Cuyahoga County Planning Commission Weblog

Parma Heights City Council unanimously passed a resolution in support of the Big Creek Watershed Balanced Growth Plan, a document completed earlier this year by the Cuyahoga River Community Planning Organization.

Update: Parma City Council also passed a resolution of support. The plan recommends preserving an 168-acre greenspace in southern Parma.

Update 2: It also makes recommendations for the Brook Park portion of the watershed.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed its environmental investigation of the site of the former Nike missile base on the Tri-C West campus in Parma Heights. The proposed plan recommends (PDF) no further action at the location. A public meeting was held on Tuesday, and the public comment period is open until September 4.

Keeping the aging commercial spaces along Pearl Road occupied poses a challenge for Parma Heights leaders.

Parma Heights City Council rejected a proposed tax abatement for the Bennington Village townhouses on Stumph Road. Developer Tony George was seeking a 10-year, 100% tax abatement.

The owner of Bennington Village in Parma Heights is renovating the condominiums for sale, and has requested a 10-year tax abatement for the property. City Council is considering the implications of his proposal.

Parma and Parma Heights leaders continue to work with Baldwin-Wallace College on a proposal to combine the cities' fire departments. The College is expected to present a recommendation within 30 days.

The McGill Property Group says that it is unable to reimburse the City of Parma Heights for the $133,000 in fees it incurred as part of the Greenbrier Crossing development. The City will attempt to recoup the money in court, and will also proceed with property maintenance violation charges.

McGill Properties wants to restructure the tax increment financing agreement for its Greenbriar Crossing development in Parma Heights, without which the company may be unable to proceed with construction.

Although the proposed regional fire district has dwindled from seven cities to two, Mayor Zanotti of Parma Heights intends to proceed with the concept. He hopes that Parma and Parma Heights will be ready to implement the plan in January 2010.

The proposed seven-city joint fire district is down to two communities now that Brook Park has pulled out of the the study. The Cities of Parma and Parma Heights are the only remaining participants.

Engineering and environmental studies are being prepared for the proposed Hemlock Trail through Independence. In Parma Heights, construction of a walking trail behind Cassidy Theatre is nearly complete.

This year, 11 businesses in Parma Heights participated in a storefront renovation program offered by the First Suburbs Development Council.

Parma Heights City Council passed a tax increment financing agreement for the Greenbriar Crossing development at West 130th Street and Pearl Road. The agreement also requires the approval of the Parma Board of Education.

Parma Heights City Council will be asked to approve a tax increment financing package for the Greenbrier Crossing development at Pearl Road and West 130th Street.

The City of Parma Heights is suing Matt McGill of the McGill Property Group over the poor conditions at the site of the planned Greenbriar Crossing development.

In addition to the other projects mentioned earlier, the Ohio capital budget bill includes $500,000 for lakefront development in Euclid.

Update: the bill also includes $150,000 for the renovation of League Park, $100,000 for the redesign of the Euclid Beach Pier, and $15,000 for the completion of a walking trail in Parma Heights.

Parma Heights officials are unhappy with the condition of the Greenbrier Crossing construction site at Pearl Road and West 130th Street.

The City of Parma Heights will build a walking path in Greenbrier Commons. The construction, funded by a $100,000 Community Development Block Grant, should be completed by mid-June.

Demolition of the partially-built Cornerstone project at Pearl Road and West 130th Street is underway. Work should be completed in 30 to 40 days. Parma Heights City Council approved the preliminary development plan for Greenbriar Crossing, which will be built on the site, and the City's Planning Commission will review the final development plan this week.

Neighbors of Greenbriar Crossing in Parma Heights are concerned that the proposed residential and retail development will increase runoff and traffic problems. The project is under review by the Parma Heights Planning Commission.

Several municipalities in Cuyahoga County are attempting to address stormwater issues in different ways:

• North Royalton organized a citizen's committee that recommended several strategies, including infrastructure improvements and floodplain expansions.
• Parma Heights is focusing on sewer maintenance.
• Broadview Heights City Council approved a funding mechanism for stormwater infrastructure maintenance and repair.

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.

Ryan Homes will build 147 houses and condominiums at Greenbriar Crossing, the former Cornerstone development in Parma Heights now owned by the McGill Property Group. McGill will also renovate the existing 150,000 square foot retail building on the site.

Mayor DePiero of Parma feels that the Census Bureau population estimates overstate the City's loss of population.

Demolition of the partially-constructed Cornerstone development is underway in Parma Heights. The McGill Property Group has not submitted final plans for the development of the site at Pearl Road and West 130th Street, but preliminary plans call for up to 150 residential units in single family homes and townhouses and a small amount of retail.

Parma Heights leaders decided to participate in the three-city Pearl Road traffic signalization project.

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.

Mayor Zanotti of Parma Heights wants City Council to pass legislation that would allow the City to repair the exteriors of abandoned homes that are in foreclosure. The cost of repairs would be assessed to the property owner.