OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Cleveland Committee on Development Planning and Sustainability Meeting - February 3, 2026

City Council MeetingsTuesday, February 3, 2026
BodyCleveland, Ohio
SessionCity Council Meetings
DateTuesday, February 3, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record

STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE

Transcript — Verbatim
0:31

Today is Tuesday, February 3rd.

0:33

We're going to call the Committee of Development Planning and Sustainability to Order.

0:37

Madam Clerk, could you take the role present?

0:49

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

0:51

Um, please excuse Chair Santana.

0:53

She is out on a family issue today.

0:55

Uh we have a rather light agenda, so we're just going to get rolling with it.

1:00

Um, and I guess we will start here with ordinance 1451, 2025, which is an emergency ordinance designating the Cam's Corners Bank Building, the former Cleveland Trust Company West Park branch as a Cleveland Landmark.

1:21

Mr.

1:21

Carl Brunes.

1:23

If I am terrible with names, but I think I have your name memorized.

1:27

Thank you, Mr.

1:28

Chair.

1:28

Carl Brunges.

1:31

Good morning.

1:31

Welcome to Cleveland Landmark staff.

1:33

Yes, sir.

1:34

Uh, we have one new member of council on this committee today, Councilman Davis.

1:39

So I think you might know a lot of these folks already, but um if not, I want to make sure that everybody knows everybody.

1:45

So uh met at some point.

1:48

Uh this is your show.

1:50

I hand it over to you.

1:50

Thank you very much.

1:52

Uh the Cleveland Landmarks Commission nominated the building for landmark status on February 13th, 2025.

1:58

Uh since written consent from the owner was not received, a public hearing was held on August 18th.

2:04

Uh we've made multiple attempts to contact the owner, but they have not commented either for or against the designation.

2:12

The building is located at the northeast corner of Lorraine Avenue and Rocky River Drive at Cam's Corners.

2:21

The Cleveland Trust Company had its origins as a planned safety deposit box company in 1893.

2:28

In 1894, state laws were modified, allowing for trust companies to also conduct safety deposit and banking business, so as long as they kept those set activities separate.

2:40

Taking residence in the newly built Garfield Building, the bank officially opened in September 1895.

2:46

The banking business took over a portion of the first floor while the trust business and safety deposit vaults remained in the basement until 1898.

2:57

After a merger with the Western Reserve Trust Company, the main banking room moved down the street to the corner of Euclid Avenue at Public Square in the Williamson Building.

3:06

The acquisition of the Windermere Savings Bank also at this time became the first of many as they looked to expand to have a bank in every neighborhood.

3:22

And by mid-1920, there were 23 branches.

4:21

There were 52 branches.

4:22

A prominent location in the growing community was ideal.

4:31

He designed several renovation programs for the company and new buildings in Bedford, Cleveland Heights, Painesville, and Lakewood.

4:46

This was an important style for banks at the time, which implied both stability and strength.

4:52

The building was opened on June 11th, 1927.

5:00

At the end of the year of completion, there were now 57 branches.

5:05

The building is constructed of limestone.

5:07

Ionic columns flank the central entrance on Lorraine Avenue.

5:10

Simple classic piers separate the bays, and a central classicized parapet rises above the entrance.

5:17

A rear addition, likely for drive-thru banking, was added in 1960.

5:23

By 1977, there were 120 branches and five billion dollars in assets.

5:36

Ameritrust ceased to exist when it was acquired by Society National Bank in 1991.

5:42

The building was restored in conjunction with the city storefront renovation program.

5:47

There's a view post that renovation.

5:52

The OB McClintock Company was a successor to the McClintock Loomis Company and produced bank clocks of this nature from 1917 to 1949.

6:04

This clock was previously installed at the first National Bank of Gettysburg in about 1926, which is pictured here.

6:41

That is the end of my presentation.

6:43

Thank you.

6:45

Okay, thank you, Mr.

6:46

Brunges.

6:47

Brunges?

6:48

Runches, okay.

6:49

I'm sorry, I won't get there.

6:50

Um always love the history lessons, fascinating stuff to know about our city.

6:54

I would open any discussion to the floor.

6:56

I would obviously defer to the councilman from uh the cam's corner if you'd like to start.

7:01

Sure.

7:01

Uh so obviously supportive uh noticed over the years that there is uh compared to other neighborhoods, a uh somewhat a lack of designated landmarks in uh the current ward 15.

7:14

When I came into office, there were two.

7:17

Uh there are now three.

7:18

This would be the fourth.

7:20

Uh so we are trying to make a concerted effort to start to more uh outwardly acknowledge the neighborhood's history, especially since uh we are just a little over 100 years since West Park voted to uh join the city of Cleveland in one of the last major suburbs to do so.

