Lakefront Access For Everyone Anywhere In County

[Jim O'Bryan]

Well if 8 mayors and Armmond Buddish have their way it will be so.

Today at Lakewood Park Woman's Pavilion Michael Dever, Director of Public Works with the county and Lakewood resident brought the grand vision to the public.



The basic thought is to build a break wall from Euclid to Bay Village, with bike pathways and walkways the entire distance. It is a far reaching plan that has many, many hurdles, but it is not hard to see how great it would be to make it happen.


One of the problems pointed out to me by Lakewood's Mayor Mike Summers, "Most of the access to the lake is dangerous with the waves and currents." In fact most of the access to Lake Erie is private and disappearing quickly.


Every city on the lake is dependent upon those pieces of property to retain their value, and as they disappear into the lake, communities look for ways to recoup.



While at the same time, everyone in the county realizes that the lake and access to the lake is one of our greatest assets. Simply put with access to the lake for all, all property values should go up, as they have in Chicago, when they rebuilt their lakefront.

Back to the big plan, when combines with other parks, bikeways, and trail, the entire county comes alive with action and ease getting around. At the end of every county road will be a pier a parking lot and a beach. This means 18 more lake access then we currently have.



Ease for everyone, that is correct the plan even takes into account moving I-90 along the railroad tracks, so that a couple hundred acres become available for development that is currently just sitting or is a parking lot.

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It is a big plan, and it will take some time to pull off, but one has to give them credit for thinking this way.


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[Dan Alaimo]

Oooh, oooh, oooh, I've got a question.
Why did they keep this until election time?

[Jim O'Bryan]

Oooh, oooh, oooh, I've got a question.
Why did they keep this until election time?

Dan

I asked the same question, and also asked whose idea for the Solstice Steps presentation in mid-October?

Both answers came back the same, just made sense.

On the flip side one of the largest hurdles it will have to cross is it needs 100% buy in from all on the lake. Even one or two hold outs could create havoc in the plan.

Another thing I asked County Engineer Mike Dever was what about people that already spent millions on break walls, why would they buy in and give the public access?

His answer was simple, "This will be the tough part, but we will need to address that and other situations."

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[Stan Austin]

OK---- time for the specialist lawyers--- how do riparian rights affect this proposal?

[Jim O'Bryan]

OK---- time for the specialist lawyers--- how do riparian rights affect this proposal?

For those not familiar with what Stan is referencing...

https://senr.osu.edu/sites/senr/files/i ... _Water.pdf

Stan

From what I heard was that every single person must sign off on it, any one or group could kill the entire idea. Euclid has already started to work on a break wall much like the one Governor George Voinovich had built by Collinwood. But the entire plan is much more grandiose that that. Look at the maps look at where I-90 is headed etc.

However the plan, 1/2 already done (except break wall and parks) is huge for the county. I would say it is not even a gamble. The county works to save valuable taxable property, in return lake access, parks, trails and a greener city.

The largest bump are the million dollar properties, and the condos and apartments. The condos in particular represent a real challenge.

Stay tuned.

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[Bridget Conant]

Oh please, the bumbling and corrupt “leadership” in Cuyahoga County will never pull this off. They just don’t have the skills.

Really, the only skill they have is putting their hand out.

[Amy Martin]

Do any of these people realize how many ATTORNEYS own the lakefront properties in question?

This is almost laughable . .

[Dan Alaimo]

So...
A half-dozen municipalities, hundreds of landowners, who knows how many laws and reastrictions. In northeast Ohio where no one agrees on anything besides the Browns. No wonder the timing made sense to them. They'll sound great right before an election and never have to account for the project's inevitable failure.

[Bridget Conant]

So...
A half-dozen municipalities, hundreds of landowners, who knows how many laws and reastrictions. In northeast Ohio where no one agrees on anything besides the Browns. No wonder the timing made sense to them. They'll sound great right before an election and never have to account for the project's inevitable failure.

BINGO!

Makes them look like “big thinkers” just before an election.

[Dan OMalley]

I’m not sure who “them” is, but just for the record no one up for election next month (except me) was at this press conference today nor to my knowledge has been a part of the planning/rollout. This is not some scheme.

It’s true that a lot of work, investment, and persuasion lies ahead if this project is going to go anywhere, but it is worth the effort. They managed to get it done in Euclid, getting property owners to buy in and see the mutual benefit.

[Dan Alaimo]

I’m not sure who “them” is, but just for the record no one up for election next month (except me) was at this press conference today nor to my knowledge has been a part of the planning/rollout. This is not some scheme.

It’s true that a lot of work, investment, and persuasion lies ahead if this project is going to go anywhere, but it is worth the effort. They managed to get it done in Euclid, getting property owners to buy in and see the mutual benefit.

