Cuyahoga County Planning Commission Weblog

The City of Lakewood continues to gather public input on community planning initiatives, and recently held the second public work session for the Clifton Boulevard Enhancement Project. On August 21, a Birdtown Madison Community Action public meeting will take place.

Update: the Sun Post-Herald summarized the Clifton Boulevard work session.

Update 2: about 50 people attended the August 21 event. The City will hold two more community meetings.

In their first months of operation, RTA's two Weekly Shopper Service routes have seen very few riders. The shuttle buses in Lakewood and West Park supply a portion of the service formerly provided by community circulator routes.

The Lakewood Planning Commission approved a Historic Preservation Designation for St. James Church. The designation covers its exterior and interior, and it is the first time the City has protected a building's interior. St. James Parish will hold its final Mass on June 26.

The first public meeting for the Clifton Boulevard Transportation Enhancement Program took place on Wednesday in Lakewood. The stimulus-funded project's process will refine streetscape enhancement concepts first identified in a 2006 plan (PDF, 28.7 MB). One attendee shared her reactions.

Update: the City of Lakewood summarized the event and the Sun Post Herald published a report.

RTA's first Weekly Shopper Service will serve Lakewood and Cleveland's Clifton-Detroit neighborhood. The route, a successor to the canceled community circulator, will operate on Fridays and will begin on March 26. RTA is paying for half of the route's costs, and the two cities will supply the other half.

The City of Lakewood posted the Birdtown Action Plan (PDF), a comprehensive plan prepared by a group of Cleveland State graduate students. An earlier version of the plan for the southeastern Lakewood neighborhood was called the Birdtown Flight Plan.

Officials in Lakewood and in several Cleveland neighborhoods are working with RTA to identify potential routes for its new Weekly Shopper Service.

Lakewood City Council approved legislation that expands the City's historic preservation ordinance to include publicly-accessible building interiors. City officials say that it's not targeted at any particular building.

A group of Cleveland State University graduate students prepared the Birdtown Flight Plan, a guidebook for the historic Lakewood neighborhood. "It seeks to identify assets and build upon them, as well as introduce proposals that will highlight Birdtown/Madison East's historic uniqueness, and bolster the quality of life for those who call it home."

The City of Lakewood may establish a special improvement district for solar energy.

Lakewood City Council is scheduled to vote next week on legislation that would strengthen the City's historic preservation ordinance. It could be used to protect St. James Catholic Church, which is scheduled to close in June 2010.

The exterior renovation of the Bailey Building in downtown Lakewood began last week. The work is scheduled to finish in the spring.

Update: the Lakewood Observer and Sun Post-Herald have more details.

Officials in Cleveland, Euclid, and Lakewood have expressed interest in RTA's proposed new Weekly Shopper Service, a once-weekly shuttle that would succeed its discontinued community circulator routes. RTA will organize a series of community meetings.

Lakewood City Council is considering legislation that would expand the City's historic preservation ordinance to cover the interior of historic structures.

Update: the Plain Dealer has more information about the Lakewood proposal and similar legislation in Cleveland.

The owners of the Bailey Building in downtown Lakewood plan to remove its 1960s concrete facade to reveal the original 1920s brick building.

The Ohio EPA is considering a proposal to address erosion issues at Lakewood Park by rehabilitating a retaining wall and expanding the breakwater.

Phase two construction of Rockport Square on Detroit Avenue in Lakewood is continuing. Work on six new townhomes recently started. A date for beginning the third phase of construction has not been established.

The City of Lakewood is using a combination of nuisance abatement techniques and federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program dollars to eliminate blighted structures.

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $311,000 to the City of Lakewood for the implementation of some components of the Detroit Avenue Streetscape Plan.

Lakewood's Oldest Stone House was given a Historic Preservation Designation, the first awarded by the City.

The story of a Lakewood house illustrates the difficulties in breaking the cycle of foreclosure and disrepair, as well as one possible solution.

Update: Susan Condon Love wrote more about the house.

The owner of the deteriorating Hilliard Square Theatre in Lakewood hopes to sell the building to someone who would restore it.

RTA will use some of its federal stimulus money to initiate the planning and design a four-mile line along Clifton Boulevard in Cleveland and Lakewood. The entire project will cost an estimated $14 million. New articulated buses will enter service along the corridor this fall.

Lakewood City Council dropped a proposal that would have allowed residents to raise chickens, due to concerns about regulation, noise and odors, and the need to focus on other issues.

LakewoodAlive's Main Street Lakewood revitalization program has earned National Main Street accreditation.

The City of Lakewood may join Cleveland in allowing residents to raise chickens in their yards. City Council discussed the proposal on Monday.

Update: the Lakewood Observer has more details.

The City of Lakewood will use the more than $1 million it received through the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program to implement its housing initiative.

