PATA History Pages

BIG BEAR USE Referendum update R-burg

Petitions have enough signatures

Reynoldsburg’s city attorney receives threat
Official suspects he was targeted over opinion on zoning decision for church
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Jim Woods
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


Reynoldsburg City Attorney Bill Underwood said he was threatened because of his opinion that there cannot be a referendum on the City Council allowing a church to move into a vacant store.

Underwood turned over to the Reynoldsburg police a letter he recently received in the mail, said Lt. Kim Nuesse. Underwood and Nuesse yesterday declined to discuss the letter’s specifics while it’s being investigated.

In his 26 years as city attorney, Underwood said he’s never encountered a personal threat like this.

"I think I have a pretty thick skin," Underwood said. He said some also have told him they might mount a recall effort to remove him from office.

Underwood, during a news conference yesterday, restated his legal view that Reynoldsburg voters cannot vote to repeal the City Council’s July 11 decision. He has submitted his opinion to the Franklin County Board of Elections, which may settle the issue Wednesday.

Council’s 4-3 vote did not change the property’s zoning but permitted the Calvary International Worship Center to use the Big Bear store for a church, Underwood said. The Ohio Supreme Court has held that such administrative actions are not subject to referendum, he said.

The property’s existing zoning also would have allowed an adult-entertainment establishment, pawnbroker or tattoo parlor, Underwood said.

Residents gathered 2,081 signatures on a petition seeking a referendum on the permit granted to the church. The petition has enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot, said Mike Hackett, assistant director of the Franklin County Board of Elections.

The Concerned Citizens of Huber, which led the petition effort, contends the city would lose $71,000 in tax revenue and that city officials should have recruited another grocer or retail establishment.

But Underwood said that grocery and retail outlets have no interest.

Underwood said some are opposed because of "racial" concerns. Calvary International is a predominantly black church.

"There’s no doubt about it," he said.

The citizens group has said race does not factor into their opposition to the church.

Underwood is asking the elections board to disqualify the petition. Kenneth A. Golonka Jr., the attorney representing the church, said he is making a similar request based on his legal conclusion that council’s decision cannot be put up for a referendum.

If the board rules against placing the referendum on the ballot the church could complete its purchase of the building, Golonka said.

Tom Eller, who helped circulate the petition, said the group will contend at Wednesday’s hearing that council’s vote should be subject to a referendum.


jwoods@dispatch.com






Church proposal arouses concern
Black congregation seeks ex-grocery site in mostly white area
Monday, July 11, 2005
Jim Woods
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



Brice Road-area residents still mourn the passing of their Big Bear store and many are unhappy they might get a church instead.

The Reynoldsburg controversy has caused some to wonder whether some neighbors don’t want the church because its congregation is predominantly black.

Residents of the Huber and Eastshire subdivisions — most of whom are white — have pleaded for the city to recruit another supermarket for Brice Road and Livingston Avenue.

But grocery chains have no interest.

Calvary International Worship Center, a mostly black congregation on the South Side, is the only taker for the 101,000-square-foot building that’s been closed since February 2004.

Reynoldsburg City Council — which conducted a number of lengthy, contentious hearings — will have the final vote on zoning today.

Councilman Eric Gilbert, chairman of the service committee that hears zoning cases, said he’s sympathetic to the residents’ desire for a supermarket.

But Gilbert said he’s been disappointed by an undercurrent he’s detected that some people oppose a black church moving in.

There were remarks about people feeling they need to lock their doors. Some were alarmed that the church wants to minister to drug addicts, causing one to plead with the council that "they don’t need dope" in the neighborhood.

Preston Stearns, the only black member of the City Council, has lived in Reynoldsburg for 20 years. He said he has been surprised by the racial overtones involved in this case.

"People have such misunderstanding and fear," Stearns said. "I think we can do better in getting along."

Stearns reached the boiling point during a June 20 meeting when some residents ques- tioned why the church used the term armor bearers for the church’s unarmed ushers.

It is a reference to the Bible being a person’s defense, said Kenneth Golonka, the church’s attorney.

"This is not a terrorist group. . . . This is a church," Stearns admonished the crowd. "I have been offended."

Stearns also said he can understand that people would prefer a grocery store.

Retail development has shifted eastward. Businesses migrated to Rt. 256, leaving vacancies on Brice Road. Kroger, which already has two stores in the Reynoldsburg area, is building a new outlet at East Main Street and Taylor Road to serve new subdivisions in Licking County.

It has people who live in the Brice Road area feeling left behind.

Erin Michelli, an Eastshire resident, told the council, "I am just very sad after listening to everybody because our end of town has been forgotten."

Ron Andrews, a Tamar Court resident, told the council that he sees his neighborhood as a victim of urban sprawl.

"How much has really changed in the economics of this area to support a grocery store at that Big Bear location?" Andrews asked.

"The population hasn’t declined. People still need to eat."

Benton Benalcazar, the realestate agent representing the property, said that Brice Road during the 1980s was a popular commercial corridor. He said the chain stores are driven by trends.

"So once that they perceive an area to be hotter somewhere else, it’s very difficult to convince them otherwise," Benalcazar said.

Bill Loveland, an attorney representing the owner, said they tried to market the building to another grocer. He said it’s costing the owners $20,000 a month for upkeep.

"What is worse: a church, where people pray, teach kids, take care of kids, trying to keep people on the straight and narrow — or an empty building that frankly the seller’s going to end up having a tough time keeping up?" Loveland asked the council.

Ken Wright, who’s lived in the Huber subdivision for 34 years, said people viewed the Big Bear as a neighborhood cornerstone. It was close enough that some people could walk, he said.

"So many people have told me that they miss it," Wright said.

Some are nervous that the church wants to minister to addicts.

Debbie Andrews, Ron’s wife, said she’s not opposed to the church. "But I’m worried about the program they are talking about being so close to the high school and junior high."

The city has been reassured that the church wants to offer a 12-step-type program common with many churches — not a residential treatment program, Gilbert said.

The congregation, which is affiliated with the Missionary Baptist Church, chose the Reynoldsburg location because of the building’s size and its convenience for members on the East Side, Golonka said. The church has 800 members and hopes to grow.

Councilman Mel Clemens, who has lived in the Huber neighborhood for 46 years, told council members that he doesn’t think residents are being disrespectful toward the church.

But Clemens said his neighbors are concerned about change.

"These people have their homes. They own their homes. This is why they are interested in what’s going on."


jwoods@dispatch.com

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The Columbus Dispatch
Sept 01, update