Cuyahoga County Planning Commission Weblog

The Cleveland Metroparks recently acquired two wetland properties. A 26-acre site on Engle Road in Middleburg Heights is now part of the Big Creek Reservation, and the 20-acre Heron Rookery wetland along the east branch of the Rocky River in North Royalton is now part of the Mill Stream Run Reservation. Funding for the Middleburg Heights purchase came from a legal settlement, and funding for the North Royalton conservation easement was provided by the WRSSP and NRAC.

As of late January, all of Cuyahoga County's 59 cities, villages, and townships have adopted the County's anti-poaching pledge. Middleburg Heights was the final community to sign the agreement. The Greater Cleveland Partnership applauded the announcement, and an earlier Sun News editorial said that "Cuyahoga County needs its communities to work together".

The City of North Royalton and the Cleveland Metroparks are purchasing the 14-acre Aukerman Farm property for $219,000. The site on York Road is adjacent to the Metroparks' Brecksville Reservation. Middleburg Heights City Council is considering a similar action that would protect a one-acre property near Big Creek.

Southwest General broke ground on its $128 million expansion project. It includes a new emergency room, a critical care unit, and an underground parking garage. Construction is scheduled for completion in late 2015. Meanwhile, MetroHealth began construction of its Middleburg Heights November Family Health Center. When its first building opens next year, the 57,000-square-foot facility will replace the Strongsville Health Center.

JKR Development proposed a mixed-use development concept for a 21-acre site on Engle Road in Middleburg Heights. The property is currently zoned for light industrial development.

MetroHealth plans to build a $23 million community health center on a 10-acre site at I-71 and Pearl Road in Middleburg Heights. It will replace the system's health center in Strongsville. Construction of the 57,600-square-foot outpatient facility is expected to begin early next year and take 12 to 16 months.

Update: the Plain Dealer and Crain's Cleveland Business have more details.

Southwest General Health System plans to make a $128 million investment in its Middleburg Heights facilities over the next four years. Work on the first part of the two-phase project is scheduled to begin in May 2012.

Middleburg Heights leaders are considering a proposal to rezone the former C. A. Thomas School property from single-family residential to governmental. The City has offered to purchase the 10-acre site from the Berea City School District.

The Middleburg Heights Planning Commission approved preliminary plans for Boulder Creek, an eight-acre, 17-house subdivision near the intersection of Smith Road and Paula Drive.

By a vote of 5-1, Middleburg Heights City Council rejected a proposed wind turbine at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds.

The Middleburg Heights Planning Commission approved plans to install a 285-foot tall wind turbine at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds. The Planning Commission had tabled the proposal in January.

On Monday, Governor Strickland announced that 25 Ohio energy projects will receive more than $13 million in federal stimulus grants. Seven of the wind and solar projects are in Cuyahoga County.

Update: Middleburg Heights leaders continue to discuss the proposed wind turbine at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds.

The City of Middleburg Heights will create a 24-hour railroad quiet zone at the Smith Road crossing.

Cleveland Metroparks officials hope to eventually extend the Lake to Lake Trail to Beyer's Pond at the Big Creek Reservation in Middleburg Heights.

Cuyahoga County will begin soliciting bids for the construction of a wind turbine at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds. The City of Middleburg Heights approved its construction last year.

The Lake to Lake Trail in Middleburg Heights opened to the public last week. The 2.4-mile-long trail connects Lake Abram and Lake Isaac in the Cleveland Metroparks' Big Creek Reservation.

The City of Middleburg Heights will convert a vacant gas station at the corner of Smith and Pearl roads to a new public park. A completion date has not been identified.

Following the failure of the Tri-City Joint Recreation District's levy, its board will "continue to study other options and wait and see what the cities would like to do."

The City of Middleburg Heights withdrew from the regional fire district proposed for southwest Cuyahoga County. A revised proposal reduced the number of participating cities from seven to four due to the City of Berea's earlier withdrawal (which automatically eliminated Olmsted Falls) and a lack of interest from Brooklyn leaders. Officials in Brook Park, Parma, and Parma Heights are reviewing the revised plan.

A proposed wind turbine at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds was unanimously approved by the Middleburg Heights Board of Zoning Appeals and Planning Commission, and now awaits approval from City Council.

If passed by voters in Berea, Brook Park, and Middleburg Heights, the 1 mill continuing levy of Issue 136 will provide funds to construct and maintain new facilities for the Tri-City Senior Center. Many elected officials in Berea and Brook Park are opposed to the issue.

Construction of the Hillcrest Hospital expansion in Mayfield Heights is underway. The work is scheduled to be finished in 2010. In Middleburg Heights, plans were announced for a new 21,100 square foot medical office building next to the Big Creek Surgery Center on Bagley Road.

