Cleveland Heights City Council meeting highlights 11-2-2015

NOVEMBER 2, 2015

  • Public comment—Noble neighborhood and litter
  • Waterline replacement bid
  • Liquor license transfer
  • Community events
  • Nuisance code changes
  • Nuisance properties
  • Zoning variances
  • CDBG funds
  • HRRC agreement

All council members were present.

Public comment

Noble neighborhood and litter – Resident Gail Larson spoke representing Noble Neighbors, an organization working to improve their neighborhood. Current issues include vacant and neglected homes and litter. Loose Plain Dealer advertisement packets especially concern her. Mayor Dennis Wilcox said that the city manager and law director have taken steps to try to solve this problem all over the city. The Plain Dealer has claimed a first amendment right to distribute this literature.

Waterline replacement bid

A bid for the Blanche Avenue Waterline Replacement Project from Terrance Construction was accepted in the amount of $301,085.80.

Liquor license transfer

The Ohio Department of Liquor Control reported an application made to transfer a permit from The Rib Cage, 2214 Lee Road, to Boiling Seafood, 2201 Lee Road.

Community events

Council Member Jeff Coryell noted several community events including:

  • Theater productions, including Cleveland Heights High School with “Grease,” Dobama Theatre with “The Call,” Ensemble Theatre with “Ages of the Moon,” and Heights Youth Theatre, which just held auditions for “Honk.”
  • A women’s hockey tournament, the Cleveland Classic, at the Community Center.
  • The Heights Main Library fall mega sale.
  • The FutureHeights online auction live at BiddingForGood.com from Nov. 6 through 22.
  • Heights Community Congress’s discussion, “What is Community?” on Thursday, Nov. 12, 7:30—8:30 p.m. at the Lee Road Library.

Nuisance code changes

Council amended the city code chapter for nuisance abatement to correct or eliminate issues in the current code. Mayor Dennis Wilcox thanked Law Director Jim Juliano and his staff for making the ordinance easier to understand and “giving it more teeth.”

Nuisance properties

Council declared six vacant properties to be nuisances and authorized abatement. Except for the last property listed below, funds for demolition will come from the county:

  • 3812 Delmore Road, which has had violation citations since 2009.
  • 2252 Oakdale Road, with numerous violations since 2012.
  • 3554 Randolph Road, with numerous violations since 2009.
  • 926 Helmsdale Road, with numerous violations since 2011. The owners are deceased.
  • 14586 Superior Road, both vacant and uninhabitable, with no water usage since 2004.
  • 1687 Colonial Drive, which is structurally unsound and hazardous due to severe damage from a fire on Sept. 30, 2015. Immediate demolition is requested with hope that the cost of demolition can be recovered from insurance proceeds due to the owner.

Council Member Mary Dunbar noted that about 50 demolitions are expected during 2015, the same as occurred in 2014.

Zoning variances

Council granted zoning variances to:

  • JoAnn Melarango and Stacy G. Miller, 2955 Edgehill Road, to permit a five-foot eight-inch tall wood fence in the front and corner-side-yards along Woodward and Edgehill Roads where a three-foot fence is allowed. This is a high traffic area and the fence would provide increased security and lower noise levels.
  • Eric and Cheryl Lazar, 2691 North Park Boulevard, to permit a house addition to be set back 56 feet instead of 71.9 feet from the Coventry Road right-of-way. This variance is considered to be in keeping with the neighborhood.
  • Imani Temple Ministries, 2475 North Taylor Road, to conditionally permit the former St. Louis Catholic Church rectory to become a lodging house. There are no other economically viable uses for the building, which has been vacant since 2011.

CDBG funds

Council authorized submission of the Community Development Block Grant funding application for the year beginning January 1, 2016. Details may be found at www.clevelandheights.com concerning the plans to disperse $14 million in 2016.

HRRC agreement

Council authorized an agreement with the Home Repair Resource Center (HRRC), a non-profit corporation, for the use of HOME funds to administer its down payment assistance loan program. Up to $10,000 will be made available to loan.

LWV Observer: Blanche Valancy.

Please note: YouTube videos of Cleveland Heights City Council meetings may be accessed at youtube.com/clevelandheightsoh

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 of Greater Cleveland. This disclaimer must accompany any redistribution of these reports.

Read More on Cleveland Heights
Volume 8, Issue 12, Posted 11:38 AM, 11.16.2015