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TO AMEND THE PRIOR FILING WITH THE FRANKLIN COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS TO REESTABLISH WARDS IN THE CITY OF GAHANNA; TO REDISTRICT SAID FOUR WARDS IN A MANNER EQUITABLE TO THE POPULATION THEREIN; TO AMEND CHAPTER 105 OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY
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WHEREAS, this City established Wards within the City by Ordinance No. 32-75, adopted by Council on March 18, 1975; and
WHEREAS, the citizens of Gahanna, at the Regular Municipal Election held November 2, 1976, voted for a Charter amendment to Section 4.02 of the Gahanna City Charter establishing the election of 4 Council members by ward and 3 at large; and
WHEREAS, this City reestablished Wards within the City by Ordinance No. 90-78, adopted by Council on October 17, 1978; and
WHEREAS, this City reestablished Wards within the City by Ordinance No. 140-92, adopted by Council on July 16, 1992; and
WHEREAS, this City reestablished Wards within the City by ORD-0248-2001, adopted by Council on December 17, 2001; and
WHEREAS, this City reestablished Wards within the City by ORD-0234-2012, adopted by Council on December 3, 2012; and
WHEREAS, the Franklin County Board of Elections in its meeting held on March 12, 2013 rescinded their approval of the Gahanna ward districts approved by ORD-0234-2012; and
WHEREAS, the City needs to amend our prior filing with the Franklin County Board of Elections in order to maintain wards which are equitably balanced and in line with requirements; and
WHEREAS, it is essential to have reworked ward districts in place in a time frame to allow candidates to pick up petitions to run this November and meet the August filing deadline, all for the preservation of the public peace, property, health, safety and welfare;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA, STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That the City of Gahanna hereby amends its filing of December 17, 2012 with the Franklin County Board of Elections through ORD-0234-2012 in order to incorporate new ward boundaries.
Section 2. That the City of Gahanna redistrict its Wards in a manner equitably balanced as to present population and voter registration statistics provided by the Franklin County Board of Elections and City of Gahanna records to prepare for the election of Council members to be elected from Wards in the Regular Municipal Election in 2013.
Section 3. That the Council of the City of Gahanna hereby reestablishes the division of the City into four Wards, to be known as Ward 1, Ward 2, Ward 3, and Ward 4, and described and bounded as described in Exhibit A attached hereto and made a part hereof.
Section 4. That Chapter 105, Wards and Boundaries, of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Gahanna, is hereby amended to reflect the reestablishment and redistricting of wards within the City.
Section 5. That the Clerk of Council is hereby authorized and directed to file a certified copy of this ordinance with the Franklin County Board of Elections.
Section 6. That, for the reasons set forth in the preamble hereinabove, this ordinance and the geographical definitions established herein are declared emergency legislation and shall be in full force and effect after passage by this Council and on 30 days after date of signature approval by the Mayor.