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Record of Proceedings

Cleveland City Council Committee Meeting: Fairview Hospital Rezoning & Parking Safety - August 12, 2025

City Council Meetings — Tuesday, August 12, 2025
BodyCleveland, Ohio
SessionCity Council Meetings
DateTuesday, August 12, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:01:55

Transcript — Verbatim
9:25

Here.

9:33

Here.

9:35

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

9:36

We're gonna jump right into it.

9:37

Good morning, everyone.

9:39

Or just number eight sixty dash twenty twenty-five by council member Slife, an ordinance changing the use area and height districts of parts of the land at north and south of Lorraine Avenue West of Rocky River Drive map changed two six seven eye.

10:00

How about you?

10:01

Good.

10:07

I'll make sure you don't disappear today.

10:13

Yes, yes.

10:16

All right, the floor is yours.

10:18

All right.

10:18

Good morning, Chair.

10:19

Good morning, committee.

10:20

Shannon Leonard, Chief Zoning Administrator.

10:23

This is map change 2679.

10:26

And as you stated, it's changing the use area and height districts of parcels of land north and south of Lorraine between Rocky River Drive and Valley Parkway.

10:44

It's to ensure future development meets the community's needs, and it's to align the institutional investments with the proper zoning that complements the residential and mixed use character of the neighborhood.

10:54

And I'll talk a little bit about that.

10:56

So what you can see here is the current zoning of the area.

10:59

It's a mix of single family A1, multifamily C1, local retail C1, and C4.

11:05

So what you see on the southern campus of Fairview Hospital is C4.

11:10

Four height district is for 250 feet.

11:13

And then the lines, yes.

11:14

Can you speak directly to the mic as well?

11:17

I'm so sorry.

11:18

Yes.

11:19

Let me turn this a little bit.

11:20

Okay.

11:21

Is that better?

11:22

Okay.

11:23

The lines that you see running along Lorraine, the brown line is a 15-foot specific map setback.

11:30

And then the yellow line that you see also running along Lorraine is the current pedestrian retail overlay district.

11:39

This is a current context.

11:40

You'll see the Fairview Hospital to the south and to the north of the site of Long Lorraine between the Valley and Rocky River Drive.

11:47

You also see the shopping center at the corner of Rocky River and Lorraine.

11:51

And then you'll see a variety of mixed-use businesses the west of, I mean east of uh the hospital campus, as well as a few parking lots uh in residential dis uh neighborhoods.

12:05

Uh the proposed zoning here, as we stated before, is to really consolidate a lot of the institutional uses that are actually happening into one district, uh, which is different height districts.

12:15

Um, and that's really to complement as it moves down through closer to Rocky River to bring the height back down to match the context of the residential to the north and to the south.

12:25

Uh the institutional research uh that you're seeing being proposed here on the north side of the campus.

12:31

Um, you'll notice that it was split zone multifamily and single family, uh, but the entire parcel is institutional.

12:38

Uh, and so the proposal is to change it to institutional research D3.

12:42

Um the south side of the campus is local retail C4.

12:46

So four height district allows up to 250 feet, whereas the three only allows up to 115 feet.

12:53

Uh on the south side of campus, they are bringing down that parking garage, um, which was really the impetus, I believe, of the north side, as well as the expansion of the uh cancer center on the north side um of Lorraine here.

13:07

Uh so the institutional research will allow uh well continue to allow multi-residential family buildings as well as educational medical developments, research facilities, professional offices, uh, museums, libraries, schools, places of worship, parks, playgrounds, and play fields as well.

13:24

Uh what you see here currently is the context along this area of the institutional research that's being proposed on the north and south side, and really to consolidate those districts.

13:33

Uh on the northwestern view of Lorraine at West 178th Street, you can see the current medical building.

13:39

Uh, then you also see the southwestern view, Lorraine uh looking down at West 179th Street.

13:46

On the lower uh building here, the uh picture here, you see the northwestern view is uh taking a picture from Lorraine at West 179th, and then in the far uh right-hand corner, you'll see the western view at 179th.

14:00

Uh the next section that you see is in the light blue that we're proposing.

14:04

That's currently a zoned local retail C1.

14:07

We are proposing institutional research D2.

14:09

So this brings the height down from that three uh height district down to 60 feet.

14:14

That really allows for mixed use um buildings as well as multifamily residential, any type of educational medical developments, um, really offices and other um entities that would support the campus that's being located here, as well as allow for uh local and uh mixed-use neighborhood amenities uh that will uh cater to the neighborhood.

14:38

Uh again, this is just giving context of this section that's being proposed to be rezoned uh to Insta Institutional Research D2.