7:41

Um so so uh this is a great uh beautiful building on a very prominent corner.

7:48

I think a interesting aspect of the presentation is actually the clock, uh, which is as Mr.

7:54

Brun just said, not original, uh, but has become a bit of an icon of the neighborhood.

7:59

Uh it's uh the difficulties in keeping it repaired, is a bit of a uh joke on the neighborhood Facebook pages.

8:07

Uh but the tie with Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, I think is particularly interesting and something I didn't know about this coming into the process.

8:14

Uh so uh very supportive and and thank you for all the help.

8:20

Thank you, Councilman Slife.

8:21

Anybody else comments or questions for this issue?

8:26

Okie doke, seeing none.

8:28

Um what's the uh language I use here?

8:33

Stands approved.

8:34

Ordinance of the stands up.

8:36

Ordinance number 1451-2025 stands approved.

8:40

Please sign up.

8:42

Thank you.

8:43

All right, great.

8:44

We're moving.

8:44

We're rolling.

8:47

Um next, we will go to ordinance 1536, 2025.

8:55

This is an emergency ordinance to amend 3103.21 of the codified ordinances of Cleveland, Ohio, 1976, as amended by ordinance number 2393-02, passed February 2nd, 2003, relating to fees for hearings and time extensions before the Board of Building Standards and Building Appeals.

9:16

And I don't know how I'm supposed to know who's presenting.

9:20

I know we've met.

9:22

But I apologize if anybody's name is written down.

9:25

I don't have it.

9:27

So please remind me.

9:29

Carmelda Davis, executive secretary.

9:32

Carmela Davis, the executive secretary of Board of Building Standards.

9:35

That's correct.

9:36

Callie Mercman, the Chief Planning Director for the City of Cleveland.

9:42

Yes, planning director.

9:45

Um, good morning.

9:46

Thank you for being here.

9:47

And please tell us what you've got in mind.

9:50

Happy Tuesday.

9:52

Well, back last year in September, Governor Um has signed for expedited hearings on adjudication orders.

10:08

I'm sorry, yes, could you please uh we put in new speakers so they work a lot better?

10:13

Okay.

10:14

So last year, back in September, the governor signed into law for expedited hearings on adjudication orders.

10:22

Which we can charge anywhere from $500 a day.

10:27

Or up to a thousand dollars.

10:29

And those hearings will have to take place within 48 hours after they filed an appeal, which would cause us to have more hearings within a year.

10:39

So with that, um having discussion with the board members since the fees for hearings hasn't been up since 2003.

10:48

They raised the question about raising the fees for all hearings across the board.

10:54

So currently for single family owner occupied homes is fifteen dollars.

11:03

They propose to raise that to 20 dollars or single family none owner occupied two and three, two, three, and four family dwellings to sixty-five dollars, which is currently thirty dollars for one, two, and three family dwellings.

11:36

Permit extension, civil tickets, lead appeals, and any um administrative order issued by the division of fire to $85.

11:48

Product approvals and any other appeals to $75 and time extension appeals to $30.

11:58

Okay.

11:59

Uh I did dive into some of the state law, and it sounds like the state wanted local municipal boards of building standards to offer faster appeals hearings and requiring us to make them available to appellants.

12:15

However, if I understood it correctly, the state did allow municipalities to um put the service fee for that appeal at a higher rate.

12:26

So if you want your hearing within 48 hours, it will be $500.

12:30

And if you want to be in line with everybody else, that's where the other rates come in.

12:34

Is that roughly correct, Ms.

12:36

Davis?

12:37

Yes.

12:37

If they want to have an expedite hearing only on adjudication orders.

12:42

And uh for the benefit of everyone, what is an adjudication order?

12:46

Adjudication order is um anything that does not conform to the Ohio building codes that they will have to have the boards approval for a waiver or variance to that code.

12:57

Okay.

12:58

So the board of building standards tends to look at the interior of a structure, board of zoning tends to look at the exterior.

13:03

That's the sort of layman's difference between the two.

13:06

Um if somebody is cited with a violation of their interior building structure, they and they want to do it quickly, they can get a 48-hour hearing, it'll be $500.

13:14

Um the rest of the updates are simply bringing us uh out of a 23 uh 22, 23 year cycle.

13:22

Um, and for owner occupants, I think this is important.

13:26

Um, if you are an owner-occupant and you are appealing something, it goes from 15 to 20.

13:31

Uh they have the lowest uh increase, the smallest burden for our residents that live in the neighborhood.

13:36

Um previously their appeal cost 15 bucks, now it would have cost 20 bucks.

13:40

The rest of the changes tend to go more towards investment property owners with the two, three, and four family dwellings, the five to ten and eleven and up.

13:47

That's correct.

13:48

Right.

13:48

Okay.

13:49

Um does anybody have any questions?