While work continues on the second phase of improvements to Lakewood Park, City officials are considering future investments.

The Lakewood Observer has a summary of Mayor FitzGerald's proposed housing initiative. It focuses on encouraging homeowners to reinvest in their properties and on strengthening the City's housing enforcement activities.

The newly formed Madison Avenue Business Association in Lakewood is working to promote independent retailers and enhance the street's historical character.

LakewoodAlive merged with Lakewood Community Progress Inc. The combined nonprofit community development organization will operate under the LakewoodAlive name.

Lakewood officials are considering the creation of an arts district zoning overlay (PDF, p. 35) that would be applied to the areas surrounding the Beck Center for the Arts, Birdtown, and Virginia Marti College.

In anticipation of their construction, the City of Lakewood enacted new zoning rules regulating wind turbines. The Cuyahoga County Fair Board is also exploring the possibility of erecting a turbine on the Middleburg Heights portion of the fairgrounds.

The Lakewood Observer toured the vacant Hilliard Square Theatre on Hilliard Road. It is one of eight buildings that will be featured in the Lakewood Historical Society's House Tour on Sunday.

Steven Litt of the Plain Dealer critiqued the new Lakewood Public Library. He feels that architect Robert A.M. Stern's neoclassical building "is convincing in many ways, and full of passionate conviction. It's also emotionally cool to a fault and strangely anachronistic, as if the building could have been built 60 to 100 years ago." Construction was completed earlier this year, and the library was rededicated in June.

With assistance from the Grow Lakewood Housing Fund, a Lakewood resident is performing the City's second conversion of a duplex to a single-family house. Work on the Cranford Avenue house may be completed in a few months.

The Lakewood Planning Commission approved the placement of buildings for phase three of the Rockport Square development. The preliminary plans call for the construction of office space, a parking deck, and a restaurant, but not the condominiums that were previously part of the plans.

At a public meeting in Lakewood yesterday, residents voiced their opposition to proposed RTA service cuts. Leaders in other communities are also concerned about the impacts of the cuts.

Update: mayors of Westshore suburbs expressed their concerns about the proposed cuts.

The Plain Dealer began a new series about the "finest elements of Cleveland's stylish history" with a look at the history of the Lake Shore in Lakewood.

While the Lakewood City Schools planned to build or renovate seven elementary schools in its school construction program, the Ohio School Facilities Commission will only commit to funds for six, citing projected declines in enrollment. The District will form a task force to determine if residents want to independently fund construction of the seventh school.

The slow housing market has delayed the start of work on the Cliffs on Rocky River condominiums in Lakewood. Developer Rick Foran now hopes that the first units will be ready for occupancy by 2010.

Update: the Lakewood Sun Post supplies details about the extension of the TIF agreement.

The sluggish residential real estate market is making it difficult for developers to sell new condominiums in inner-ring suburbs. Several cities are offering incentives to spur investment, and developers are trying to entice buyers. Rysar is offering a free Smart car to purchasers at the Bluestone development in Cleveland Heights. Other developers have pulled out of projects. Al Neyer canceled the Terraces on Lee Road in Cleveland Heights. Experts predict that the market will rebound.

Leaders in Lakewood are working to devise a strategy for dealing with the foreclosure crisis.

The Lakewood Observer reports that Lakewood officials signed a memorandum of understanding last year to sell Kauffman Park to developers, but that the new mayoral administration considers the agreement to be "off the table".

This week's Free Times looks at the rise of the local food movement in Greater Cleveland, using the City Fresh program and the new LEAF initiative in Lakewood as examples.

Cities such as Cleveland, Westlake, Fairview Park, Lakewood, North Olmsted, and Avon Lake are still dealing with the withdrawal of Tops Supermarkets from Northeast Ohio in 2006.

The Foran Group is projecting that the Cliffs on Rocky River condominiums will be completed by late 2011.

In Lakewood, construction of first two phases of Rockport Square is nearing completion, with phase 2 work scheduled to finish by the end of 2008. The construction of Phase 3 will depend on market demand.

Tom Jordan is North Royalton's new Director of Community Development. He previously served as the Director of Planning and Development in Lakewood, a position he held since 2004. Nathan Kelly now holds the Lakewood post.

The conversion of a Bunts Road duplex to a single-family house has been completed. The property is being marketed for sale at $185,000. Lakewood officials hope that this pilot project will be replicated at other duplexes in the City.

The City of Lakewood is planning to make the Detroit Avenue and Bunts Road area an eastern gateway to its central business district. The former Giant Eagle at the intersection's southwest corner will be demolished and replaced by new commercial and residential development, along with a parking deck. Preliminary recommendation in the Detroit Avenue Streetscape Study include making improvements to transit waiting environments.

