Planning Commission

MINUTES CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL PLANNING COMMISSION TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2016 AT 6:00 PM CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL BUILDING 190 CHURCH STREET NE The regular meeting of the Cleveland Municipal Planning Commission was called to order at 6:00 P.M. by Dee Burris, Chairman. Members present included Walt Vineyard, Gary Dennis, Larry Presswood, George Poe, Dee Burris, Maryl Elliott, and Tricia Pennington. Members absent were Yvonne Cannon and Clarke Taylor. Legal Counsel present was John Kimball, Attorney for the City of Cleveland. The staff present included Greg Thomas, Planning Director, Melinda Carroll, Assistant City Manager, Teresa Torbett, CBDG/Grant Coordinator, and Darla Jenkins, Executive Secretary. Others present were Roslan Amin and Bob Bhagnt of the Dynamic Group, Dustin Hall of Copp Engineering Group, Chris Webb, Kurt Teasley, and James Tyson of EMJ Construction, Joyanna Love of The Cleveland Daily Banner, and Ava Castello. The minutes of the February 16, 2016 were presented for approval. Maryl Elliott made a motion to approve and George Poe seconded the motion. A vote of 7-0 passed the motion. There were no Public Hearings. There was no Consent Agenda. There was no Old Business. In New Business, a. Request by Ed Brown for application of infill setbacks for a property located at 2020 Eugenia Ave (pg1). Tricia Pennington made a motion for approval and Walt Vineyard seconded the motion. A vote of 7-0 passed the motion. b. Request by Ava Castello to rezone approximately 2.1 acres, more or less, from R1 Single Family Residential Zoning District to PI Professional Institutional  Zoning District located at 4020 North Ocoee St (Tax Map 42G Group C Parcel 36.00) (pg3). Tricia Pennington made a motion to recommend conditional approval of the rezoning subject to proof by the applicant or their counsel that in fact the property is not deed restricted against the use. Otherwise our recommendation would be that it not be rezoned because it’s not city council policy. George Poe seconded the motion. A vote of 7-0 passed the motion. Dee Burris disclosed that he owned property next door. c. Request from Dynamic Group for site plan approval of a proposed hotel within the Interstate Gateway Corridor Overlay Zoning District located on Bernham Dr (Tax Map 33L Group C Parcel 16.00) (pg6). George Poe made a motion to approve and Gary Dennis seconded the motion. The commission vote unanimously to approve the motion. d. Consideration of an amendment to the zoning ordinance concerning the use and operation of Recycling Collection Centers, Salvage Yards and the like within the Commercial Highway zoning district (pg9). This item was postponed. e. Consideration of a rezoning of approximately 6 acres of properties located on Victory Dr, Phillips St and Jacobs Ave from R4 Mobile Home Park Zoning District to MU Mixed Use- POSTPONED. This item was postponed. There was not a Chairman’s Report. In the Director’s Report, Thriving Communities Initiative Greg Thomas updated the commission on the Thrive 2055 endeavor. The City of Cleveland had an opportunity to apply for a grant through the Lyndhurst Foundation. It’s basically arts as a tool for economic and tourism development. The City of Cleveland was selected to move forward with several other communities with this grant. The Back Alley Gallery was a test site to see how it might go. Fifty to sixty people show up at this event and provided lots of positive comments. Several people have been working on this project. It’s very unusual that you are invited in on the front end. There’s a consulting team in arts and economic development, marketing, etc., that works with the group to actually create an ideal and to develop that idea. Fair Housing Training Teresa Torbett presented the Fair Housing training and how it works into the Community Development Block Grant. This also served as citizen’s participation process for her program. The federal government is trying to make more people more aware and provide avenues to improve affordable fair housing. Also, Teresa Torbett spoke of the purposes of Fair Housing choices and impediments. One of the greatest was the lack of public awareness in public housing laws. Landlord and tenant training has been provided so renters will have more information on their rights and landlords will be better stewards in providing good housing. More information is on the city’s CDBG website. Teresa Torbett asked for the commission’s feedback on the creation of a taskforce that meets about four times a year made up of city officials, financial institutions, real estate markets, builders, nonprofits, and citizens to brainstorm and come up with ideas on how to get this information out to the public better. Dee Burris stated the streets needed repairs in the southeast Cleveland area. The addition of curbs and sidewalks were need, too. Drainage issues also needed to be addressed. The energy efficient water heaters installation is hard to meet city requirements as the rooms are not large enough. Greg Thomas stated the Multi Model Access program has a project under design now that will close the side walk gap between Treasury Drive, all the way down Wildwood Avenue and then up 9th Street to Chippewah Avenue. This will include a couple of bus stop with shelters. Sidewalks will be improved up Chippewah to the Old Blythe School. George Poe stated he was involved with various boards such as Cleveland/Bradley Services which assists citizens. There is only so much funding. When their funding was depleted, could these groups forward the citizens to the CDBG. Gary Dennis stated they needed to eliminate the 11% of unoccupied housing. There are too many people living in hotels, such as extended stays, that are caught in a cycle. Maryl Elliott stated, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease”. So as far as the roads and sidewalks in south Cleveland, She believes the people in north Cleveland are more apt to call the city with complaints about repairs. She also stated the south Cleveland residents are tax payers too and they can call for assistance. The people in the lower income neighborhoods should be encourage to continue to call. Sometimes it takes some time to get things resolved. Last, the local projects funded by CBDG included drainage improvements, recreation improvements, sidewalks, lot clearance, property acquisition (some donated to Habitat for Humanity), down payment assistance, infrastructure for Century Village and a code enforcement inspector. The meeting adjourned at 6.56 P.M.