Frequently Asked Questions

Heath Hills is a large-scale residential development proposed by M/I Homes of Columbus on approximately 212–300 acres of farmland annexed into the City of Heath from Union Township. The plan calls for roughly 500–550 single-family homes, ranging in price from around $550,000 to $800,000, along with a swimming pool, clubhouse, and a conditional 14.5-acre site donated for a potential future Granville elementary school.

Construction is expected to proceed at a pace of 70–80 homes per year over 8–10 years. While the development is in Heath, all homes fall within the Granville Exempted Village School District boundaries.

The subdivision is located south of Granville along the east side of Rt. 37, around the intersection of Seminary Road and Canyon Road. Although the land is now part of the City of Heath, it remains entirely within the Granville school district.

This creates a classic mismatch: Heath gains tax revenue, development fees, and economic benefits, while Granville schools must absorb all the new students and associated costs with no ability to control the project or adjust density to a model that would fit with the community.

As of June 2026, M/I Homes is seeking approval for approximately 500–550 homes (revised down from an initial proposal of 550–600) with a minimum lot size of 7,145 sq. ft. (roughly ⅙ acre), at a density of about 3 units per acre — dramatically higher than surrounding areas and the sustainable model this region was built on.

Granville Township and Union Township typically allow 1 home per 5 acres, or as little as 2 acres in a planned development with green space. The adjacent Grand Pointe subdivision has 1 home per 2 acres.

M/I Homes has stated that 3 units per acre is its firm limit. Critics note this density still maximizes financial impact on Granville schools while doing little to address affordability — these are $550,000–$800,000 homes on small lots.

The Granville Schools hired an independent enrollment consultant (Wolpert Inc./Cooperative Strategies) to analyse the likely growth in students. Using analytical models based on past housing growth in Granville, they created an accurate model of expected enrollment growth. The model predicts a peak average number of students per house of 1.6. At the current density this development alone is projected to add an estimated 840–1,000 new students to Granville's current enrollment of roughly 2,500–2,600 students — an increase of 33–40%.

Superintendent Jeff Brown's working estimate is approximately 840–850 students (a 33% increase), with the independent consultant projecting up to 960–1,000 at full build-out. Either figure represents a generational disruption to the district.

Granville Elementary and Intermediate schools are already operating at or near 95% capacity. Without significant new construction, the district will quickly need modular classrooms or other temporary solutions, with long-term needs for enormous capital investments for additional buildings at all levels.

The district projects an additional $12 million per year in operating costs for these new students once fully built out, plus up to $55 million in capital costs for new and expanded facilities. State funding does not increase with enrollment growth or cover new construction in this scenario. Unlike other districts in Licking County, the state also does not support new building construction for Granville Schools.

If approved at the current proposed density, this shortfall will require major local property tax increases of 14.5 mills. Estimates suggest over $2,000 on average per household annually — roughly a 30% property tax hike for existing Granville property owners, severely impacting seniors, long-term residents, and families on fixed incomes. Lower density or a different home product mix would significantly lower the tax burden.

Visit the Financials page for a detailed breakdown.

The Building Industry Association (BIA) of Central Ohio is the trade group representing home builders and developers in the region, including M/I Homes. Each year at their "Big Night" gala they present a Citizen of the Year award to a non-BIA member who has provided "major benefits to the community and the building industry."

In 2025 Mayor Mark Johns received this award. The timing coincides with his strong public support for M/I Homes' proposed Heath Hills subdivision — a project that would deliver significant new housing units to Columbus builders.

Questions have been raised about what specific service to the builders earned the mayor this recognition, especially given his defense of the project's high density despite strong objections from Granville schools and residents. The award highlights the close relationship between local elected officials and the development industry at a time when critical zoning decisions for Heath Hills were pending before Heath City Council.

No. New homes are estimated to generate only about $3.3 million annually in property and income taxes for Granville schools — far short of the over $12 million in added operating expenses.

The gap is structural: Ohio's school funding formula locks Granville's state aid at 2020 enrollment levels. Every additional student that arrives from Heath Hills comes with no additional state dollars — the full cost falls on local Granville taxpayers.

Visit the Financials page for a detailed breakdown of the revenue gap.

A Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district is a financing tool that diverts future property tax growth — the "increment" created by new development — away from normal taxing entities and into a special fund controlled by the city. The draft development agreement between Heath and M/I Homes (obtained via open records request) requires the city to create TIF districts covering the entire Heath Hills site for 30 years.

Here's how it works in practice: once Heath Hills homes are built and their property values rise, the resulting tax increment is captured into a TIF fund. Instead of flowing to county services, parks, libraries, or other taxing entities, that revenue is first used to pay off the city's public infrastructure costs — and then to reimburse M/I Homes for up to $6 million in roadway improvements, plus interest accruing at a steep 7% annual rate (compounded monthly).

The agreement also specifies that school districts will receive "compensation payments" equal to what they would have received without the TIF — meaning Granville Schools is held harmless on the TIF itself. But that doesn't solve the underlying problem: the TIF does nothing to offset the $8–12 million per year in new operating costs from 840–1,000 additional students. Those costs still fall entirely on Granville taxpayers.

