Yesterday, we shared a detailed breakdown of a procedural question we believe Commercial Point needs to answer publicly regarding Ordinance 2024-07, the ordinance passed on May 20, 2024 that rezoned roughly 267 acres behind Foxfire for Planned Industrial use.
You can read that full source-backed breakdown here:
Read the Ordinance 2024-07 Procedural Review →
Today, we are taking the next step.
Members of the Foxfire Coalition are sending emails to the Mayor, Council, Fiscal Officer, Village Solicitor, and other Village officials requesting a special meeting before May 8, 2026 to discuss this issue publicly.
We are also sharing an email template below that residents can use if they want to make the same request.
Why we are asking for a special meeting
This is not something that should be handled quietly through private emails or vague statements.
Ordinance 2024-07 is one of the most significant zoning decisions Commercial Point has made in recent years. It helped move forward the proposed industrial/data center project tied to K-Nova and the land behind our neighborhood.
For more context on K-Nova leadership and the public comments made by Bill Scala in March 2026, you can read our post here:
Read our post on Bill Scala's March 2026 comments →
The issue we are raising now is straightforward:
Residents deserve to know whether the required legal process was followed when Ordinance 2024-07 was adopted.
Based on the public records reviewed so far, the ordinance was on first reading when Council voted to suspend the three-reading requirement and adopt it that same night. There was also a council vacancy at the time due to Laura Wolfe's resignation earlier that month.
That raises an important vote-threshold question that should be answered publicly by the Village Solicitor and Council.
We are not asking residents to become legal experts. We are not asking people to guess what the courts would do. We are asking the Village to explain, on the record, whether Council believes the vote was valid and why.
Why this matters now
There appears to be a limited window to raise certain procedural challenges to zoning ordinances. Ordinance 2024-07 was adopted on May 20, 2024, which means the two-year mark is approaching.
That is why we are asking for a special meeting before May 8, 2026.
This should not be pushed off until the last minute. Residents should not be left wondering whether the Village intends to review this, ignore it, defend it, correct it, or seek guidance from a court.
If the Village believes everything was handled correctly, it should explain that publicly.
If the Village believes there may be a procedural issue, residents should hear what options exist before time runs out.
Either way, the answer should happen in front of the community.
This is a chance to rebuild trust
A lot of residents feel like they are only now learning how far this project moved before many of us fully understood what was happening.
That has created frustration. It has created confusion. And honestly, it has damaged trust.
A special meeting would give the current Council an opportunity to start rebuilding some of that trust.
This is not about attacking every current official. Some of this was done by a prior Council. But the current Council still has a responsibility to address the public record, answer residents' questions, and deal with any issues that may have been left behind.
Transparency matters most when the issue is uncomfortable.
If there is nothing wrong, explain it.
If something needs to be fixed, say that.
If there are legal options available to the Village, residents deserve to hear what they are.
What we are asking Council to do
We are asking the Village to:
- Call a special meeting before May 8, 2026.
- Place the Ordinance 2024-07 vote-threshold issue on the agenda.
- Have the Village Solicitor explain the Village's position publicly.
- Answer whether the vote to suspend the readings was legally sufficient.
- Explain what options, if any, the Village has to address the issue.
- Preserve all records related to Ordinance 2024-07, including meeting records, legal opinions, zoning records, communications, and records related to the vote threshold.
- Provide residents with a clear written response before the procedural deadline.
This is a reasonable request.
A zoning decision of this size should not move forward under a cloud of unanswered procedural questions.
How residents can help
If you live in Commercial Point, Foxfire, Southern Point, or near the proposed data center site, we encourage you to email the Village and ask for this issue to be addressed in a public special meeting.
You do not need to write a long legal argument.
The point is simple: residents want transparency. Residents want this discussed publicly. Residents want to know whether the proper process was followed.
Below is a template you can copy, personalize, and send.
Who to contact
Send your email to the following Village officials. You can click any address to copy it, or copy all addresses at once to paste into the To: field.
Resident email template
Subject: Request for Special Meeting Before May 8 on Ordinance 2024-07
Dear Mayor, Council Members, Fiscal Officer, and Village Solicitor,
I am writing as a resident to ask the Village to call a special meeting before May 8, 2026 to publicly address the procedural questions surrounding Ordinance 2024-07, which was adopted on May 20, 2024.
This is urgent because Ohio law appears to place a two-year deadline on certain procedural challenges to zoning ordinances. Since Ordinance 2024-07 was adopted on May 20, 2024, that deadline may be approaching quickly.
Based on the public records being shared, Ordinance 2024-07 was on first reading when Council voted 4-1 to suspend the three-reading requirement and adopt it that same night.
Because Laura Wolfe had resigned, there was a vacant council seat. However, a vacancy does not appear to mean Commercial Point became a five-member council. If Commercial Point remained a six-seat council, then Ohio law appears to require five affirmative votes to suspend the readings.
Residents deserve a clear, public answer to the following:
Was Commercial Point still legally a six-seat council on May 20, 2024?
Did Laura Wolfe's resignation reduce the vote threshold, or did it simply create a vacant sixth seat?
Did suspending the readings for Ordinance 2024-07 require five affirmative votes?
Was Ordinance 2024-07 validly adopted after only four members voted to suspend the readings?
Will the Village Solicitor issue a written legal opinion before the procedural challenge deadline?
Please call a special meeting before May 8, 2026 and place this issue on the agenda for public discussion. This is one of the most important zoning decisions affecting our community, and residents deserve transparency, urgency, and a clear answer before the deadline passes.
Thank you,
[Your Name]
[Commercial Point / Foxfire / Southern Point Resident]
A final note
We know this data center issue is exhausting.
People have jobs, kids, school, sports, family responsibilities, and normal life to deal with. Nobody wants to spend their evenings reading meeting minutes and zoning laws.
But this matters.
When a major zoning decision affects hundreds of acres near existing homes, the process has to be clean. If there are serious questions about whether that process was followed, the Village should answer them publicly and quickly.
Right now, we are asking for something simple: a special meeting, a clear explanation, and a public answer before the deadline passes.
Residents deserve that.