Cuyahoga County Planning Commission Weblog

Parma City Council approved a rezoning that will allow the construction of the planned senior housing development on State Road. It's the first time the City has used its new mixed-use zoning classification.

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.

The owner of the assisted-living Mount Alverna Villages on State Road in Parma wants to build a senior housing development adjacent to it.

Five ordinances introduced in Parma City Council were developed by students in the sustainability program at Baldwin-Wallace College. The legislation would establish a mixed-use zoning classification, legalize rain barrel installation, permit green roofs, allow bicyclists to use the sidewalks in some areas, and enhance recycling in City buildings.

Leaders in Parma are considering the creation of a mixed-use zoning category. It is one of several recommendations from students in the sustainability program at Baldwin-Wallace College.

Citing a lack of support from residents, the City of Parma canceled the planning study for the proposed Avon-Juniper Multipurpose Trail.

Trail projects in Brooklyn Heights and Cuyahoga Heights were among the 15 Ohio projects awarded grants through the Recreational Trails Program.

Update: one of the planned trails is a portion of the West Creek Greenway and would connect the Henninger House in Parma to Brooklyn Heights Village Park.

URS Corp. prepared a feasibility study for the proposed Avon-Juniper Multipurpose Trail in southern Parma. It identified several possible routes for a trail that would connect the Big Creek Reservation with the West Creek Reservation. However, many residents object to the concepts because of worries about privacy and crime.

The City of Parma and the West Creek Preservation Committee will acquire and preserve a 2.78-acre wooded lot at Brookdale Avenue and West 16th Street. $63,000 of the $95,000 purchase price was provided by the Clean Ohio Fund.

Update: a Parma Sun Post editorial concluded that the "partners certainly are demonstrating their commitment to preserving natural green space, something that future generations of residents will appreciate for many years to come."

On September 19, the City of Parma will officially dedicate its Ukrainian Village along State Road with a day-long celebration.

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 Ohio Department of Natural Resources awarded a $27,000 grant to the City of Parma from the federal Land & Water Conservation Fund. It will be used for the acquisition of a 2.85-acre riparian site near West Creek.

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.

The Veterans Administration announced plans to build an outpatient health clinic on the site of the Brookpark Golf Driving Range on Brookpark Road in Parma. Construction of the $7 million, 67,000-square foot building is expected to begin in the spring and end in mid-2010. The Brecksville outpatient clinic will be closed.

Crain's Cleveland Business looked at the storefront renovation programs in Cleveland Heights, Gates Mills, and Parma.

The AIA Sustainable Design Team's visit to Parma last week culminated in a public meeting where they presented information about their process, the City's assets and challenges, and their suggestions (PDF, 13.2 MB). The team will prepare a final report for the City.

The Parma Sun Post reports on the public meetings held earlier this week with the AIA Sustainable Design Assessment Team.

Architects and planners from the AIA's Center for Communities by Design will return to Parma next week for a series of round-table visioning sessions about practical sustainability ideas. The public is invited to participate (PDF) in the focus groups and town hall meetings (MS Word). The Sustainable Design Assessment Team will present their recommendations at a meeting on October 22.

Parma City Council adopted the Ukrainian Village concept for a corridor along State 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.

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.

Members of an AIA Sustainable Design Assessment Team visited Parma last week to learn more about the City. Earlier this year, Parma was selected as one of ten cities to receive technical assistance. The team will return in October to share their recommendations.

In a class called "Parma 2.0: Re-thinking the Suburb", 15 Kent State graduate architecture students envisioned creative ways of remaking the aging inner-ring suburb. Their projects are on display at Parmatown Mall.

(via ClevelandDesignCity)

The City of Parma was one of ten cities selected by the American Institute of Architects to receive technical assistance under the Sustainable Design Assessment Team program in 2008. The City intends to develop a sustainability plan.

(via Blog on the City)

Parma officials decided to invest at least $240,000 over the next three years to draw attention to the Ukrainian Village that has emerged along State Road.

Work on the West Creek Confluence Project in Independence is scheduled to begin this summer, and the restoration of the site should be completed by 2010. The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District is also involved in several related projects in Parma and Brooklyn Heights.

The City of Parma will study the concept of creating a Ukrainian Village along State Road between Brookpark Road and Grantwood Avenue.

Consultants for the City of Parma presented six options for improving the Day Drive corridor near Parmatown Mall.

A Plain Dealer editorial says that the Strickland administration "must commit the resources to back up its rhetoric about urban areas," and in a second editorial, says that Parma would be wise to enact a proposed assessment to maintain the City's infrastructure.

The City of Parma will host a public meeting on February 14 as part of the Day Drive Corridor Enhancement Study.

The West Creek Preservation Committee recently purchased five acres of forested land off of Parkhaven Drive in Parma. The area will be leased to the Cleveland Metroparks and used to expand the West Creek Reservation.

The City of Parma is working to redevelop vacant retail properties, including the planned construction of a new Giant Eagle on the site of former Tops and Circuit City stores on Day Drive.

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.

In multipurpose trail news:

• Cleveland Councilman Brian Cummins says the construction of the Treadway Greenway Connector trail could be completed as soon as the end of fall.
• At a meeting last week, consultants presented plans for a trail through the West Creek Greenway that would link Brooklyn Heights, Independence, Parma and Seven Hills with the West Creek Reservation and the Towpath Trail. A pair of public meetings will be held early next month.
• In Shaker Heights, City Council is scheduled to vote on the planned Shaker Boulevard median trail on Monday.

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

The West Creek Greenway alignment plan will be unveiled at a meeting today in Parma.

The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District committed $3 million for the construction of the planned Watershed Stewardship Center at the Cleveland Metroparks West Creek Reservation in Parma. Meanwhile, the City of Independence purchased the former Seaman's Furniture Warehouse at the confluence of West Creek and the Cuyahoga River. The structures on the 10 acre property will be demolished and the site will be used for parkland, open space, riparian restoration, and flood control.

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 West Creek Preservation Committee and the City of Parma received a $15,000 grant from the Ohio Historical Society for the continued restoration of the historic Henninger House on Broadview Road.

Last week, representatives from the Global Country of World Peace unveiled plans for a $7 million "Peace Palace" at the intersection of Huffman and Stumph Roads in Parma. The site is currently zoned for retail.

A Plain Dealer editorial urges Cleveland City Council to maintain its current tax abatement rules. Meanwhile, officials in Parma are trying to obtain financial compensation from a company that reneged on a tax abatement agreement by closing.

Some people in Northeast Ohio are leery of Maharishi's plans to build Peace Palaces in Brecksville, Mayfield Heights, Parma, and Strongsville because of poor experiences with properties he formerly owned in North Randall and Avon Lake.