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.

Commissioner Jones scheduled two public forums to discuss the Medical Mart and convention center plans. The first will be held on September 2 at the Cleveland Heights Community Center, and the second will be on September 4 at the Middleburg Heights Community Center.

Construction of the all-purpose Lake to Lake Trail in Middleburg Heights is continuing, though its expected completion date has been pushed back to spring 2009. The 2.3 mile trail will connect Lakes Abram and Issac.

By a vote of 10-4, the board of the Tri-City Joint Recreation District decided to put a 1 mill, five-year levy on the November ballot in Berea, Brook Park, and Middleburg Heights. The board's president says that it would raise enough money to demolish and replace the existing Tri-City Senior Center and cover operating expenses and programming.

Workers finished excavating a 137-foot-long tunnel last week for the Lake to Lake Trail in Middleburg Heights. The trail should be completed next spring.

The board of the Tri-City Joint Recreation District established a committee that will study the options for a proposed levy that would fund the Tri-City Senior Center.

The Senior Transportation Connection of Cuyahoga County will take over Middleburg Heights' senior transportation operations by April 15. The City anticipates savings of nearly $20,000 a year.

After withdrawing from the Senior Transportation Connection of Cuyahoga County last year, the Cities of Berea, Brook Park, and Strongsville reverted to their former municipal transportation systems. Middleburg Heights, on the other hand, will continue its participation in the Senior Transportation Connection.

The newly formed Tri-City Joint Recreation District will not have a tax levy on the March ballot because the board has not yet held a meeting. Its first meeting will be held on January 14.

A 25,600 square foot medical office building is planned for a 12.4 acre site on Engle Road in Middleburg Heights. Construction is scheduled to begin in February.

Construction of the Lake to Lake Trail in Middleburg Heights has begun, and it should be finished in November 2008. The Cleveland Metroparks project will connect Lake Isaac and Lake Abram. In Brooklyn Heights, the Eagle Glen Connector Bridge in the Village Park was installed. It eventually will be part of a trail linking Brooklyn Heights to the Towpath Trail. In Seven Hills, a new mile-long trail behind City Hall opened to the public.

While voters in Berea and Brook Park approved the creation of the Tri-City Joint Recreation District, some councilmen in the two cities remain vocally opposed to a tax to support the Tri-City Senior Center.

Today's ballot in Berea (Issue 19) and Brook Park (Issue 27) includes a proposal to create a joint recreational taxing district to support the Tri-City Senior Center. Middleburg Heights City Council approved the district last year. Funding for the district is not included in this issue.

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 planned renovations to Southland Shopping Center in Middleburg Heights are well underway. Jo-Ann Fabrics recently opened a new 22,515 square foot store, and the portion of the center slated for a new Giant Eagle supermarket is being demolished.

Funding problems forced the Tri-City Senior Center to suspend operations today, pending the outcome of the November ballot issue. The earliest the center could reopen is in February.

Leaders of the Tri-City Senior Center say that the Center will be forced to close if any of Berea, Brook Park, or Middleburg Heights refuse to help supply short-term operating expenses.

The Tri-City Senior Center continues to experience financial difficulties, and is seeking $60,000 from the cities of Berea, Brook Park, and Middleburg Heights. The Center's proposed joint taxing district issue is now slated for the November ballot.

Middleburg Heights City Council adopted a green building policy that includes a strategy for encouraging developers to incorporate high performance building techniques.

Middleburg Heights officials are reviewing the water main maintenance and no poaching agreement presented by the City of Cleveland, but are apprehensive about adopting it.

The co-owners of Southland Shopping Center in Middleburg Heights are planning major renovations to the shopping center that include new stores for Giant Eagle and Jo-Ann Fabrics.

Three cities may work together to upgrade traffic signals along an 11 mile stretch of Pearl Road. Middleburg Heights and Strongsville have approved the project, but Parma Heights is worried about funding its $42,000 portion of the project. 80% of the $1.9 million project was funded by federal CMAQ dollars.

Middleburg Heights officials surveyed 113 residents about the City's six-month participation in the Senior Transportation Connection of Cuyahoga County. Of the 61 respondents, 30 preferred the new system, 16 preferred the old, and 15 were undecided.

Supporters of the Tri-City Senior Center report that they gathered enough signatures for their initiative petition to appear on the May ballot in Berea and Brook Park. Residents will have the opportunity to vote on the creation of a joint taxing district for the Center.

The initiative petitions for the Tri-City Senior Center ballot issues were short 38 signatures in Brook Park and 108 in Berea. Advocates for the Center have 10 days to collect the needed signatures.