13:51

I will go to chair uh councilman Slife.

13:54

Yes, uh I'm just curious, though not opposed uh to how the five hundred dollar amount for the expedited was determined.

14:03

I will say that I I like that it's high because I don't like the idea that the state is sort of getting us into a pay-to-play model.

14:10

Um so the fact that it is if it were much lower than that, I would worry that it would become burdensome for us to manage the day-to-day and start to uh become problematic for people who aren't able or willing to go through such a process.

14:26

But was there a way that we determined that $500 was the the amount of the chair to um councilman Slife?

14:34

That was put in the Senate Bill 6 legislation, the fees.

14:38

Thank you.

14:40

Yeah, that one was ordered by the city.

14:42

Anybody else Councilman Bishop, I think was Mr.

14:47

Chairman.

14:48

So what what type of uh um hearings are these um fees?

14:55

Um I mean is is there a certain type of hearing that these fees are associated with?

15:03

So for your constituents that have violations of interior, exterior, lead um fire damage, anything like that, those are what these hearings are pertaining to.

15:16

So if you get violated, if the city violates you, and you have to pay for your hearing.

15:23

Is that what I'm hearing?

15:24

Yes, pretty much.

15:25

Um and and if you want additional time, if you want additional time.

15:29

Yes, you can either get the repairs done within 30 days, or if you cannot repair within 30 days, you have the option to file an appeal with the board to grant you more time.

15:40

Okay.

15:40

Um and the state um and I didn't hear quite, I didn't quite understand when uh what councilman Slipe said.

15:48

The state has mandated us to raise these fees, or they gave us permission to raise these these fees.

15:54

The state gave us permission to charge for expedite hearings dealing with the Ohio building codes.

16:02

Okay.

16:02

So for instance, um say that the Brown Stadium wanted to make some changes, upgrades that does not meet code.

16:15

So instead of you waiting two weeks to get that on the board's agenda, they can opt to do it within 48 hours, and we will have to hold that appeal, that hearing within 48 hours.

16:27

To expedite it fee.

16:28

That's correct.

16:29

Okay, all right, thank you, Mr.

16:30

Chairman.

16:31

I I think it kind of works like a fast track.

16:33

If you want to hurry up and get on the agenda within 48 hours, you've got to pay the higher fee.

16:42

Councilman Gray, did you have chair?

16:45

It was similar, it was a similar question to um Councilman Bishop.

16:49

Uh so um the peers hearing peers board.

16:54

And I've been there several times uh with my uh um with the owners and my award, so I um try to get there so I can understand your process, which works out for the neighborhood with the house houses that we deal with, and they have to take care of it.

17:10

So I don't oppose that at all.

17:12

But my question is so they have 30 days to uh uh you give them 30 days to repair upgrade their house.

17:24

And if they don't if they don't do that in 30 days, if that's not done in 30 days, what is the next process if they don't want to expedite?

17:36

Do they have after 30 days they come back?

17:40

The house is not in um in um you know, in the condition that it should be.

17:47

Are they given the extra 30 or 60 days?

17:51

Like the process is already uh uh is and or if they don't want the expedite uh uh per se, you know what happens after 30 days through the chair to councilman councilwoman gray.

18:08

So I think I understand what you're saying.

18:11

So if they don't ask for expedite hearing, okay, then when they go before the board, there we of course get a report from the Department of Building and Housing from the inspector who issued the violations, and within that report, DSA whether progress has been made, if permits were required, um have they pulled permits, any type of improvement to the property, and that's related to the members.

18:36

So then they look at the pictures that was submitted by the inspector, and then they gauged on the time that the violations was issued, if that appellant is granted any more additional time.

18:50

So it also depends, like now we in winter time.

18:53

If people are cited for exterior maintenance dealing with paint and gutters hanging, we know in this type of weather it's kind of difficult to get those things done.

19:03

So more than likely they would issue them additional time to get those repairs corrected.

19:09

And that's a good answer.

19:10

I'm looking for, but also chair to I forget your name.

19:15

Davis Davis, yes.

19:19

Charge additional time if they need more time, since they already have a fee.

19:26

Is that for additional yeah, it's additional charge for the 30 days after the 30 days if the house is not um up to par?

19:37

No, ma'am.

19:38

Only time there would be an additional charge if the board granted them, say they granted them until February 2nd to get all the repairs done and they didn't meet that deadline.

19:47

They do have an option to file for an additional time extension, which will for another hearing, and they would have to pay an additional fee.

20:01

That will be for the time extension.

20:04

That would be the $30 for additional time.

20:10

Okay.

20:10

All right.

20:11

Thank you, Chair.

20:11

Thank you again.

20:12

Appreciate it.

20:13

I think it's often the case that people go to the board of building standards looking for more time to complete uh repairs on cited problems.

