Cuyahoga County Planning Commission Weblog

Mercury limits editorial

2010-02-10T02:34:44Z

An Akron Beacon Journal editorial on Ohio mercury rules concludes that "the state EPA must do all that it can to curb the presence of mercury. It runs into trouble when it sets standards and then must admit the tools aren't available to get there."

ODOT dismisses Innerbelt Bridge bike lane

2010-02-06T04:45:05Z

The Ohio Department of Transportation yesterday rejected proposals to include a bicycle and pedestrian path on the planned new Innerbelt Bridge. Cleveland officials continue to advocate for its inclusion.

Update: Dennis Kucinich also continues to back the proposed multipurpose lane.

Downtown SID renewal support

2010-02-06T04:31:01Z

Downtown Cleveland property owners voted to renew the Downtown Cleveland Special Improvement District for a second five-year period. Cleveland City Council must also pass reauthorization legislation to extend the SID through 2015.

Playhouse Square anniversary

2010-02-06T04:19:55Z

The restoration of Cleveland's Playhouse Square began 40 years ago today when Ray Shepardson first visited the State Theatre.

Renewable energy in North Olmsted

2010-02-06T04:10:20Z

North Olmsted City Council is considering ordinances that would amend the City's zoning code to allow businesses and homeowners to install wind turbines and solar panels.

Nine Mile Creek Green Street Project

2010-02-06T03:59:21Z

The cities of South Euclid and University Heights are collaborating on the Nine Mile Creek Green Street Project, an effort to improve water quality and reduce runoff by installing stormwater bioretention cells.

Oakwood Club public meeting

2010-02-06T03:40:23Z

About 90 people attended the community meeting about the future of the Oakwood Club in Cleveland Heights. Nine attendees formed a steering committee that will look at ways to preserve the property as greenspace.

Detroit-Superior Bridge ideas

2010-02-06T03:20:01Z

Contributors to Virgina Tech's Shrinking Cities weblog have been considering potential uses for the lower deck of the Detroit-Superior Bridge. Austin Watkins shared his thoughts last month, and yesterday, Michael Hill added his opinions.

Public Square redesign thoughts

2010-02-06T02:57:45Z

The Cultural Landscape Foundation says that the "thread" concept for Cleveland's Public Square is both picturesque and modern, and that it demonstrates "a shared value design ethic".

(via ClevelandDesignCity)

Ohio air pollution exception ruled illegal

2010-02-06T02:11:58Z

A U.S. District Court judge ruled that an Ohio pollution exemption for small businesses was in violation of the federal Clean Air Act. A 2006 state law allowed establishments that emitted fewer than 10 tons of air pollutants per year to use less than the best-available emission-reduction technology, but the state never received U.S. EPA approval to change the standards.

Biomimicry news

2010-02-05T04:35:09Z

WKSU looked at biomimicry initiatives across Northeast Ohio. Jeff St. Clair spoke with Biomimicry Guild co-founder Janine Benyus, among others.

Another Medical Mart agreement

2010-02-05T04:03:15Z

The Cuyahoga County Commissioners approved a $15.2 million option for the purchase of the 113 St. Clair office building and Justice Center Parking Garage. Negotiations are ongoing for the purchase of the Sportsman deli, which would be the last property acquisition for the planned Medical Mart. The Commissioners also announced that they will use the County's entire $64.1 million Recovery Zone Facility Bond allocation for the project.

An airport proposal

2010-02-05T03:26:23Z

Cleveland Director of Port Control Ricky Smith proposed closing Cuyahoga County Airport and consolidating service at Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport. Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones said he'd consider the idea.

Hawthorne Estates plans approved

2010-02-05T03:14:09Z

The Solon Planning Commission approved Transcon Builders' plans to develop Hawthorne Valley Country Club as the Hawthorne Estates subdivision.

Cleveland Harbor Summit

2010-02-05T02:42:58Z

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers held a two-day Cleveland Harbor dredging summit (PDF) earlier this week.

3C Corridor discussion

2010-02-05T02:34:58Z

Participants on Tuesday's Sound of Ideas program discussed the planned 3C Corridor passenger rail line and the Cleveland Design Competition awards.

Propsosed federal budget for fiscal year 2011

2010-02-03T03:31:39Z

President Obama's proposed $3.8 trillion federal budget includes $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, down from the $475 million in last year's budget. It also includes requests for $4 billion for a national infrastructure bank, $1 billion for high-speed rail, and $527 million for sustainable communities initiatives.

Update: environmental groups want Congress to restore GLRI funding levels.

