Cleveland Heights City Council meeting highlights11-21-11

NOVEMBER 21, 2011

• Resident concerns on Oakwood
• Zoning variance
• Transportation study
• HOME program extension
• Curfew changes
• Nuisance properties
• Website Redesign Project
• 2012 street resurfacing
• Taylor Road resurfacing

All council members were present.

Resident concerns about Oakwood

Several residents had questions regarding the Oakwood property and expressed a desire for open meetings on the issue. Responding to questions on zoning the law director explained that the property is zoned for single family and First Interstate (the developer) wouldn’t have to come to the city unless they wanted to develop something other than single family homes. Those discussions would be first with the planning department and then with the planning commission. The latter would occur as a public meeting.

Zoning variance

Council granted variances in the zoning code for Dave Pressar (doing business as SP Realty LLC), 3536 Northcliffe Road, relating to construction of a one and one-half car garage.

Transportation study

Council authorized an agreement with Michael Baker Jr. Inc. for a Missing Links Transportation Planning Study to identify improvements needed to facilitate alternate means of transportation from Cleveland Heights to the Greater University Circle Area. The city, RTA, and University Circle Inc. were awarded a grant for this study by the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency. The amount of the contract is $93,750; $75,000 will be covered by the grant and $18,750 will be paid by the city.

HOME program extension

Council amended an agreement with Cuyahoga County for funding through the HOME Program for the city’s homeowner rehabilitation loan programs. The amendment extends the contract period through Dec. 31, 2011.

Curfew changes

In a six-to-one vote, council approved amendments to the minors’ curfew ordinance in order to:

• extend certain curfew provisions to the Severance Business District;
• clarify language, as well as clarify and expand the exceptions to the curfew ordinance.

Council had previously established the 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew for juveniles, unless accompanied by a parent or guardian, in the Coventry and Cedar Lee business districts. That ordinance also allowed for the establishment of temporary special curfew areas. Since its enactment, improvements in the affected areas seem to indicate that the curfew, and its subsequent amendments, have been effective. Given verified reports of problems in the Severance Business District, council is acting to build in exceptions that for a rational approach to the problems. Councilman Ken Montlack noted the useful input from the community and acknowledged that the curfew is not a “silver bullet,” but is one of a group of actions. Earlier in the meeting several residents expressed concern about the curfew limiting the freedoms of children who are not causing problems and saying that problems continue to exist outside the curfew areas. Montlack maintained that safety and security are the most critical obligations of city government. Council Member Bonnie Caplan voted no on this measure saying it is too controlling and too punishing of those young people who are law-abiding. She said she understands the need for safety and security, but wants young people to feel they are growing up in a free society. She would like to see the city explore other alternatives. Mayor Ed Kelley stated that he will support the ordinance because of the responsibility to maintain safety in the city.

Nuisance properties

Council declared two neglected properties on Brunswick Road (house numbers 954 and 956) to be nuisances and authorized abatement. The properties are likely to be razed if repairs are not satisfactorily made.

Website Redesign Project

Council authorized an agreement with Vision Internet for professional services related to completion of the city’s Website Redesign Project. These services include Web hosting services at $250 per month for one year, subject to automatic renewal with a 5 percent increase each year, along with a $3,000 change order requested by the city.

2012 street resurfacing

Council approved an agreement with CT Consultants Inc. for engineering and support services relative to the planning and implementation of the city’s 2012 street resurfacing program.

Taylor Road resurfacing

The Taylor Road resurfacing project is scheduled to begin in April 2012 and will include not only repair and resurfacing of the road from Euclid Heights Boulevard to Bayreuth Road, but also a reduction from seven to five lanes

LWV observer: Katherine Solender.

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.