20:22

And you probably have more people looking for time than looking to speed up the process, or I would uh in my experience.

20:28

So the expedited process is just something the state required us to do, but in order to get that, there's going to be a $500 fee.

20:35

If you want to get in line with everybody else, we've just updated some of the basic filing fees.

20:40

Anybody else questions?

20:44

Seeing none, uh 1536-2025 stands approved.

20:49

Please sign up.

20:50

Thank you.

20:51

Thank you.

20:56

That leaves us with our last issue for the day, ordinance number 282026, an emergency ordinance authorizing the director of development to enter into an option to lease agreement for a period of up to one year with Penrose Holdings, LLC or its designee for city-owned property located at 4242 Lorraine Avenue for future redevelopment.

21:17

I know Miss Trudy Andrewski is here today.

21:20

Yes.

21:20

Come to the table quite a bit.

21:21

We have another gentleman as well.

21:23

My name is Oh, right.

21:25

Uh you'll press it till it turns green.

21:27

Great, thank you.

21:27

My name is Jeff Mills.

21:28

Uh I'm the regional vice president for Penrose in the Midwest.

21:32

Okay.

21:33

Um we are doing uh the request here is a lease extension, so Miss Andrew Juski.

21:38

Option agreement.

21:39

Option agreement.

21:40

Yes.

21:40

Thank you, Chair.

21:42

Thank you, Chair Harsh, and thank you, members of council committee.

21:45

Um, this will probably look familiar to many of you, but since it's been a little bit since we've been at the table, I just wanted to take the opportunity to brief everyone.

21:54

Um, and we have had the opportunity to brief Councilman Davis on this uh legislation proposed legislation as well.

22:01

Um and again, I'm joined here with Jeff Mills, who has been an awesome project manager and now senior vice president for this project, um, which proposes affordable housing in uh Ohio City at the former McCaffrey Health Center site, soon to be former McCafferty Health Center site.

22:18

Um, just a little bit of background.

22:20

This presentation will look familiar because we've already we already have legislative authority to enter into a ground lease or sale with Penrose.

22:29

However, um we are seeking actually a less uh uh strong form of site control for the purposes of securing funding sources that will not create a choice limiting activity.

22:42

So I'll provide a little bit more detail on that, but just wanted to overarchingly say the purpose of this piece of legislation.

22:50

Um the city-owned site we're working with is 4242 Lorraine Avenue, where the current McCafferty Health Center building is located.

22:58

The site is located at the intersection of West 44th and Lorraine Avenue in Cleveland's now ward 7.

23:05

Um the Department of Health has operated out of approximately 25% of the building for several years, with more than three-quarters of the building sitting vacant.

23:16

And so public health will be relocating its services to the nearby blanket mills uh building, which is also an affordable housing project just down Fulton, um, where it will be more efficiently fitting its programmatic and client needs.

23:31

And we've partnered with uh public health to be proactive about figuring out a future for this site that will soon be vacant.

23:39

A quick update there is that public health is planning to relocate in March, so that is coming up soon.

23:45

Um, and they'll be placing signage at the site directing uh clients uh and residents to their new facility um in the coming weeks.

23:55

So in fall 2024, we were able to partner with public health um to issue a request for qualifications to attract real estate development firms um to reinvest in this site specifically for the purposes of affordable housing, and through that process, Pen Penrose was selected.

24:13

Um I just want to say that I strongly believe that placing affordable housing where we have access and where residents will have access to high quality services and amenities is uh a very important role that the city can play.

24:29

So I feel uh grateful to be a part of a project like this.

24:33

Um just very briefly, what the request for qualifications asked for was affordable housing at the site, ground space nonprofit or social services space, and a public amenity space um flanking the corner of West 44th and Lorraine.

25:00

And then the project will be subject, of course, to our Office of Equal Opportunity related CBA requirements, small business requirements, but that will come at the time when the project team is seeking financial incentives from the city at this point for the purposes of this legislation.

25:11

We're just seeking the option agreement.

25:17

One more kind of contextual slide.

25:33

We were able to survey this specific area in advance of issuing the RFQ and found that nearly 40% of all renter households are spending more than 30% of their income at rent on rent and an immediately adjacent census tracks that uh percentage increases to 45 and 52%.

25:54

So there is a very clear need for this type of affordable housing at this specific location.

26:03

And we also did facilitate some pretty extensive community engagement in advance of issuing the RFQ.

26:11

So that included partnerships with nearby stakeholders, including the Spanish American Committee, the May Gadugan Center, the West Side Catholic Center, and the Young Latino Network, as well as kind of standard avenues of working with Ohio City Inc.

26:26

and neighboring block clubs.

26:28

We felt it very important to work with social service providers who are working with clients who would be specifically be users of an affordable housing project.

