Stow City zoning rewrite spurred 'Megan's Way Out' safety rule; senator backs statewide bill

Stow City officials described how a recent zoning-code overhaul and a local drive‑thru safety requirement known as "Megan's Way Out" grew out of community engagement and a local tragedy.

In response to a murder–suicide at a Taco Bell drive‑thru, presenters said the city adopted a regulation requiring emergency bypass lanes for drive‑throughs to prevent vehicles from becoming trapped. "When Megan was tragically murdered, she was stuck in a single lane drive‑thru... so, when the Kellerman family came to us to work with us, we came up with a regulation to create a requirement for a emergency bypass lane for all drive‑throughs," a city planning representative said, describing the local change.

Presenters said the rule has attracted regional attention with other cities adopting similar code language. State Senator Casey Weinstein (28th Senate District) told the audience that bipartisan legislation based on the idea has been introduced at the state level. "We've introduced bipartisan legislation to the state of Ohio," Weinstein said, and praised Stow's civic participation as a model for other jurisdictions.

The presentation placed the safety measure in the context of a larger zoning-code rewrite the city completed after a two‑year process; presenters said the new code was adopted six months ago. Officials described broad public engagement during the rewrite: an 11‑member steering committee, roughly 20 public workshops, stakeholder meetings and nearly 400 survey responses.

No bill number, legislative text, or timetable for state action was provided during the presentation; presenters said the matter had moved from local ordinance language to state discussion. Officials also did not provide specific timelines for retrofitting existing drive‑throughs or details of enforcement and compliance requirements during the session.