Granville officials are pushing hard on Heath leaders to hit the brakes on a proposed subdivision that could drop hundreds of new homes onto recently annexed farmland and swell the Granville Exempted Village School District by roughly one-third. School administrators warn the project, sketched at about 540 to 600 houses, could overcrowd classrooms, clog rural roads, and force multi-million dollar tax and construction decisions. With public hearings wrapped, the plan is now headed for a final vote at Heath City Council next week.
District leaders told station reporters they fear the development, dubbed "Heath Hills," could bring as many as 1,000 students, roughly a 33 percent jump in enrollment, with operating and capital costs that they say current state funding rules will not fully cover. The Heath Planning Commission has already recommended approval, and the project is now in the City Council's hands. As reported by WTTE/MyFOX28, Superintendent Jeff Brown and local elected officials laid out those projections at recent public hearings.
Numbers and local impact
M/I Homes of Columbus has proposed roughly 540 to 600 houses on about 225 acres east of Grand Pointe Drive. Under the district's assumptions, that buildout could mean about 960 new students over time. The company has said it expects to build around 70 to 80 homes per year and could put money into road improvements, including a turn lane on SR-37 at Grand Pointe Drive.
Granville's elementary and intermediate schools are already near capacity, and district leaders have assembled facility-planning materials that outline possible new buildings, boundary changes, and levy timing. According to The Reporting Project, the school system is actively studying those options. The district's own facility master-planning Q&A further details potential scenarios it may need to consider if the development moves forward.
Developer and city response
In a statement to WTTE/MyFOX28, Heath Mayor Mark Johns said the city has been working with the school district throughout the planning process. He noted that more than 14 acres inside the subdivision have been identified as a potential elementary school site.
The mayor has framed the project as part of a broader response to Central Ohio's housing demand and said Heath would keep coordinating with the Granville district as plans evolve. For now, that cooperation is doing little to calm Granville residents who worry that the pace and scale of new construction could outstrip what their schools and roads can handle.
What happens next
The Heath Planning Commission has recommended the rezoning, and the City Council has held public meetings on the project. The city's calendar shows a public hearing on May 11 and a council meeting on May 18, where the rezoning could be decided. According to the City of Heath, both meetings are scheduled at the Heath City Offices, 1287 Hebron Road.
Granville officials say they plan to keep showing up at Heath hearings, pressing for fewer homes or for negotiated mitigation, such as land donations or infrastructure funding tied to the development. They are not shy about telling Heath leaders they want concrete guarantees before shovels hit the ground.
Funding and the long view
Granville's financial worries center on Ohio's school-funding rules. District officials argue that a jump of this size in enrollment would not automatically trigger enough new state aid under the current "guarantee," which can lock in funding levels even as headcounts rise. That could leave local taxpayers to shoulder much of the cost.
District estimates presented at public meetings project extra operating expenses in the multi-million dollar range, along with tens of millions more for new buildings if those students show up. Those funding mechanics and planning options are laid out in the district's master-planning materials, which Granville officials have been using as a backdrop for their public arguments to Heath. The Reporting Project has also highlighted how the district is weighing boundary adjustments, potential new facilities and future levy timing in response to the proposed subdivision.
Whatever Heath City Council decides, Granville leaders say they will keep pressing state and local officials to either scale back the project or ensure that new development helps pay for the schools it will feed. Neighbors on both sides of the city line say they want clear commitments on traffic fixes, infrastructure upgrades, and long-term tax impacts before the first new driveway goes in.
