Cuyahoga County Planning Commission Weblog

Brooklyn City Council approved the construction of Memphis Industrial Parkway at Memphis Avenue near the Linndale border. The parkway will open land for development, and construction will run from September 2010 to May 2011.

The City of Brooklyn has yet to make an official response to the Ohio EPA since the state shut down operations at the City's landfill in January. City leaders intend to meet with EPA officials within six weeks and hope to keep the landfill open.

The City of Brooklyn's landfill may have exceeded its capacity and could be permanently shut down by the Ohio EPA. It is the last active municipal solid waste landfill in Cuyahoga County.

Brooklyn officials met with American Greetings executives to discuss ways to keep the company's headquarters in the city. Mayor Balbier said he hopes to hear from the company in a month.

American Greetings has started to consider relocating its corporate headquarters from its Brooklyn campus. A corporate spokesperson said that the company is looking at all of its options, including those outside of Northeast Ohio. The company is studying the relocation because Brooklyn voters approved a 0.5% income tax increase last May.

Update: Governor Strickland and other state officials met with American Greetings leaders to encourage them to stay in Greater Cleveland. Mayor Balbier of Brooklyn said he will fight to keep the company in town.

The Brooklyn Planning Commission tabled plans for a 35,680-square-foot expansion of the Wal-Mart store on Brookpark Road.

Update: the Planning Commission discussed the plans further, but again did not approve them.

A group of Brooklyn residents submitted petitions for two issues to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, but not in time for them to appear on the November ballot. The group is seeking to recall Mayor Patton and to have a citywide vote on the proposed redesign of the I-480 interchange at Tiedeman Road.

The new Cuyahoga County Land Bank may acquire its first properties this week, and about 250 parcels by the end of the year. Cuyahoga County Treasurer Jim Rokakis thinks that it also can help prevent abandoned houses. The Land Bank's board adopted a new six-month business plan on Friday.

A group of Brooklyn residents continues to oppose the plans to build a diverging diamond interchange at at I-480 and Tiedeman Road. City officials say they need to obtain an additional $6.5 million for the $12 million project.

On Monday, Brooklyn City Council voted to accept the Big Creek Trail and Neighborhood Connector Plan, and reassured apprehensive residents that a trail would not run through their back yards.

A new developer has assumed control of the proposed assisted living facility on Idlewood Drive in Brooklyn. The City's Planning Commission will discuss the project at its April 2 meeting.

Project organizers and consultants presented the Big Creek Trail and Neighborhood Connector Plan to Brooklyn City Council on Monday. A public meeting on the plan will take place on December 15 at 3:00 in Brooklyn City Hall.

The City of Brooklyn received a $5 million grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation for the construction of a diverging diamond interchange at I-480 and Tiedeman Road. City officials are seeking federal funding for the $12 million project.

If built, the proposed diverging diamond interchange at I-480 and Tiedeman Road would be one of the first in the nation. The City of Brooklyn plans to build the $12 million interchange in 2012.

Last week, Brooklyn City Council unanimously approved the creation of a citywide community reinvestment area.

A group of Tiedeman Road residents is questioning the City of Brooklyn's plans for a rare diverging diamond interchange at I-480 and Tiedeman Road.

The partners working on the proposed Big Creek Trail and Neighborhood Connector hope to select a preferred alignment next month. About 100 residents attended an August public meeting about the trail.

Brooklyn City School District administrators support the plan for creating a citywide community reinvestment area.

Legislation was introduced in Brooklyn City Council that would designate the entire city as a community reinvestment area. Homeowners and businesses in CRAs are eligible for tax incentives on new construction and major renovations. The City of South Euclid is considering similar legislation.

Several potential routes have been identified for the planned Big Creek Trail and Neighborhood Connector, and residents are invited to provide input about the proposals at a public meeting this evening in Brooklyn City Hall. The greenway would link the Cleveland Metroparks Big Creek and Brookside Reservations by running through Parma, Brooklyn, and Cleveland.

The Brooklyn Planning Commission denied a proposal for an extended-stay hotel at I-480 and Tiedeman Road. The company is pursuing an alternate site in Cleveland.

A company is seeking a conditional use permit to build a four-story extended stay hotel near the I-480 exit at Tiedeman Road. Brooklyn officials are concerned that it could interfere with their plans to redesign the interchange.

Brooklyn City Council approved the construction of a $32 million assisted living development behind Ridge Park Square on Idlewood Drive.

Some elected officials in Brooklyn reacted skeptically to the plans for combining the fire departments of seven southwest Cuyahoga County cities.

Dennis Kucinich supports the plans for a diverging diamond interchange at I-480 and Tiedeman Road in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn officials will lobby federal lawmakers with the hope of securing funding for a proposed $15 million replacement of the I-480 interchange at Tiedeman Road.

The City of Brooklyn created a new part-time position for an economic development director. In Streetsboro, Planning Director Linda Kovacs will have to step down because she does not meet new job qualifications recently approved by voters in a charter amendment.

Traffic consultants suggested rebuilding the I-480 interchange at Tiedeman Road in Brooklyn as a diverging diamond design. The only diverging diamond interchange in the world is in Versialles, France, though one is under construction in Kansas City. A stakeholders meeting will be held next month.

With funding in place, work on the first phase of the Big Creek Watershed Management Plan is beginning. It's expected to continue through spring 2008.

Brooklyn officials obtained a $60,000 TLCI grant to help pay for a feasibility study for a three mile extension of the Big Creek greenway trail. In Middleburg Heights, work on the Lake to Lake All Purpose Trail will begin in September. The trail will link Lake Abram to Lake Isaac. In Shaker Heights, construction of the Shaker Boulevard median trail started earlier this week.

The City of Brooklyn will apply for a $75,000 TLCI grant to conduct an alignment study for a proposed trail linking the Cleveland Metroparks Big Creek and Brookside Reservations.

The Cities of Brooklyn and Westlake are not expected to approve the water main maintenance and no poaching agreements offered by the City of Cleveland.