Current Medical Mart plans

2010-02-03T03:15:31Z

The Medical Mart and convention center project in Cleveland will include severing Public Auditorium from the complex. The City of Cleveland will invest $5 million in upgrades to Public Auditorium, and Cuyahoga County will demolish a 1964 addition, restore its west face, and remove the ramp on the east side of the Mall. MMPI is still targeting an October groundbreaking.

More layoffs at the Port Authority

2010-02-03T02:42:26Z

The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority laid off two more employees: Sustainability Manager Pam Davis and Human Resources Director Nancy Spelman.

Reactions to passenger rail news

2010-02-02T04:41:58Z

The announcement that Ohio was awarded $400 million for the planned 3C Corridor generated a wide variety of reactions, from the enthusiastic to the skeptical. Ohio newspapers also had a broad range of responses. An Akron Beacon Journal editorial was generally positive, the Columbus Dispatch said that investments in passenger rail are a poor use of federal dollars, and the Canton Repository laid out its hopes for the project.

2009 foreclosure summary

2010-02-02T04:07:39Z

Cuyahoga County foreclosure filing figures stayed elevated in 2009. While the number of filings remained similar, the problem is increasingly becoming a suburban issue. Experts expect the levels to remain high.

Cleveland Design Competition winners

2010-02-02T03:41:16Z

The winners of the 2009 Cleveland Design Competition were announced on Friday. First prize went to Mario Caceres and Christian Canonico of Montrouge, France; second prize went to Pepijn van Voorst of The Hague; and third prize went to Russell Collin of London.

The Shores of Edgecliff faces difficulties

2010-02-02T03:24:59Z

Development of the Shores of Edgecliff project has not progressed as Euclid leaders hoped it would. The residential lakefront development remains unfinished, and two homeowners are suing the Coral Co., its developer.

The Cleveland Foundation and regionalism

2010-02-02T02:57:31Z

The Plain Dealer explored the reasons behind the Cleveland Foundation's decision to greatly reduce its contributions to the Fund for Our Economic Future and the choice's subsequent repercussions. Brent Larkin thinks that the decision was harmful to regional collaboration.

Brian Zimmerman interview

2010-02-02T02:48:25Z

James Ewinger of the Plain Dealer spoke with incoming Cleveland Metroparks Executive Director Brian Zimmerman.

B-W Sustainability Symposium

2010-02-02T02:08:14Z

The 2010 Baldwin-Wallace Sustainability Symposium will be held on March 1 and 2. The title of this year's symposium is "Carbon Footprints – How Can We Transform Our Tomorrow?" The event is free and open to the public.

Pollution by chromium electroplaters

2010-02-02T01:40:05Z

A U.S. EPA study of electroplating facilities (PDF) in Cleveland and Chicago found that they were discharging high levels of PFCs in their wastewater. The emissions are permitted under a 2007 Bush administration exemption for the factories.

(via Great Lakes Echo)

Federal funding for 3C Corridor

2010-01-30T04:16:16Z

Yesterday, the Obama administration announced the recipients of $8 billion in stimulus grants for high-speed rail projects across the United States. Ohio was awarded $400 million for the planned 3C Corridor between Cleveland and Cincinnati. State officials are excited, although several questions and concerns remain. Their goal is to begin operating the line in 2012. Video of Governor Strickland's press conference is available from the Ohio Channel.

ODOT FAST TRAC

2010-01-30T03:43:42Z

The planned I-90 interchange (PDF) at Nagel Road in Avon was one of five Ohio highway projects placed on an accelerated timetable by the Ohio Department of Transportation. Construction is now scheduled to begin in 2011 and end in late 2012, about a year earlier than originally planned.

An Innerbelt Bridge conversation

2010-01-30T03:17:41Z

The discussion on this morning's Sound of Ideas program was about ODOT's plans for the Innerbelt Bridge in Cleveland. The guests were Cleveland City Planning Director Bob Brown, Steven Litt of the Plain Dealer, ODOT District 12 Deputy Director Bonnie Teeuwen, and CPC Director Paul Alsenas.

New Metroparks director

2010-01-30T03:01:55Z

Brian Zimmerman of Milwaukee was selected to succeed Vern Hartenburg as executive director of the Cleveland Metroparks. He's scheduled to start work in March.

Broadview Heights master plan committee

2010-01-30T02:51:30Z

A Broadview Heights committee intends to have the city's new master plan completed by April.

Oakwood Club for sale

2010-01-30T02:22:35Z

The 144-acre Oakwood Club property in Cleveland Heights is up for sale, with an asking price of approximately $6 million. The area is zoned for single-family housing, and a Sun News editorial says that the site should remain as greenspace. A community meeting about the property will take place on February 3.