14:45

You looking down Lorraine, the northwestern view, um at West 178th Street, uh on at all corners.

14:53

So northwestern view, uh where you can see the employee parking at the old used car lot, uh, and then the southwestern view is also currently employee parking.

15:04

The next proposed uh rezoning here is uh where you have the pedestrian retail overlay, and that's really local retail D2.

15:12

Um, and again, that allows for residential uses of all types, but it also allows for food stores, shoe stores, uh drug stores, eating places, professional offices, really neighborhood amenities, um, any type of um uses that really are complementary to the neighborhood and not conflicting with the neighborhood.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety██████████████████████████26%
Zoning Regulations████████████12%
Historic Preservation████████████12%
Public Engagement█████████9%
Zoning And Land Use████████8%
Procedural███████7%
Public Works██████6%
Community Engagement█████5%
Public Health Awareness█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Cleveland City Council Committee Meeting: Fairview Hospital Rezoning, Parking Safety, Landmark Designation, and Development Loans - August 12, 2025

The committee met on August 12, 2025, to consider several ordinances, including a controversial rezoning for Fairview Hospital expansion, updates to paid parking facility regulations, a landmark designation for a historic church, a development loan for a mixed-use building in Glenville, and a contract amendment for planning services. Public testimony was heard on the hospital rezoning.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Douglas Bayard (West 179th Street resident, 30+ years) opposed the rezoning of formerly residential parcels along West 179th Street, requesting that Board of Zoning Appeals protections be upheld and that the street not become a driveway for a 995-car parking garage. He expressed concern about traffic, property values, and neighborhood vitality.
  • George Gorzay (West 179th Street homeowner and business owner) opposed the project, citing inadequate notice, unaddressed grievances, lack of a comprehensive traffic study, and the potential for traffic to overwhelm residential streets. He asked the committee to postpone the vote, require a full traffic analysis, contain hospital traffic on hospital property, and establish a community benefits agreement.
  • Barbara Haas (West 179th Street resident) opposed the project, stating it would destroy the tranquility and quality of life in the neighborhood, and asked the city to protect the residential enclave.

Discussion Items

  • Ordinance 860-2025 – Fairview Hospital Rezoning (Map Change 2679)

    • Presented by Shannon Leonard, Chief Zoning Administrator, as a proposal to consolidate institutional uses into one district with varying height districts to align with neighborhood context. The plan includes rezoning parcels north and south of Lorain Avenue between Rocky River Drive and Valley Parkway to institutional research and local retail districts, with height reductions from 250 feet to 115 or 60 feet.
    • Councilman Slife explained the background: the hospital needs to replace aging infrastructure, and the project is staged to maintain operations. He noted the city's traffic engineer determined the streets can handle traffic, and a barricade may be installed on West 179th Street to prevent cut-through traffic. He argued the rezoning gives the city more control via a required master plan.
    • A technical amendment was made to correct a missing reference to the attached map in Section 3. The amendment passed.
    • Committee questions focused on traffic impacts, the status of demolished homes on the east side of West 179th Street, and the proposed green buffer.
    • The ordinance was approved as amended.

  • Ordinance 726-2025 – Paid Parking Facility Safety Amendments

    • Presented by Lucas Reeve, Senior Advisor in the Mayor's Office, as a set of updates to improve safety in paid parking lots citywide, with enhanced security measures for downtown districts. Key provisions include: increased lighting (1 foot-candle on walking surfaces, shielded), requirement for certificate of occupancy with license applications, and a new process for downtown operators to submit a security measures plan reviewed by Cleveland Division of Police. After three nuisance/criminal violations in six months, operators may need to submit an updated plan.
    • Amendments introduced: replacing “adequate” with “reasonable” regarding security measures, and requiring the Director of Public Safety to report to council after one year (changed from two years) on the program's effectiveness. These amendments were adopted.
    • Discussion included concerns about citywide application (not just downtown), grandfathering of existing lots, and differentiation of nuisance calls. Councilman McCormick and Councilwoman Santana supported the measure, with a commitment to later expand to residential areas.
    • The ordinance was approved as amended.

  • Ordinance 818-2025 – Greater New Calvary Baptist Church (Former First Congregational Church of Collinwood) Landmark Designation

    • Presented by Carl Runges, Cleveland Landmarks staff, detailing the church's history from 1891 construction, its role in the community through civil rights era and neighborhood change, and its continued service (food pantry, youth programs).
    • The pastor and congregation members expressed gratitude. Councilman McCormick praised the church's beauty and spirit.
    • No questions; the ordinance was approved.

