issue 38

Supporters say:

  • It reverses the Ohio legislature's "more than tripling" of the signatures needed and, Our City Our Vote says, returns Worthington to the 10% rate that worked for decades. If passed it would measure that 10% against city-election turnout rather than the governor's race.
  • The phrase "ordinance or other measure" is standard Ohio language. Ohio's referendum law, Ohio Revised Code 731.29, opens with it, and the next section exempts emergency measures and spending for current expenses. Worthington's charter has used the same wording in its zoning referendum section since 2015, "and we have not yet slipped into anarchy," a resident who supports the petition told council.
  • The group says it supports development. It points to Worthington Gateway, Stafford Village, Granby Place and the Kemper (Cotter) House as recent projects built without referendums, and argues that an accessible referendum "encourages good projects, and deters the bad."

Opponents say:

  • It sets a lower bar than Worthington used before 2025: about 580 signatures, roughly 280 fewer than Issue 36.
  • The scope is unclear. Law Director Tom Lindsey told council that "notwithstanding any other provisions" combined with "any ordinance or other measure" could open to referendum actions the charter now makes effective immediately, possibly including resolutions, and that a court would ultimately decide what it covers. As an example, Council Member Joycelyn Dong pointed to this year's resolution supporting immigrant residents.
  • The Chamber argues that decisions which can easily be reopened after the fact discourage investment. Speaking to WOSU about the Boundless referendum, Chamber President Annina Parini described developers' worry that "any decision, no matter how thoroughly vetted, can be relitigated by petition."

What if both pass?

Issue 37 includes a tie-breaking rule: if two conflicting charter amendments both pass, the one with more "yes" votes takes effect, starting with this election. If Issues 36 and 38 both pass but Issue 37 fails, the charter has no rule for the conflict, and the city says a court would decide which one applies. If only one of the two passes, it takes effect. If neither passes, the state's 35% requirement stays.

Issue 37: The bundle

What it does: Issue 37 combines the commission's remaining recommendations into one yes-or-no question. The commission kept the two "hot button" referendum changes separate so they could not sink the rest of its work. Most of the changes are cleanup: replacing "Municipality" with "City," letting council decide by ordinance where notices are published, and dropping a reference to voting machines. The city lists every change on its proposed amendments page, and the full redline is here. The changes that draw debate:

  • One board instead of three. The Municipal Planning Commission, Architectural Review Board and Board of Zoning Appeals would merge into a single Municipal Development Commission. It would have seven voting members plus one non-voting council member, and two of the seven must live in the Architectural Review District. The city would have until the end of 2028 to make the switch.
  • Referendum timing. Council could put a referendum on a primary or special election ballot instead of waiting for the next November general election.
  • The tie-breaker described above.
  • Contracts and ethics. Today, an official who knowingly signs a contract for more money than council has budgeted must be removed and barred from city employment. Under Issue 37, the City Manager would review the case and decide the consequences, or council would if the official is the City Manager. Officials could also have an interest in a city contract in limited cases, such as a right-of-way or easement, if council approves it by ordinance and state ethics law allows it. A council member with such an interest could not take part. For an official who knowingly violates the conflict-of-interest section, removal from office would change from "shall" to "may."
  • Recall and removal. Recall petitions would need a statement of reasons and would be checked by the Board of Elections. The amendment also adds grounds for removing a council member, such as a felony conviction.

Supporters say:

  • One board means fewer hearings and less confusion. Planning and Building Director Lee Brown told council that 30 to 35% of Architectural Review Board cases also need a Board of Zoning Appeals hearing, and that 86% of zoning appeals cases are residential. In his view, the merger mostly spares homeowners repeat trips. The merger drew the second-most public comments of any recommendation, and about three-quarters of those supported it, according to the commission's report.
  • Letting council use primary or special elections avoids referendums that sit for up to 15 months.
  • The commission says the contract changes reflect that violations "could range from minor to major," and that some routine needs, such as easements for infrastructure, are now hard to meet under the charter's flat ban.

Opponents say:

  • Merging the boards would "concentrate power," leave fewer resident decision-makers, and reduce the chances for public testimony and appeal. Our City Our Vote calls the merger "high on the developers' wish list."
  • The contract and conflict-of-interest changes weaken ethics rules for council and city staff by replacing automatic removal with discretion and by creating exceptions to the ban on officials holding interests in city contracts.
  • Primary and special elections draw fewer voters, so a referendum held then would be decided by a smaller share of the city. A couple of commenters raised this during the commission's public comment period.
  • Because it is a bundle, voters cannot accept the cleanup without also accepting the board merger and the ethics changes.

What you'll see on the ballot

The ballot gives each question a title and a short question, and two of them don't say much about what they do. This wording comes from the Franklin County Board of Elections' official notices of election for Issue 35, Issue 36, Issue 37 and Issue 38. Polls are open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on November 3.

  • Issue 35, "Effective Date of Ordinances Recommended by Commission": Asks whether to delete Section 1.04 and amend Sections 2.17 and 2.19 "as set forth in" Ordinance 20-2026. It does not mention the 60-to-30-day change.
  • Issue 36, "Referendum Petition Signature Requirement Recommended by Commission": Prints the full new Section 1.05 (the governor's-race standard).
  • Issue 37, "Various Amendments Recommended by Commission": Asks whether to amend "various sections" as set forth in Ordinance 22-2026.
  • Issue 38, "Referendum Petition Signature Requirement Proposed by Petition": Prints the full new Section 1.05 (the city-election standard).

Where to read the original sources

Stay connected to what's happening in Worthington, Ohio.

Subscribe to get local stories delivered to your inbox.

← Previous Article

First Look at the 2027 Budget: More for Infrastructure, a Composting Trade-Off, and an Overdue Water Rate Study

City Council reviewed the city's proposed 2027 operating budget, debated whether aging water and sewer lines are getting enough investment, weighed trading a park shelter project for food composting, and finally funded a study toward raising a water and sewer fee that hasn't moved since the 1950s.

Next Article →

Worthington Architectural Review Board — October 8, 2026

White letters for The Slice's halo-lit sign, an American Legion permit for its Morning Street post, new signs for The Grove Pediatric Dentistry, and a council update on e-bike rules and the Boundless referendum.

© 2026 Worthington Pulse. Keeping you connected to your local government.