MANSFIELD — The Richland County commissioners acknowledged on Thursday morning that voters will have a say on the future of large wind and solar power creation facilities in the county.
But two members of the three-member board said approval for such projects should constitute a local zoning issue, not an issue that should be subject to a countywide referendum.
And the third continued to question whether all those circulating the petitions were honest with the voters they asked to sign them.
All three commissioners responded to Richland Source questions near the end of their public meeting, which came one day after the county Board of Elections certified a citizen-initiated petition to put the issue on the May 2026 ballot.
A local coalition of residents and organizations — Richland County Citizens for Property Rights and Job Development — successfully circulated petitions in hopes of obtaining enough voter signatures to put the issue on the ballot.
Board of Elections Director Matt Finfgeld said Wednesday the bipartisan board unanimously validated 3,380 signatures — 60 more than were needed to put the issue on the ballot.
A total of 3,320 voter signatures were needed, representing 8 percent of county voters who participated in the most recent gubernatorial election.
More than 4,300 signatures were collected during the drive, according to organizers, which they said was a bipartisan effort.
The petition effort came after the county commissioners unanimously approved on July 17 a ban on “economically significant wind farms, large wind farms and large solar facilities” in 11 of the county’s 18 townships, all in unincorporated areas.
Trustees in each of the 11 townships requested the ban. The commissioners have said they simply followed the wishes of the trustees.
“It’s basically a zoning issue,” Commissioner Cliff Mears said. “The townships have spoken. They have said whether they want (large wind or solar projects) or not.
“Many of the signatures gathered (for the petition) were from incorporated areas such as Mansfield that are not impacted by the (commissioners’) decision. In other words, they could vote for this, but they’re voting for somebody else’s zoning issue, which has already been determined by the township trustees,” Mears said.
“So that’s the problem I have with it,” he said.
Commissioner Tony Vero said he thinks the referendum process allowed under the law by residents doesn’t match the intent of the legislation approved in Ohio Senate Bill 52 in 2021.
“Look, this is America. I respect the process. I respect the hustle (to meet a 30-day deadline to get enough signatures to get the issue on the ballot),” he said.
“The intent of the law was to give townships and county commissioners the authority to zone, which I’ve said in the past isn’t an authority of (commissioners) to begin with. So I haven’t liked the legislation at all, but it was simply to make decisions based in unincorporated areas,” Vero said.
“However, the majority of the signatures compiled, to our knowledge, were compiled from individuals living within municipal limits, which our authority doesn’t impact, nor could it by law,” he said.
Vero said he has expressed his concerns to State Sen. Mark Romanchuk and State Rep. Marilyn John, both Richland County residents.
“My communications with (state lawmakers) was to push Senate Bill 52 down to where I think it always should have been … which is with the townships. This is a conditional zoning issue and those powers are reserved for city councils, village councils and townships,” he said.
Commissioner Darrell Banks repeated his concerns that those circulating the petitions were “untruthful, in some cases,” a concern he offered during a previous meeting on Aug. 19 when the petitions were given to commissioners.
“There were some false pretenses given when they presented it to the voters,” Banks said.
During the Aug. 19 meeting, Banks said he was approached on Aug. 11 by a petition circulator.
“He started with, ‘The three commissioners voted to ban solar and wind power in the entire county,’” Banks said. “That got my attention right away.
“I said, ‘Well, that’s a lie.’ He said that’s what he was told to say,” the commissioner said during the August meeting.
Christina O’Millian, who co-chairs the Richland County Citizens for Property Rights and Job Development with Brian McPeek, previously told Richland Source that nearly 100 circulators helped with the process of collecting signatures.
“We have flyers and documentation to show what our messaging is,” O’Millian said. “The issue is countywide. I understand the commissioners keep focusing on 11 of 18 townships (where large wind and solar power facilities are currently banned), but we consider it a countywide issue.”
The organization’s messaging stated that these facilities have been banned “in most of Richland County,” she said. It also included a large focus on property owners’ rights.
Language from the resolution, passed by commissioners on July 17, was included on the petitions, along with a map identifying the unincorporated areas in the 11 townships where a ban is currently in place.
“Our messaging is that it’s (large wind and solar power facilities) banned in most of Richland County,” O’Millian said. “We were quoting both. Eleven of 18 townships, but also most of Richland County was also our messaging.”
Banks said Thursday he is not against solar projects in general, pointing to the commissioners’ support of an effort within the City of Mansfield at a former landfill site that is now closed.
“In my opinion, we should be putting solar, or certainly it’s an option, on areas where we’re not taking farmland,” Banks said.
He also expressed concerns that Venita Shoulders, who helped organize the petition drive, holds a party seat on the four-member county Board of Elections and participated in the unanimous vote Wednesday to certify the petitions.
The Board of Elections is comprised of two Democrats — Shoulders and Larry Weirich — and two Republicans — Bill Freytag and Megan Whatman.
“I would have thought (Shoulders) would have abstained. Not only didn’t she abstain, she made the motion (to bring the issue to a vote),” Banks said.
He urged voters to educate themselves on the issue before the May 2026 primary election.
“It’s not going to be until next spring, but we’re going to have to be very careful with what (information supporters) put out since they haven’t been real truthful,” he said.
“We need to be aware of that and I urge all all the voters to be careful about the information that’s given out by both sides … and make whatever decision they think is proper,” Banks said.