Optics, Dan. Optics.
If indeed this was non-political, then why was it done by politicians in the most political season of the year?
At least that's what jumps out at me.
If not for the benefit of people who were there, then for candidates who are "adjacent" to people who were there.
For example, I just got another mailing from Sam O'Leary claiming credit for things he was mostly not responsible for, at least not directly or exclusively.
And I see another related kind of event scheduled for next week.
It's hard to take these events seriously as non-political in the second half of October in the midst of municipal elections.
If that's the intent, then wait a few weeks when it will have more credibility.

[michael gill]

This is a really good idea.

It is working in Euclid. I think the work on that probably began when former Lakewood planning director Frank Pietravoia was working at the city of Euclid.

It will certainly be a lot of work and face a lot of private property resistance, but the exchange for tax-supported shoreline protection sounds like a good deal.

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2019/07/ ... aking.html

"The idea behind the trail is considered innovative, if not revolutionary, in a region of the Great Lakes with little public access to the shoreline.

In exchange for roughly a dozen easements enabling construction of the trail, the city is reshaping the shoreline to prevent erosion that’s chewing away a foot of land per year, threatening homes and apartment buildings.

Krysta Pesarchick, an urban designer and city planner who attended the tour, said: “The fact they were able to get all of the individual property owners on board is kind of groundbreaking.”
...
"After nearly a decade of planning, City Council voted last year to spend $6.8 million to start the project. Of that amount, $4 million is coming from Cuyahoga County Casino Revenue Funds, including a $2 million non-forgivable loan.

The rest is funded through assorted government and foundation grants, plus a $2 million city bond backed by increased property tax revenue expected within the “Harbortown” Tax Increment Financing area adjacent to the lakefront."

[Amy Martin]

I'm not saying that it's a bad idea, I just don't think that 100% of lakefront property owners will get on the bandwagon. Some of these folks have invested millions of dollars to build elaborate stairs with levels of decking from their property to the shoreline. Does anyone honestly think these people will allow a walkway/bike path to be built adjacent to their investments?

I can't tell from the renderings, but how will this affect the Lagoons? Surely those residents - with their power, money and influence - will find a way to keep this out of their neighborhood. . . .they don't even want Lakewood residents to access their oasis, let alone everyone in Cuyahoga County.

[Jim O'Bryan]

I'm not saying that it's a bad idea, I just don't think that 100% of lakefront property owners will get on the bandwagon. Some of these folks have invested millions of dollars to build elaborate stairs with levels of decking from their property to the shoreline. Does anyone honestly think these people will allow a walkway/bike path to be built adjacent to their investments?

I can't tell from the renderings, but how will this affect the Lagoons? Surely those residents - with their power, money and influence - will find a way to keep this out of their neighborhood. . . .they don't even want Lakewood residents to access their oasis, let alone everyone in Cuyahoga County.

Amy


I was speaking with the Director of Public Works on this plan, Mike Dever a Lakewood resident. Over the two hours that we talked he never said it was happening tomorrow. Actually he was saying the complete opposite. Everything is against this working. His quote was 1 resident could hold the entire thing up. Speaking with Euclid's Mayor Holzheimer Gail, a longtime friend, has been working on a similar plan, much like Collinwood's. She said the biggest hold out were the condos. That everyone else is tired of fighting the lake.

There are some abstract thoughts that reasoned out can be understood. Saving property values for cities that depend on them. Complete re-develoment of everything north of Lakeside , with a chance for a Downtown that is on par with Chicago. Matter of fact one of the architects of the latest Chicago lakefront redevelops is handing part of this.

Back to the announcement, The grant they applied for, for the many studies needed will not even be available for 12 months. The i-90 part of the final stage will not be in my lifetime. As I put in my report, yesterday was a small step on a long journey. The good news, all of the lakefront mayors are onboard. All Cleveland council people with lakefront are on boar. Metro Parks on on board, and it would seem that this would be a better use of Mayor's strength, than building strip malls, errrrrr multi-use strip malls.

I have to say more than one Lakewoodite noticed, "Mid-October announcement great plans with little chance of success, let's use the Solstice Steps" aka the most political monument in Lakewood. I asked the person who planned the entire event, they assured me they chose the Solstice Steps because it shows spending money and effort on the lakefront pay off. As he lives across the street from it, I believe it was more for that than any political reason.

It is funny, they also announced the last leg of the towpath trail will be completed this month. I remember when it was announced, no one thought it was possible, yet today it is done.


Senator Sherrod Brown and myself at the groundbreaking of the Towpath Trail.

[Brian Essi]