26:38

So again, we were honestly pretty proud of those efforts because those are typically people who aren't engaged as directly in this type of project.

26:50

And with that, I'm gonna pass it off to Jeff to go through a couple quick slides related to the actual proposal, followed by um project milestones.

27:01

Sure.

27:01

Thank you, Trudy.

27:03

Um again, um Penrose is co-developing this project with um Ohio City Incorporated.

27:09

They will be co-developers and co-owners of the project once it's complete.

27:13

Um we are pursuing low-income housing tax credits to as a source of equity for this project, and one piece of what will likely be a very large capital stack.

27:23

The uh project proposes between 62 and 72 units of of housing at the site, and that would be between 30% and 70% of AMI.

27:32

When we start talking about AMI, it it gets a little fuzzy for it's could because it's hard to communicate, but I can share with you that for a one-person household, the 30% area median income, 30% of area median income is uh an annual salary of uh about $21,000.

27:50

So that would be the low end of the income spectrum.

27:53

And at the higher end of the income spectrum, a four-person household at 70% AMI would earn just under $70,000.

28:00

So what we're really trying to accomplish here is to provide units for a broad range of residents.

28:06

Um the way that that translates into rents for a uh for an efficiency or a studio, uh, the 30% AMI rent in Cleveland is $122.

28:16

So that would be the low end of the rents, and uh a three-bedroom uh at 70% AMI would be $1,800.

28:23

And so, like you can see that's a very large um uh sort of um gradient of of rents uh that is aligned to the incomes of the individuals that we're we're seeking to serve.

28:35

Um and yes, we have um all of our projects have an emphasis on environmental sustainability, uh often um more often than not, they are lead and and oftentimes lead um gold or even platinum in in certain instances.

28:48

Um we love the fact that this is located on a on an amenity-rich corridor, a transit-rich corridor.

28:54

Uh we we see this as a transit-oriented development uh in addition to um uh an affordable development and in addition to a mixed-use development, right?

29:02

Because we're also going to have uh office space that uh um Ohio City Incorporated intends to use for for their organization.

29:10

Um there will be programs community spaces.

29:13

We hope that this is permeable with the community so folks feel like it's a a part of the community, they can use the community spaces.

29:21

Um we're proud of our local of our team, um, Penrose and OCI as the developers.

29:27

City architecture is a obviously a local architecture firm.

29:30

John G.

29:31

Johnson would be the general contractor here locally in in Cleveland.

29:35

Um, and we use a um an owner's rep company called Innova Services.

29:39

We manage our properties uh through our um uh sister company, Penrose Management Company.

29:45

Uh so we are long-term owners and operators uh in the neighborhood.

29:49

Um this legislation uh to to obtain site control through an option to ground lease is what is needed to establish site control for the purposes of the 9% uh application to OFA, which is due on the 28th of this month.

30:04

And of course, it'll go to landmarks and design review.

30:11

Lots of milestones here.

30:13

We um uh were awarded the uh RFP in November of 2024.

30:17

This is gonna test my vision here.

30:19

Uh sorry.

30:20

Um we and and we immediately began a very intense um uh community engagement uh process.

30:28

We have been we have met with the community four times now and uh in meaningful uh ways, you know, ways that have informed the design of the building and and ultimately the the population that we seek to serve.

30:40

Um last night was our fourth, uh, and it was it was lovely to see everybody again.

30:45

Um we have uh completed a series of due diligence items, including um a phase one environmental review us, a market study, um, and uh have been working with the city on on site control.

30:56

Uh other due diligence includes phase two and geotech reports.

31:01

Um the Cleveland Landmark staff came out for a site visit, and um we have had our conceptual design review meeting with the city.

31:08

Um we also have been to landmarks uh a commission meeting and um and have requested the demolition and we've been to Petbot as well.

31:18

So um lots of of engagement here and um uh hopefully advancing advancing this project forward to a successful LightTech award uh in May of this year.

31:30

Uh if that occurs in May of this year, then we from June until March, from June of this year until March of next year, we would be advancing our um architecture uh from uh you know conceptual design to schematic design and design development.

31:46

Um we will be spending a tremendous amount of effort on securing the financial resources that are needed to close the gap on a project like this and uh aim to have um a closing in April or May of 27, um, which puts our construction completion out into 28 in September and our 100% occupancy milestone in into 2029.

32:08

So it's amazing how long the tail of these projects can be, but um ultimately uh an incredible asset for for the neighborhood and and for uh OCI and us.

32:19

Thank you, Jeff.

32:19

And I'll just wrap us up by saying um apologies that two slides ago I had a a little error.

32:25

I hadn't updated the presentation from last time.

32:28

We do have site control, um, sufficient site control for the purposes of the 9% application.