What gets squeezed out? During the 30-year TIF period, the tax increment that would otherwise flow to Licking County general services, parks such as Indian Mound Metro Park (located directly adjacent to the development site), and other county-wide functions is instead diverted to repay the developer — at 7% interest. That's a significant, multi-decade transfer of public value to a private company.

In addition, a New Community Authority (NCA) millage of up to 7.5 mills will be charged to every Heath Hills homeowner to fund "community facilities" — fees paid to the city that do not benefit Granville Schools at all.

The TIF and NCA structure is how the city plans to fund its commitments to M/I Homes. Residents in both Heath and Granville deserve to understand this arrangement — which is why any discussion of the project's finances should be held in public, not in closed executive sessions. See the full interactive TIF breakdown → See the question below about executive sessions.

At the June 15, 2026 council meeting, Mayor Johns announced that the Heath City Council Finance Committee would meet on June 29 in "executive session" — a closed, non-public meeting — to discuss the project's finances and "development agreements."

Ohio's Open Meetings Act generally requires government bodies to deliberate in public. Executive sessions are permitted only for specific, narrow purposes defined by state law — such as personnel matters, pending litigation, or the purchase of real estate. Discussing the financial terms of a proposed zoning and development agreement with a private developer does not obviously fit any of those exemptions.

Granville resident Thomas Miller, a former school board member, raised this concern directly at the meeting, questioning whether the council has legal authority to hold this discussion behind closed doors.

This matters for everyone: the development agreement (obtained via open records request) reveals a complex TIF and financing structure that will affect tax revenue, infrastructure spending, and developer reimbursements for 30 years. If those terms are being finalized in private, the public — in both Heath and Granville — loses its ability to weigh in before a binding commitment is made.

What you can do: Contact Heath City Council and respectfully ask that any discussion of the development agreement's financial terms be held in an open public meeting. Transparency is especially important here because the same agreement commits the city to a TIF structure that will affect county-wide tax flows for three decades. Learn more about the TIF.

The proposed density maximizes homes (and therefore students) on the land, creating an overwhelming burden on Granville schools and infrastructure. It directly contradicts the collaborative FRAMEWORK regional growth plan that Heath and Granville officials previously supported to avoid exactly this kind of development.

Granville officials have described it as "grotesque exploitation" of Granville's high-quality schools and taxpayers for the benefit of Heath and the developer. It turns Granville schools into the primary selling point for a Heath subdivision while shifting all costs to Granville residents.

SB 173 is legislation introduced in 2025 that would reform how school district boundaries are handled when a city annexes land. It would make it easier in certain cases (especially large "megaproject" developments) for school district lines to automatically transfer with the annexed territory — so the annexing city's school district would serve the new residents.

Granville officials have strongly supported the principles behind SB 173 because it would prevent situations like Heath Hills, where Heath controls zoning and collects taxes but Granville bears the full cost of educating nearly 1,000 additional students. Without such reform, the current system allows exactly this kind of cost-shifting.

Because Granville is on a state funding guarantee, it will receive zero additional dollars from the state for these new students. If these students were added to other school districts, the state would provide additional funding. The gap between the $3.3 million in new local taxes and the $12 million in projected costs would likely require significant tax increases for all current Granville School District residents.

Major concerns include severe congestion and safety issues on already-challenged Rt. 37 and local roads through the existing neighborhoods like Grand Pointe, and Canyon and Seminary roads. M/I Homes has committed to road widening improvements to Canyon and Seminary Roads (including 11-foot travel lanes and 3-foot shoulders) and a roundabout at Canyon and Seminary intersection — but only on a timeline tied to construction phases, meaning traffic impact arrives well before the improvements do.

The proposal requires 12 zoning deviations. Residents fear loss of farmland, reduced property values if schools become overcrowded or underfunded, and long-term pressure on Granville's quality of life and tax base.

M/I Homes states the proposed density of 3 units per acre is "as low as the company can go." Heath Mayor Mark Johns has defended the project, arguing it meets housing demand and noting that 14+ acres of land have been secured for a potential future elementary school.

However, these statements do not fully address the core imbalance: Granville bears nearly all education costs and student impact while receiving far less revenue. The mayor previously collaborated on the FRAMEWORK plan precisely to prevent developments that "bulldoze over" neighboring school districts.

A draft development agreement — obtained via public records request — also shows the city plans to create a 30-year TIF district and reimburse M/I Homes up to $6 million for road improvements at 7% annual interest. That arrangement has not been publicly discussed in any open meeting. Learn more about the TIF.

The Heath City Council vote is now scheduled for August 3, 2026. Council still has full approval authority, and several members have already said publicly they cannot support the project unless outstanding cost and transparency questions are resolved.

Council can:

• Require that any discussion of the development agreement be held in a public meeting, not a closed executive session
• Demand a full public cost-benefit analysis — including the TIF structure — before any vote
• Remand the project to planning to consider lower-density alternatives
• Mandate stronger infrastructure contributions or shared revenue arrangements with Granville schools
• Reject the proposal outright (note: because the Planning Commission already approved it, rejection requires a super-majority of 5 of the 7 council members)

Residents of both Heath and Granville can contact Heath City Council directly. Respectful, personal messages — especially from Heath residents — carry significant weight. Public pressure has already moved the vote twice. Keep it up.