Lakewood Planning and Development Director Tom Jordan reassured residents that the future of Kauffman Park will be determined by a public process with due diligence.

Last week, local architects offered advice to Beck Center leaders on how the current facilities could be restored and modernized. Increasing the efficiency of the complex is a priority.

The Committee for a Greener Lakewood is working to encourage sustainable development and business in the City.

The Plain Dealer notes that if Lakewood officials opt to sell Kauffman Park for commercial development, it would be an unusual decision.

The new RTA Red Line rapid transit station at West 117th Street opened at 9:30 this morning. Its official name is the W. 117th St.–Madison Avenue Highland Square Rapid Station. RTA officials also announced that bicycles will now be allowed on the rapid during rush hour.

Construction of the Cliffs on Rocky River was approved by Lakewood and Cuyahoga County officials. The condominium development has grown from a planned 46 units to as many as 60 units. A new access road should be completed by next spring, with the first units ready for occupancy in late 2008.

(Update: the Lakewood Sun Post has more details.)

Scene asked if the possible development of Kauffman Park in Lakewood will reduce the City's amount of greenspace, and Mayor George replied that there will be no net loss of park areas.

(Update: The Plain Dealer has more details.)

The Plain Dealer depicts the Rocky River Harbor neighborhood in Lakewood and Rocky River as a quirky and colorful place.

Developers are interested in purchasing Lakewood's Kaufmann Park for use in the redevelopment of a neighboring shopping center. They want to build a new shopping center that would be set back further from Detroit Road. The City hired consultants to prepare a study of the park, and it should be finished in September.

The Cities of Lakewood and Bedford reached water distribution agreements with the City of Cleveland. The agreements include the no poaching clause present in similar agreements. The Cities of Bedford Heights and Euclid also recently signed water main maintenance agreements with Cleveland.

The Lakewood Sun Post offers more details about Birdtown's recent listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

Lakewood's Birdtown neighborhood was added to the National Register of Historic Places as the Birdtown Historic District.

First Federal of Lakewood and the City of Lakewood are partnering to convert a Bunts Road duplex into a a single-family home. Work is scheduled to be complete in late summer.

The expanded main branch of the Lakewood Public Library opened yesterday. The 38,000 square foot expansion was designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects of New York.

Construction of the new West 117th Street rapid station is nearing completion, and the main entrance and parking lot reopened earlier this week. The new station will be called Highland Square at West 117th Street, and a reopening ceremony is scheduled for mid-September.

The Lakewood Historical Society established a preservation fund to preserve and protect historic structures. It will first be used in an attempt to raise $30,000 to move the threatened Hall House.

Lakewood City Council has begun to examine the water main maintenance and no poaching agreement offered by the City of Cleveland. Because Lakewood buys water in bulk from Cleveland, the maintenance agreement would not apply, and Cleveland agreed to an immediate rate decrease as an incentive.

Real estate investor Sako Satka is close to completing a renovation of the historic Faerber/Morse House on Lake Avenue in Lakewood. An attempt by the home's previous owner to dismantle and auction its architectural details promted Lakewood officials to establish a waiting period for demolitions and to consider creating a landmark designation program.

As part of the reconstruction and repaving of Lake Road in Bay Village, Rocky River, and Lakewood, ODOT will incorporate some recommendations that have been gathered through traffic studies and area stakeholder outreach, including traffic calming, streetscaping, and pedestrian amenities.

Officials from Lakewood and Rocky River are discussing alternatives for improving water quality by reducing combined sewer overflows. Prices for the options range between $1.3 million and $3.1 million.

A group of Cleveland and Lakewood stakeholders have begun discussing the possibility of joint developments along the West 117th Street corridor. Kent State's Urban Design Center is helping to prepare a conceptual plan. Meanwhile, the fate of the former Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist on West 117th Street is again in question, because the option on the historic building held by Marous Brothers Construction will expire by the end of the month. Cleveland officials are meeting with Marous.

The Plain Dealer provides more details about the proposed arts districts in Lakewood that will be the subject of a forum on Tuesday evening.

LakewoodAlive will host a forum on the idea of a Lakewood arts district on March 13 at 7:00 p.m. at the Beck Center Armory. The panelists will be Art Falco of the Playhouse Square Association, Tom Schorgl of the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture, Daniel Cuffaro of the Cleveland Institute of Art, and Kathleen Cerveny of the Cleveland Foundation.

Lakewood officials have proposed adding preservation districts to the City's zoning code in order to preserve the character of neighborhoods. It would permit the City to implement design guidelines to "protect the integrity of the structures within the designated areas" and encourage restorations.

The school boards in Lakewood and Olmsted Falls approved May ballot measures for bonds to fund new school construction. Lakewood hopes to move ahead with phase two of their school construction project, and Olmsted Falls wants to build a new school for fourth and fifth graders.