Amendment to speed possible referendum on TJX project headed to Kasich

COLUMBUS

A legislative amendment that would push up the date of a referendum on the proposed TJX project in Lordstown will head to Gov. John Kasich’s desk.

House Bill 292, which included an amendment that would allow a referendum to take place in August instead of November, cleared the Ohio Legislature on Thursday. The House voted 86-1 in favor of the bill.

“We are now another step closer to securing an expected 1,000 new jobs in the village of Lordstown,” said state Sen. Sean O’Brien of Bazetta, D-32nd, who helped get the amendment into the bill. “I truly believe that this TJX HomeGoods site will help strengthen our local economy, and I am happy to continue doing whatever I can to ensure this project happens.”

TJX plans to build a 1.2-million-square-foot HomeGoods distribution center on a site on Ellsworth-Bailey Road. Some village residents have spoken out against the project because the 290-acre site is zoned residential, not industrial.

The village planning and zoning commission approved the zone changes that would be required for the project, and the matter soon will be taken up by village council. A public hearing on the topic is scheduled for 11 a.m. June 16.

Some residents have raised the prospect of petitioning for a referendum on the issue if council approves it.

“This amendment will fast track this project, and I am happy we were able to get this done before summer recess,” O’Brien said.

Read more about the matter in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.