Christy v. Summit Cty. Bd. of Elections

• Decision Date: 09 October 1996
• Docket Number: No. 96-2066,96-2066
• Citation: 77 Ohio St.3d 35,671 N.E.2d 1
• Parties: CHRISTY et al. v. SUMMIT COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS.
• Court: Ohio Supreme Court

Page 35

77 Ohio St.3d 35

671 N.E.2d 1

CHRISTY et al. v. SUMMIT COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS.

No. 96-2066.

Supreme Court of Ohio.

Submitted Sept. 24, 1996.

Decided Oct. 9, 1996.

In April 1996, Albrecht, Inc. requested that certain land in the city of Green, Summit County, Ohio, be rezoned from B-2 Business Office District to B-3 Retail Business District so that it could build a grocery store. The Green Planning Commission did not recommend that the rezoning request be granted. Following a public hearing, the Green City Council defeated an ordinance which would have rezoned the land pursuant to Albrecht's request.

In July 1996, in compliance with R.C. 731.32 and the Green City Charter, Linda Doerr filed a certified copy of a proposed ordinance that would rezone the subject property from B-2 to B-3. The proposed ordinance provides:

"AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CITY OF GREEN ZONING MAP BY CHANGING THE CLASSIFICATION OF APPROXIMATELY 9.84 ACRES OF LAND LOCATED AT 1688-1700 BOETTLER ROAD AND 3792-3804-3820-3832 MASSILLON ROAD FROM B-2 BUSINESS OFFICE DISTRICT TO B-3 RETAIL BUSINESS DISTRICT.

"WHEREAS, Albrecht, Incorporated has options to purchase approximately 9.84 acres of land located at 1688-1700 Boettler Road and 3792-3804-3820-3832 Massillon Road and presently intends to construct, and its affiliate The Fred W. Albrecht Grocery Company presently intends to operate, an Acme Fresh Market on the property, which requires a rezoning of the property; and

"WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to rezone the property.

"NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY ELECTORS OF THE CITY OF GREEN, COUNTY OF SUMMIT, STATE OF OHIO, THAT:

"SECTION ONE:

"The City of Green Zoning Map is hereby amended to change the classification of approximately 9.84 acres of land located at 1688-1700 Boettler Road and 3792-3804-3820-3832 Massillon Road as shown on the map attached hereto as Exhibit A from B-2 Business Office District to B-3 Retail Business District.

"SECTION TWO:

"The description of the land to be rezoned is as follows:

                ------
                1688 Boettler Road                   3804 Massillon Road
                 Parcel # 28"05969                        Parcel # 28"03118
                1700 Boettler Road                   3820 Massillon Road
                 Parcel # 28"03112                        Parcel # 28"03103
                3792 Massillon Road                  3832 Massillon Road
                 Parcel # 28"03179                       Parcel # 28"00302
                ----------
                

"SECTION THREE:

"The City of Green Zoning Inspector is hereby directed to change the official map of the City of Green in accordance with the terms of this Ordinance."

The proposed ordinance also included the referenced plat map.

In August 1996, seventy-four initiative part-petitions proposing the rezoning ordinance were filed with the city director of finance. The part-petitions contained a full and correct copy of the title and text of the proposed ordinance. Respondent, Summit County Board of Elections ("board"), advised the director of finance that the part-petitions contained sufficient valid signatures. Pursuant to R.C. 731.28, the director of finance certified the initiative petition to the board.

Relators, Michael and Judith P. Christy, filed written protests with the board challenging the validity of the part-petitions because they allegedly contained misleading statements and material omissions and also lacked sufficient valid signatures. After the board held a hearing on the protests at which it heard testimony and argument of counsel, the board denied the protest and voted to place the proposed ordinance on the ballot for the November 5, 1996 general municipal election.

Relators then filed this expedited election matter for a writ of prohibition to prevent the board from placing the proposed ordinance on the November 5, 1996 ballot. Pursuant to S.Ct.Prac.R. X(9), as amended effective April 1, 1996, which incorporates a briefing and evidence schedule in expedited election matters, the board filed an answer and the parties submitted merit briefs and evidence. See Staff Commentary to S.Ct.Prac.R. X(9). Relators also request oral argument.

Brown, Lundgren & Goldthorpe, Charles E. Brown and Andrew L. Zumbar, Alliance, for relators.

