Cleveland Heights City Council meeting highlights [online 11-7-11]
NOVEMBER 7, 2011
- Resident satisfied with city action
- Culvert and bridge inspections
- Zoning appeals
- Home rehabilitation
- HOME consortium
- Heights Dental Group on Lee Road
- CDBG and HOME programs at risk
- Jail services agreement
- County health services agreement
- Curfew amendment
- Lung cancer awareness month
- School sports and events praised
All council members were present.
Resident satisfied with city action
A Yorkshire Road resident expressed the gratitude of her neighborhood for the prompt response of council, the police department, and city staff to disturbances and a difficult tenant at Cottage Grove Avenue and Yorkshire Road. She described the satisfactory outcome and the subsequent neighborhood meeting and e-mail group that developed from this episode.
Culvert and bridge inspections
Council approved an agreement, not to exceed $8,125, with MacKay Engineering and Survey Company for inspection of city culverts and completion of ODOT Bridge inspection reports and a bridge inventory form. Any culvert with water running through it is technically considered a bridge.
Zoning appeals
Council approved zoning variances to:
- Chad Kertesz, 3405 Fairmount Boulevard/2666 Shaker Road, for a four-foot tall fence in the front and corner-side-yards, where the maximum height is three feet. This is similar to other variances that have been granted for privacy and security in corner-side-yard locations.
- LaMar Peters, 3805 Berkeley Avenue, to allow a one-story sunroom addition that will cause the garage to cover more of the rear yard than is permissible. The lot is exceptionally narrow and the current layout of the house offers no other location for a sunroom and a sunroom is a customary feature of Cleveland Heights houses.
Home rehabilitation
Council authorized the sale of two properties including:
- The house at 3979 Bluestone Road, the seventh to be rehabilitated with Neighborhood Stabilization funds, for $76,000 to a qualified buyer who also qualified for $5,000 in Down Payment Assistance funding.
- City-owned 3144-3146 East Derbyshire Road, which was rehabilitated with Community Development Block Grant funds, for $109,000 to owner/occupants.
HOME consortium
Council authorized a consortium agreement with the Cuyahoga County Executive to receive funding, at a maximum of $16,156, for Home Investment Partnership (HOME) Program administrative costs. The consortium, which includes the county, and the cities of Cleveland Heights, Lakewood, Euclid, and Parma, will pursue federal funding for housing activities.
Heights Dental Group on Lee Road
Council approved a resolution supporting the application of Heights Dental Group to the Cuyahoga County Brownfield Redevelopment Fund Community Assessment Initiative for an environmental assessment of 2323 Lee Road. This site was formerly a gas station, later an urgent care center. The prospective purchaser is desirable because it will increase the value of the property after it is redeveloped, and generate jobs, property taxes, and income taxes.
CDBG and HOME programs at risk
Council passed a resolution urging members of the United States House of Representatives and Senate to continue funding the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) and the Home Investment Partnership (HOME) at a sustainable level necessary to complete and continue the community housing improvement and investment strategies. Communities around the nation are warning Congress that severe cuts in the programs have ramifications for employment, unemployment, crime, safety and other social and community values. The resolution will be sent to Senators Brown and Portman, Representative Fudge and the majority and minority leaders of both houses.
Jail services agreement
Council approved an agreement with the city of Bedford Heights for jail services to be used when Cleveland Heights’s jail is overcrowded or a person is confined for more than 12 days, the limit for which the Cleveland Heights Jail is state accredited. The fee will be $75.00 per day.
County health services agreement
Council authorized the annual renewal of an agreement with the Cuyahoga County General Health District for public health services. The fee will be $177,105.
Curfew amendment
An amendment to the curfew law, presented on first reading, would extend the 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew to the Severance business district. Council is satisfied that the curfew has been helpful. They will keep the specified exceptions.
Lung cancer awareness month
Council passed a resolution proclaiming November 2011 as Lung Cancer Awareness Month.
School sports and events praised
Mayor Kelley congratulated student athletes, especially the Cleveland Heights High School (CHHS) football team and coach, the CHHS soccer teams, the Beaumont cross country and volleyball teams, and the Communion of Saints School City Championship football team. He praised the football playoff game and “The Sound of Music” at Cleveland Heights High Sschool and commented that these occurred with no incidents at all and were very good for local merchants.
LWV observer: Blanche Valancy
These meeting summaries are abstracted from LWV observers’ written reports. The summaries have been edited and prepared by Anne McFarland, Charlene Morse and Maryann Barnes. To receive e-mail postings of full reports, send an e-mail to mbarnes9515@gmail.com or join through Google groups using “lwv-chuh observer reports” as a search phrase.
These reports contain member observation and selected highlights of public meetings and are not official statements of the Heights Chapter of the League of Women Voters Cuyahoga Area. This disclaimer must accompany any redistribution of these reports.