32:34

This option agreement will allow us to secure over a million dollars that is already awarded from the federal home loan bank.

32:42

And that option agreement is a level of site control that um does not trigger a choice limiting activity.

32:50

So we're really requesting we already have uh site control and and the ability to uh either ground lease or sell the property to Penrose.

32:59

This option agreement is a different form of site control that allows us to secure that over a million dollars that's already awarded for the project.

33:09

All right, thank you.

33:10

I understand that these are very complicated development projects when you're working with a local development corporation, the nonprofit world, the city, and trying to line up all your ducks is uh sort of a never-ending task of rearranging to to make everybody happy.

33:23

Um just a couple questions, then I'll I'll open it up to the committee.

33:26

Um through the oh through me.

33:30

Will this be uh your uh uh first uh application for LITEC for this location?

33:36

No, it will not no, it'll be our second.

33:38

Okay.

33:38

I I I asked that because a lot of times the first round does not go as planned, and it is the second round where awards are actually won.

33:45

Um you've done your scoring for this project, and you feel good looking at the rest of the state in terms of the applications that are coming in this year.

33:52

It it's always hard.

33:54

So uh the qualified allocation plan is a set of rules that uh OFA uses to score all the developments uh for 9% awards, and that changes every two years.

34:04

And so this is the first year of a new QAP, and so it's hard.

34:07

There's no there's no scores to benchmark against in this particular QAP.

34:12

Uh that said, there's a new way of OFA has a new way of um uh creating the competition, and now we're only competing essentially against north uh projects in the northeast of Ohio.

34:23

They've broken it up into regions this year.

34:25

So we're competing against that.

34:26

They've thrown in another wrinkle about um urban and rural counties and how they're going to award uh make awards in different population pools, I'll say, uh like senior versus general occupancy.

34:39

That's a long way of saying we believe that it does score strongly, but it's hard to tell because we don't have any data to benchmark that against on this QAP.

34:47

And I will just add uh Chair Harsh, um there are very few geographies in the city of Cleveland that score well in the QAP typically.

34:58

This location scores extraordinarily well.

35:00

Yeah.

35:01

I I we uh applied for LITEC and uh for a project in my ward, and the developer told me up front, he said there's a chance we don't get this.

35:08

That we we may not score the score was high enough to try.

35:11

Yes.

35:11

Um but we didn't feel good and we didn't get it.

35:13

So I I know that there's some you you can look at the crystal ball a little bit and and you feel good.

35:19

Okay.

35:20

Um that was the only question I have.

35:21

Uh I know that we've been working on this for a little while.

35:23

I want to open it up to my colleagues.

35:25

I know.

35:26

Councilman Davis, this is your ward.

35:29

Uh thank you, Chair.

35:30

Through the chair to the assistant director, Mr.

35:31

Mills, thank you for being here.

35:32

This is uh over the MR key project for the neighborhood.

35:35

I mean, we are very excited to have um these 60 to 74 units of affordable housing in this amenity ridge area.

35:42

Um making sure that there remains homes for folks of every background in our diverse and thriving community.

35:49

It's very exciting.

35:50

Uh and I I just want to clarify the legislation before us is just for this um the option, right?

35:55

This is the narrow path or the the golden way between uh keeping the banks happy so that they Penrose has sufficient site control without doing a choice on dating action, which would um frustrate the feds.

36:05

So this is this legislation's very simple, it's just uh technicality.

36:08

Is that right?

36:08

Yes.

36:09

Um just wanted to say thank you again.

36:11

Thank you for meeting with me multiple times.

36:12

Thank you for um clarifying that incredibly complicated thing that I think I summed up pretty good in one sentence.

36:17

Um and thank you for your continued community engagement because Ohio City really wants to talk about this, and we're excited to see where it goes.

36:23

Yeah, thank you, sir.

36:26

Right.

36:26

So there's always the threading of needles.

36:28

Oh, go ahead.

36:29

Uh Council uh woman Gray.

36:31

Thank you.

36:32

Um thank you.

36:32

Yeah, I agree with um this project is it's amazing.

36:39

And my ward are we trying to get some developers to buy um say so and hoping that process go through as well.

36:49

So but my question is you're not going to this build is not going to be torn down.

36:54

You're just gonna renovate it and rehab it to extend uh uh put the units in it, a chair to um the team.

37:03

Through the chair to councilwoman gray, thank you.

37:05

Um the the building is proposed to be demolished.

37:08

Um it's set back on the site in a way that does not uh what is the word like make the most of the existing site.

37:16

And so we'll pull the building forward a little bit and also wrap the site in order to get sufficient units on the site.

37:23

The property itself, too, was built, I believe, in the 70s.

37:26

That might have been the early 60s.