Port Authority board membership

2010-01-30T02:00:37Z

Mayor Jackson reappointed Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority Chairman Steven Williams to another four-year term, but board member Rose Rodriguez-Bardwell chose not to seek reappointment. Board member Brian Hall is also stepping down (PDF).

Velodrome location announced

2010-01-28T04:08:28Z

Fast Track Cycling announced today that it has entered into a purchase agreement with the City of Cleveland for the nine-acre St. Michael Hospital site in Slavic Village. The nonprofit plans to build a $6.5 million velodrome complex on the property at Broadway and McBride Avenues, and will spend the next six to 12 months raising funds for the project.

Update: Channel 5 has more details.

A Crack in the Pavement

2010-01-28T03:50:19Z

On February 11, the Levin College Forum and the First Suburbs Consortium will host the Cleveland premiere of The New Metropolis, a two-part documentary series on America's inner-ring suburbs. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion.

TNR on LCT

2010-01-28T03:13:13Z

The New Republic looked at the public transit cuts in Lorain County and their impacts on the unemployed and underemployed.

Aerotropolis planning

2010-01-28T02:36:58Z

Planners of the proposed aerotropolis around Cleveland Hopkins International Airport began receiving feedback at the first of the aerotropolis stakeholder sessions yesterday.

Harshaw site findings

2010-01-28T02:11:48Z

A report from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says that the former Harshaw Chemical site in Cleveland remains contaminated by radiation, but not at levels that would prevent passive recreation. The site had been considered for a potential leg of the Towpath Trail extension. Cleanup could take as many as five years.

Trail plans map be dropped

2010-01-28T01:56:24Z

The Cleveland Metroparks may not build a planned trail at its North Branch Preserve in Solon.

Landmark designations for churches

2010-01-26T04:09:52Z

The Cleveland Landmarks Commission recommended designating six additional Catholic churches as Cleveland landmarks. Four of the six are slated to close as part of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese's consolidation program. Diocesan officials are not pleased.

West Shoreway speed limit reduction

2010-01-26T03:52:36Z

The Ohio House approved language that would reduce the speed limit on Cleveland's West Shoreway from 50 to 35 mph. It's part of the plans to convert the highway to a boulevard. City leaders are working to obtain funding for the project's second phase.

Valley Parkway Trail extension

2010-01-25T22:10:51Z

Officials in Brecksville, Broadview Heights, and North Royalton have begun to seek funding for an extension of the Valley Parkway Trail through their communities. A trail alignment study (PDF, 35.6 MB), funded by a TLCI grant, was completed last year. It identified three alignment options.

Coyotes in Greater Cleveland

2010-01-25T21:37:28Z

Researchers are studying changes in Northeast Ohio's coyote population. Urban coyotes currently pose little threat to people.

Innerbelt Bridge news

2010-01-25T21:11:22Z

Last Friday, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John O'Donnell held a hearing on the Cleveland Cold Storage building ownership dispute. ODOT intends to demolish the building for the new Innerbelt Bridge. Also on Friday, the Cleveland City Planning Commission approved a resolution of support for bicycle and pedestrian access on the new bridge.

Update: on Feagler & Friends, Dan Moulthrop spoke with ODOT District 12 Deputy Director Bonnie Teeuwen about the bridge plans.

Concepts from the Cleveland Design Competition

2010-01-24T22:14:33Z

Participants in the third annual Cleveland Design Competition devised plans for a multi-modal transportation center for the north end of the Mall in downtown Cleveland. The submissions were recently judged, and the winners will be announced on Friday. Steven Litt provides an advanced look at a couple of the entries.

Transforming Public Square

2010-01-24T21:53:53Z

More than 100 people attended a Levin College Forum on Thursday to learn more about the Public Square redesign concepts. Jeremy Borger summarized the event and shared his thoughts.

International welcome center planning

2010-01-24T21:35:04Z

The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland and Cleveland State University continue to pursue plans to create an immigrant welcome center in downtown Cleveland.

City Club panel discussion

2010-01-24T21:11:28Z

On Thursday, Ned Hill of Cleveland State University, Joe Marinucci of the Downtown Cleveland Alliance, and Cleve Ricksecker of Capital Crossroads Columbus discussed the state of downtown Cleveland at the City Club (MP3, 53.1 MB). It was the fourth event in the Downtown Quarterly Series.

Parma senior housing details

2010-01-24T20:51:11Z

The proposed senior housing development on State Road in Parma includes two 50-unit apartment buildings and 12 duplexes. Franciscan Communities hopes to begin construction in 2011.