Gahanna council leaders urge charter edits on qualifications, residency and meeting rules

City Council President Trenton Weaver and Council Vice President Bowers presented overlapping proposals to the City of Gahanna Charter Review Commission on April 9, urging targeted changes to Article 4 of the charter that would standardize qualifications for elected offices, change how ward populations are measured and give council more flexibility on meeting locations.

Weaver, who introduced himself as the Ward 4 representative and council president, said he supports eliminating the Board of Zoning and Building Appeals and backing earlier redline language to clarify mayoral primary rules. He proposed harmonizing residency and conflict-of-interest language across the mayor, city attorney and council sections and suggested moving language that would create two-year terms for council president and vice president to take effect in 2030 to preserve incumbents’ election cycles. "I support standardizing qualifications for the offices of mayor, city attorney, and council," Weaver said, adding he would defer to the commission’s judgment on the specific residency length.

Bowers told commissioners the charter should allow council to hold publicly noticed meetings outside council chambers to increase community engagement and to permit retreats or town halls in other neighborhoods. "Allowing the option to meet outside of this space removes that barrier and sends a signal that intentional development can come outside of the official space," she said, adding such meetings must still comply with sunshine laws and public-notice requirements. She also asked that the commission consider aligning the charter’s nondiscrimination clause with the city’s EEOC language (for example by naming "gender identity and or expression" specifically) to ensure uniform protections in code and administrative practice.

On ward composition, Weaver argued the charter’s current language—based on registered voters—undercounts children and lawful noncitizen residents and proposed using total residents when balancing wards. He said the Franklin County Board of Elections and the U.S. Census both inform current practices, but that residents better reflect communities' demographics. Commissioners questioned whether changing to resident counts would make campaigning more difficult in wards with lower voter-registration rates; Weaver replied the change is consistent with federal practice and would better account for children and lawful noncitizen residents.

Commissioners also pressed on the proposal to move council leadership to two‑year terms, noting the current charter allows annual leadership elections and does not prohibit consecutive one‑year re‑elections. Weaver said two‑year terms provide continuity for supervising council staff and completing administrative cycles; others noted that keeping the election annual would preserve flexibility while council rules can reflect customary two‑year practices if desired.

Weaver and Bowers both cautioned about embedding a strategic-plan requirement into the charter. Weaver called it a potential financial burden and Bowers said few peer communities have succeeded in enforcing a mandated strategic-plan charter clause. Bowers recommended leaving strategic-plan oversight and details to ordinance or administrative processes to preserve flexibility and avoid a costly, prescriptive requirement.

Next steps: Commissioners asked Weaver and Bowers to circulate proposed redline language (Bowers said she will submit her text and related EEOC wording), and staff advised that grouped or related charter edits will be packaged for voter consideration as all-or-nothing ballot measures. The commission also assigned homework to its members to classify proposals as "housekeeping" or "structural," identify items needing additional stakeholder input, and decide which package combinations make sense for the July 1 draft deadline.

The commission did not take any final votes on charter text at the meeting and deferred decisions to upcoming sessions and further drafting work.