37:28

Um but that's part of our conversations with landmarks because it is in a landmark district, but the property itself is not a contributing building to um the landmarks district.

37:39

So there still has to be a vote, but generally the site visit with landmarks mount very well.

37:44

Um, and we have no reason to believe why there wouldn't be support.

37:48

Um, but a new construction building will much better uh take advantage of the site.

37:55

Okay.

37:56

All right, that's it.

37:57

That was only questions.

37:58

Okay, fantastic.

37:59

Thank you, Council Lady.

38:00

Um you can always tell the 60s and 70s construction because the buildings look like mushrooms and they're surrounded by parking.

38:06

They stick out like a sore thumb.

38:08

Um this building has obviously got way more parking than anyone will ever need for residential and and uh a very inefficient use of the land that it sits on.

38:16

So as uh Cleveland strives to encourage density and inclusivity.

38:21

Uh I look forward to seeing this project move forward uh in accomplishing both.

38:25

So anything else uh without objection?

38:29

Um ordinance.

38:30

Oh, I'm sorry, I apologize.

38:32

Um Councilman Kevin Bishop.

38:35

Uh thank you, Mr.

38:36

Chair.

38:36

Did um I didn't see how many uh parking spaces is goes along with this uh property.

38:43

Uh through the chair to uh councilman bishop for the existing site or the proposed site?

38:49

The proposed site I believe it's 42.

38:53

I could be off by two or three, but it's 42.

38:56

42 spaces.

38:57

Yes.

38:58

And that said also um the project will still need to go through uh the final planning commission approval.

39:04

So that is to be finalized, but that's what's proposed right now.

39:08

So is it's uh 62 units uh I mean is that is that correct?

39:13

Between 62 and 72, we haven't finalized the unit count just yet.

39:17

Okay.

39:17

Um and this will be ran by this will be managed by do you have a management plan for it?

39:24

Yes, sir, through the through the chair to the councilman.

39:26

Um Penrose Management Company will be the manager, yes.

39:29

Okay, all right, thank you, Mr.

39:30

Chairman.

39:31

Okay.

39:32

Thank you, Councilman.

39:34

And I believe with that okay, that'll wrap us up.

39:37

All right.

39:38

Um without objection, then ordinance number 28-2026 stands approved.

39:42

Please sign up.

39:43

Thank you very much.

39:45

Thank you very much.

39:47

And that concludes uh this meeting of the development planning sustainability committee.

39:52

We adjourn until the call of the chair.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Affordable Housing███████████████████████████████████35%
Historic Preservation████████████████████20%
Zoning And Land Use█████████████████17%
Public Engagement██████████████14%
Community Engagement████████████12%
Procedural██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Committee on Development Planning and Sustainability - February 3, 2026

The Committee on Development Planning and Sustainability convened on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, to address three primary ordinances. The meeting featured presentations on designating a historic bank branch as a landmark, updating fees for the Board of Building Standards, and securing an option agreement for a new affordable housing development in Ohio City. In the absence of Chair Santana, the committee proceeded with approval of all three items following Q&A sessions with staff, project sponsors, and council members.

Consent Calendar

  • Ordinance 1451-2025: Designated the former Cleveland Trust Company West Park branch (Cam's Corners) as a Cleveland Landmark. The Committee unanimously approved the designation after a presentation by Cleveland Landmarks staff detailing the building's 1927 history and architectural significance.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Councilman Slife (Ward 15): Expressed strong support for the landmark designation. He highlighted the importance of acknowledging neighborhood history, noting that Ward 15 currently has only one landmark (before this one) compared to other areas, and described the building as a "very beautiful" site that will bring the landmark count to four in the ward.
  • Councilman Davis (Ward 7): Expressed excitement for the affordable housing project and the option agreement. He described the legislation as a technical necessity to secure funding without triggering federal restrictions (choice-limiting activity), thanking the team for their continued community engagement.
  • Councilwoman Gray (Ward 4): Expressed full support for the affordable housing initiative, emphasizing the need for similar projects in her ward. She clarified a question regarding demolition, confirming the project involves redeveloping the site rather than simply renovating the existing 1970s structure.