Maureen O'Connor, Summit County Prosecuting Attorney, and William E. Schultz, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for respondent.

PER CURIAM.

Relators assert that they are entitled to the requested relief in prohibition because the initiative petition language for the proposed ordinance contained argument, misleading statements, and material omissions. In order for a writ of prohibition to issue, relators must establish that (1) the board is about to exercise judicial or quasi-judicial power, (2) the exercise of such power is legally unauthorized, and (3) if the writ is denied, they will suffer injury for which no other adequate remedy exists. State ex rel. Harbarger v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Elections (1996), 75 Ohio St.3d 44, 45, 661 N.E.2d 699, 700.

The board exercised quasi-judicial authority by denying relators' protests following an R.C. 3501.39 hearing which included sworn testimony. See, e.g., State ex rel. Thurn v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Elections (1995), 72 Ohio St.3d 289, 291, 649 N.E.2d 1205, 1207 ("[A] writ of prohibition may issue to prevent the placement of names or issues on a ballot even though the protest hearing has been completed, as long as the election has not yet been held."). In addition, relators possess no other adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law to challenge the submission of the issue to the electors. Id. at 292, 649 N.E.2d at 1207-1208, quoting State ex rel. Smart v. McKinley (1980), 64 Ohio St.2d 5, 6, 18 O.O.3d 128, 129, 412 N.E.2d 393, 394 ("Concerning the third prerequisite for a writ of prohibition, given the proximity of the election, an injunction would arguably not constitute an adequate remedy because any 'appellate process would last well past the election.' ").

Therefore, the dispositive issue in this case is whether the board's exercise of quasi-judicial power in denying relators' protests and placing the proposed ordinance on the November ballot is unauthorized. A board's exercise of quasi-judicial power is legally unauthorized if it engaged in fraud, corruption, abuse of discretion, or clear disregard of statutes or applicable legal provisions. State ex rel. Youngstown v. Mahoning Cty. Bd. of Elections (1995), 72 Ohio St.3d 69, 72, 647 N.E.2d 769, 772. Relators claim that the board abused its discretion and acted in clear disregard of applicable law by denying their protests and submitting the proposed ordinance to the electorate at the November election.

Section 10.1, Article X of the Green City Charter provides that "[t]he electors of the City shall have the same right and power to initiate or propose any ordinance or resolution as is now or may hereafter be provided by the Constitution and laws of the State of Ohio, except as otherwise provided in this Charter." R.C. 731.28 provides that "[o]rdinances and other measures providing for the exercise of any powers of government granted by the constitution or delegated to any municipal corporation by the general assembly may be proposed by initiative petition." R.C. 731.31 provides that "[a]ny initiative or referendum petition may be presented in separate parts, but each part of any initiative petition shall contain a full and correct copy of the title and text of the proposed ordinance or other measure, and each part of any referendum petition shall contain the number and a full and correct copy of the title of the ordinance or other measure sought to be referred." The foregoing statutory provisions apply to the initiative petition concerning the proposed ordinance. See State ex rel. Bogart v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Elections (1993), 67 Ohio St.3d 554, 555, 621 N.E.2d 389, 390 (statutory procedure governing municipal initiative and referendum in R.C. 731.28 through 731.41 applied to city where charter incorporated law by reference except where it conflicted with other charter provisions).

Relators claim that under the applicable legal standard, if the wording of an initiative petition is invalid because it contains misleading, inaccurate, and/or material omissions, then it may not form the basis for submission to a vote. Relators cite State ex rel. Rife v. Franklin Cty. Bd. of Elections (1994), 70 Ohio St.3d 632, 640 N.E.2d 522; Shelly & Sands, Inc. v. Franklin Cty. Bd. of Elections (1984), 12 Ohio St.3d 140, 12 OBR 180, 465 N.E.2d 883; and Markus v. Trumbull Cty. Bd. of Elections (1970), 22 Ohio St.2d 197, 51 O.O.2d 277, 259 N.E.2d 501, in support of their proposition. However, as the board notes, these cases are inapposite because they addressed the requirements for summaries of ordinances in zoning referendum petitions pursuant to R.C. 303.12(H) or 519.12(H). Under these statutory provisions, the obligation to summarize the contents of a rezoning resolution implicitly requires an accurate summary. Rife, 70 Ohio St.3d at 634, 640 N.E.2d at 524. Similarly, most of the other cases cited by...