Of the 37 changes Worthington's Charter Review Commission is recommending, one would do more than tidy up language or modernize a procedure. It would reorganize how the city reviews new construction and changes to existing buildings, folding three long-standing boards into a single body called the Municipal Development Commission. Because it is the most significant structural change on the table, the Commission has given City Council the option of putting it before voters as its own separate ballot question.
Here is what that change actually involves.
The three boards today, and when residents run into them
Right now, a development proposal in Worthington can move through as many as three separate volunteer boards, depending on what it is:
- The Municipal Planning Commission reviews subdivision plats, site plans, rezonings, and the city's official map. It's the body most large projects pass through.
- The Architectural Review Board reviews the appearance of buildings in the Architectural Review District, which covers Old Worthington. A homeowner there who wants to change a roofline, replace windows, or alter a façade goes before the ARB. So does a business changing its storefront.
- The Board of Zoning Appeals hears requests for variances from the zoning code and appeals of zoning decisions, the cases where a property owner is asking to do something the code doesn't allow by right.
For residents, these boards are where development gets debated in public. Two recent examples: the plan for a new home for Mrs. Goodman's bakery on High Street drew both support and concerns from neighbors, and Elford's proposed 246-unit apartment development on the Boundless site drew extensive community feedback as it went through review.
What the change would do
The recommendation combines all three boards into the Municipal Development Commission, a single body with the authority currently spread across the Planning Commission, Architectural Review Board, and Board of Zoning Appeals.
It would have eight members:
- Seven voting members, each serving a three-year term.
- One City Council member, serving a two-year term, who sits on the body but does not vote.
Two of the seven voting members would be required to live in the Architectural Review District, and one of those two would have to be a resident property owner there, language meant to preserve neighborhood representation over decisions about Old Worthington's appearance.
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Why the Commission landed here
The push to simplify development review didn't start with the Charter. It came out of two recent planning efforts: the Northeast Area Plan, adopted in 2024, and the ongoing Worthington Together comprehensive plan update. In its draft report, the Commission writes that both processes surfaced "the desire to simplify and streamline the development review process while enhancing guidelines."
The Commission says it "discussed this idea extensively and considered multiple proposals" before settling on one combined board. Its conclusion: merging the three "would reduce confusion and reduce the number of bodies and meetings involved while still providing the opportunity for review and public comment." The last point matters to residents who use these meetings to speak for or against a project; the Commission's stated intent is to keep that public-comment opportunity intact under the new structure.
The timeline, and the ballot question
This change would not happen right away. The Commission built in up to two years to stand up the new body, with a target date of December 31, 2028. The delay gives the city time to wind down the three existing boards and seat the new one.
Because the merger is the most consequential item, the Commission drafted the ballot language so City Council can present it two ways: bundled with the rest of the amendments as one question, or carved out as a separate ballot issue that residents vote on by itself. Council will decide which approach to use when it takes up the recommendations in July.
What to watch
City Council can accept, change, or drop this recommendation before it ever reaches the ballot, and it must act before its August recess for the question to appear on November 3. City Council will take public comment before that vote, so residents who have a view on whether Worthington's development review should run through one board or three still have a say.