  • Ordinance 819-2025 – Famicos Foundation Loan for 1355 East 105th Street

    • Presented by Director and Mr. Annalifo of Famicos Foundation, this $500,000 forgivable loan (from Neighborhood Transformation Initiative funds) will help rehabilitate a mixed-use building with four apartments and a ground-floor commercial space (white-box). The project totals $1.55 million and will create four jobs. The building is the last remaining storefront on that block, and development aims to spur further investment in the Glenville corridor.
    • Councilman Harsh asked about apartment sizes (~1,300 sq ft).
    • The ordinance was approved.

  • Ordinance 800-2025 – Stantec Consulting Contract Amendment

    • Presented by Assistant Director Fields and Director, this amendment adds $100,000 to the on-call planning services contract with Stantec, as requested by council during budget season. The funds were budgeted for 2025.
    • The director was asked to provide a list of projects Stantec has worked on for the committee.
    • The ordinance was approved.

Key Outcomes

  • Ordinance 860-2025 (Fairview Hospital rezoning) was approved with a technical amendment.
  • Ordinance 726-2025 (parking lot safety) was approved with amendments to replace “adequate” with “reasonable” and require a one-year report from the Director of Public Safety; renumbering of sections.
  • Ordinance 818-2025 (Greater New Calvary Baptist Church landmark designation) was approved.
  • Ordinance 819-2025 (Famicos Foundation loan for 1355 E 105th St) was approved.
  • Ordinance 800-2025 (Stantec contract amendment) was approved.
  • The committee directed city planning to provide a list of Stantec projects to the full council.

Meeting Transcript

Here. Here. Thank you, Madam Clerk. We're gonna jump right into it. Good morning, everyone. Or just number eight sixty dash twenty twenty-five by council member Slife, an ordinance changing the use area and height districts of parts of the land at north and south of Lorraine Avenue West of Rocky River Drive map changed two six seven eye. How about you? Good. I'll make sure you don't disappear today. Yes, yes. All right, the floor is yours. All right. Good morning, Chair. Good morning, committee. Shannon Leonard, Chief Zoning Administrator. This is map change 2679. And as you stated, it's changing the use area and height districts of parcels of land north and south of Lorraine between Rocky River Drive and Valley Parkway. It's to ensure future development meets the community's needs, and it's to align the institutional investments with the proper zoning that complements the residential and mixed use character of the neighborhood. And I'll talk a little bit about that. So what you can see here is the current zoning of the area. It's a mix of single family A1, multifamily C1, local retail C1, and C4. So what you see on the southern campus of Fairview Hospital is C4. Four height district is for 250 feet. And then the lines, yes. Can you speak directly to the mic as well? I'm so sorry. Yes. Let me turn this a little bit. Okay. Is that better? Okay. The lines that you see running along Lorraine, the brown line is a 15-foot specific map setback. And then the yellow line that you see also running along Lorraine is the current pedestrian retail overlay district. This is a current context. You'll see the Fairview Hospital to the south and to the north of the site of Long Lorraine between the Valley and Rocky River Drive. You also see the shopping center at the corner of Rocky River and Lorraine. And then you'll see a variety of mixed-use businesses the west of, I mean east of uh the hospital campus, as well as a few parking lots uh in residential dis uh neighborhoods. Uh the proposed zoning here, as we stated before, is to really consolidate a lot of the institutional uses that are actually happening into one district, uh, which is different height districts. Um, and that's really to complement as it moves down through closer to Rocky River to bring the height back down to match the context of the residential to the north and to the south. Uh the institutional research uh that you're seeing being proposed here on the north side of the campus. Um, you'll notice that it was split zone multifamily and single family, uh, but the entire parcel is institutional. Uh, and so the proposal is to change it to institutional research D3. Um the south side of the campus is local retail C4. So four height district allows up to 250 feet, whereas the three only allows up to 115 feet. Uh on the south side of campus, they are bringing down that parking garage, um, which was really the impetus, I believe, of the north side, as well as the expansion of the uh cancer center on the north side um of Lorraine here. Uh so the institutional research will allow uh well continue to allow multi-residential family buildings as well as educational medical developments, research facilities, professional offices, uh, museums, libraries, schools, places of worship, parks, playgrounds, and play fields as well. Uh what you see here currently is the context along this area of the institutional research that's being proposed on the north and south side, and really to consolidate those districts. Uh on the northwestern view of Lorraine at West 178th Street, you can see the current medical building. Uh, then you also see the southwestern view, Lorraine uh looking down at West 179th Street. On the lower uh building here, the uh picture here, you see the northwestern view is uh taking a picture from Lorraine at West 179th, and then in the far uh right-hand corner, you'll see the western view at 179th.

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