Discussion Items

  • Ordinance 1536-2025 (Board of Building Standards Fees): Presented by Carmela Davis and Callie Mercman, this ordinance proposes raising hearing fees to align with state-mandated expedited hearing requirements.
    • Fee Changes: Owner-occupied single-family appeals would rise from $15 to $20; non-owner-occupied multi-family appeals would rise from $30 to $65; time extension appeals would be set at $30. An optional expedited hearing for adjudication orders (hearing within 48 hours) is set at $500, as mandated by Senate Bill 6.
    • Discussion: Councilman Slife expressed concern about the "pay-to-play" nature of the $500 expedited fee but acknowledged it would help manage the Board's docket. Councilman Bishop and Councilwoman Gray sought clarification on the process for violations not requiring expedited hearings, receiving confirmation that standard hearings allow for additional time based on inspector reports and seasonal conditions, with further fees only applicable for additional time extensions beyond granted deadlines.
  • Ordinance 28-2026 (Penrose Options Agreement): Trudy Andrewski and Jeff Mills (Penrose) proposed an option to lease agreement for the former McCafferty Health Center site (4242 Lorraine Avenue) for the development of 62-72 affordable housing units.
    • Project Details: The project aims to provide units ranging from 30% to 70% of the Area Median Income (AMI), with rents for a one-person household ranging from $122 (30% AMI) to $1,800 (40-person household at 70% AMI). The development will include mixed-use space for Ohio City Incorporated.
    • Demolition Clarification: Councilwoman Gray was informed that while the specific unit count is between 62-72, the existing 1970s structure is proposed for demolition to maximize site density and efficiency. The site is not a contributing structure to the local landmark district.
    • Funding & Timeline: The option agreement is required to secure over $1 million in federal funding and apply for the 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. The committee noted the uncertainty of the award process in the new Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) but acknowledged the site's high scoring potential.

Key Outcomes

  • Ordinance 1451-2025: Approved. Designates the Cam's Corners Bank Building as a Cleveland Landmark.
  • Ordinance 1536-2025: Approved. Establishes new fee structures for the Board of Building Standards, including a $500 fee for expedited hearings and increased standard filing fees.
  • Ordinance 28-2026: Approved. Authorizes the Director of Development to enter into an option agreement with Penrose Holdings, LLC for the 4242 Lorraine Avenue site to secure financial backing and advance site control for the affordable housing project.
  • Next Steps: Penrose will utilize this agreement to submit for the 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit by the end of the month, targeting a closing in April or May 2027 and construction completion by September 2028.

Meeting Transcript

Today is Tuesday, February 3rd. We're going to call the Committee of Development Planning and Sustainability to Order. Madam Clerk, could you take the role present? Thank you, Madam Clerk. Um, please excuse Chair Santana. She is out on a family issue today. Uh we have a rather light agenda, so we're just going to get rolling with it. Um, and I guess we will start here with ordinance 1451, 2025, which is an emergency ordinance designating the Cam's Corners Bank Building, the former Cleveland Trust Company West Park branch as a Cleveland Landmark. Mr. Carl Brunes. If I am terrible with names, but I think I have your name memorized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Carl Brunges. Good morning. Welcome to Cleveland Landmark staff. Yes, sir. Uh, we have one new member of council on this committee today, Councilman Davis. So I think you might know a lot of these folks already, but um if not, I want to make sure that everybody knows everybody. So uh met at some point. Uh this is your show. I hand it over to you. Thank you very much. Uh the Cleveland Landmarks Commission nominated the building for landmark status on February 13th, 2025. Uh since written consent from the owner was not received, a public hearing was held on August 18th. Uh we've made multiple attempts to contact the owner, but they have not commented either for or against the designation. The building is located at the northeast corner of Lorraine Avenue and Rocky River Drive at Cam's Corners. The Cleveland Trust Company had its origins as a planned safety deposit box company in 1893. In 1894, state laws were modified, allowing for trust companies to also conduct safety deposit and banking business, so as long as they kept those set activities separate. Taking residence in the newly built Garfield Building, the bank officially opened in September 1895. The banking business took over a portion of the first floor while the trust business and safety deposit vaults remained in the basement until 1898. After a merger with the Western Reserve Trust Company, the main banking room moved down the street to the corner of Euclid Avenue at Public Square in the Williamson Building. The acquisition of the Windermere Savings Bank also at this time became the first of many as they looked to expand to have a bank in every neighborhood. And by mid-1920, there were 23 branches. There were 52 branches. A prominent location in the growing community was ideal. He designed several renovation programs for the company and new buildings in Bedford, Cleveland Heights, Painesville, and Lakewood. This was an important style for banks at the time, which implied both stability and strength. The building was opened on June 11th, 1927. At the end of the year of completion, there were now 57 branches. The building is constructed of limestone. Ionic columns flank the central entrance on Lorraine Avenue. Simple classic piers separate the bays, and a central classicized parapet rises above the entrance. A rear addition, likely for drive-thru banking, was added in 1960. By 1977, there were 120 branches and five billion dollars in assets. Ameritrust ceased to exist when it was acquired by Society National Bank in 1991. The building was restored in conjunction with the city storefront renovation program. There's a view post that renovation. The OB McClintock Company was a successor to the McClintock Loomis Company and produced bank clocks of this nature from 1917 to 1949. This clock was previously installed at the first National Bank of Gettysburg in about 1926, which is pictured here.

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