Developers withdrew a request to build 500 homes in Licking County following protests from Heath and Granville residents over the cost to taxpayers and influx of students at Granville's local school district.
Columbus-based M/I Homes had planned to build the houses on 300 acres of soybean and corn fields in west Heath and the Granville school district. But the home building company withdrew the request to Heath City Council, according to a July 31 email from M/I Homes to Heath Mayor Mark Johns and Jared Lane, the Heath director of planning and zoning. The email was obtained and first reported by The Reporting Project.
Heath City Councilmember Jeff Crabill confirmed the email and told The Reporting Project that he's relieved "it is over." The city council was set to vote on the project at its Aug. 3 meeting.
The project, dubbed "Heath Hills," faced significant pushback from local officials and residents at multiple public hearings.
More: Heath again postpones decision on Heath Hills housing development
Despite being built in Heath, the development could have brought an estimated 850 students to the Granville school district due to state annexation laws that deem municipality and school district boundaries separate issues. That's a 33% increase to a district that Granville Superintendent Jeff Brown said in June was already at or near capacity, and could cost the district approximately $8 million per year that would be paid by taxpayers.
In 2023, Heath annexed around 200 acres from Union Township. While Heath has its own school district, the annexed land was part of the Granville school district. Ohio law dictates that when a municipality annexes land from another, the school district boundaries don't change, even if a municipality's does. State lawmakers are trying to change that, though the legislation that would deal with the issue hasn't seen movement since April 2025.
Republican Sen. Tim Schaffer, who covers Lancaster, and state Reps. Kevin Miller and Thad Claggett, both Republicans covering Licking County, encouraged Heath to figure out a solution that didn't involve legislation.
More: Ohio lawmakers ask Heath, Granville to find solution on Heath Hills
Residents also questioned the cost to taxpayers and stress on local infrastructure like fire, police, sewer water and more. An increase in local traffic and its impact on roads, as well as loss of farmland, were also top concerns.
M/I Homes estimated home sale prices between $550,000 and $800,000 in its proposal to the city's zoning board. The plan detailed three units per acre, another point of contention for the rural residents who raised issue with the density of the project and its stark difference to Heath's current landscape.
As part of its proposal, M/I Homes offered 17 acres of land to possibly build a new school in the Granville school district. Another part of the proposal outlined an agreement that the city's New Community Authority would provide Granville schools additional property tax payments equal to 2.25 mills for 20 years, and another 1 mill for 15 years if a new school at the site opens within a specific timeframe.
M/I Homes would also have paid $6 million upfront toward the estimate $20 million Heath would spend to build water for the development after the seller of the Heath Hills land lowered the price.
But it appears the promises were not enough. Crabill told The Reporting Project that additional information following the hearings raised further concerns and called the project "reckless" and "not smart growth."
Business and consumer issues reporter Samantha Hendrickson can be reached at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Heath Hills housing project no more after resident protest