Cleveland City Council Meeting - April 27, 2026
Cleveland City Council Meeting - April 27, 2026
The Cleveland City Council held a regular meeting on April 27, 2026, covering public comments on a range of issues, approval of appointments, introduction of several ordinances including a moratorium on data centers and new short-term rental regulations, and final passage of multiple emergency ordinances.
Consent Calendar
- File 562-2026: Grant acceptance of $315,000 from Cleveland Foundation for renewable power projects – approved.
- File 563-2026: Appointment of Benita G.T.1 to Gateway Economic Development Corporation – approved, but later held pending Ohio Ethics Commission opinion.
- File 564-2026: Appointment of Eddie Taylor to Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority – approved, but later held pending Ohio Ethics Commission opinion.
- File 565-2026: Appointment of Stephanie Morrison Herbick to Community Relations Board – approved.
- File 566-2026: Appointment of Yasir Hamdala to Community Relations Board – approved.
- Various condolence and congratulatory resolutions were read and approved.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Brenda Bickerstaff (Ward 9): Criticized Fox 8 and reporter Gallagher for misleading coverage of police oversight, explaining the three-tier system (investigation, recommendation, appeal) and urged council to attend meetings rather than rely on media.
- Jenna Thomas (Ward 13): Opposed the Trump administration's "Freedom to Drive Initiative," arguing it undermines safety measures and ignores that 76,000 Clevelanders lack cars; urged investment in safe, affordable transportation options.
- Matthew Smart Strazinski (Ward 2): Urged preservation of Burke Lakefront Airport, citing potential for air taxis, medical flights, and trade schools; criticized mayor's absence from assigned seats.
- Darryl Houston (Bedford, city issues): Criticized council for approving budget without reading, questioned parking hike, and raised concerns about food deserts, bus shelters, and a gas station in Ward 8 without community input; called for follow-through on charter obligations.
- James Bentley (Mayfield Village, CPP employee): Described being assaulted by supervisor Don Kleppel, who was rehired, leading to a PTSD episode and a five-day suspension; requested investigation and protection from retaliation.
- Adam Rosen (Ward 7): Opposed Ordinance 522-2026 limiting paid parking flexibility; advocated for parking benefit districts to allocate revenue to neighborhoods.
- Michael Armstrong (Ward 11): Criticized form-based code (FBC) implementation, noting lack of public notice for developments and errors in the code; urged pause before expanding FBC.
- Sabrina Otis (Ward 12): Called for recognition of regular police officers, not just specialty units, and requested education on how to use roundabouts.
- Robert Evans (Moreland Hills): Raised concerns about dust and debris from Port Authority sediment facility at Burke, lack of response from officials, and urged council oversight.
Discussion Items
- Data Center Moratorium (Ordinance 556-2026): Councilman Charles Slife introduced a moratorium on permits for data centers, citing energy/water intensity, low job creation, and potential conflicts with zoning; argued for study before allowing large-scale centers.
- Short-Term Rental Regulations (Ordinance 561-2026): Councilman Austin Davis highlighted six years of work, citing public safety issues from unruly Airbnbs; introduced updated legislation to regulate short-term rentals.
- Parking Regulations (Ordinance 559-2026): Proposed amendment to parking meter zones in Hingetown/Ohio City pilot program.
- Form-Based Code Expansion (Ordinance 1398-2025): Second reading; authorizes consultants to expand FBC to additional districts.
- Appointment Holds: Councilwoman House Jones requested that two appointments (Benita G.T.1 and Eddie Taylor) be held until Ohio Ethics Commission opinions are received; council agreed to hold.
Key Outcomes
- Appointments: Approved four appointments (Files 563-566) initially without objection; two (563 and 564) held pending Ethics Commission opinions.
- Second Reading Emergency Ordinances Passed:
- Ordinance 232-2026: Passed 13 yes, 1 nay.
- Ordinance 234-2026: Passed 12 yes, 2 nays.
- All other second reading emergency ordinances passed 14-0.
- Resolution 375-2026 (vacate portion of Central Avenue): Adopted unanimously (14-0).
- Ordinance 588-2024 (old short-term rental legislation): Tabled unanimously (14-0).
- Next Meeting: No meeting on May 4, 2026 (election eve); next meeting May 11, 2026, with Panhellenic Council visit.
Meeting Transcript
Well, all the council members please come into the well so we can get started. Madam Clerk, please call the rope. Griffin. Here, Bishop, Conwell, Davis, Gray. Harsh, House Jones, Hudson, Jones, Casey. Santana, Shaw. Slife. Star. You have a core, Mr. President. Thank you. Will everyone please rise for a moment of silence, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance? And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.04 of the codified ordinances. No person with purpose to prevent or disrupt the lawful meeting shall do any act which obstructs or interferes with the due conduct of such meeting. Members of the public are invited to speak only under the rules set by this council. Disruptions, including but not limited to speaking out of turn and loud and making loud noises and loud utterances, are in violation of the rules and interfere with the due conduct of this lawful meeting. Such disruptions may constitute a misdemeanor and a violation of Section Six O five. The council proceedings will not begin again until those that participated in the disruption have left the chamber and the chamber doors are closed. Disruptors will not be allowed back in the chamber after the meeting resumes. Again, this is the first and only warning. Madam Clerk, please dispense with the journal. By councilmember Slife that the reading of the minutes of the last meeting be dispensed with the journal approved, segmented by Councilmember Palency. Thank you. We'll move to public comment. I'll ask all the council members to turn around and acknowledge the speakers, and I'm asking all of the speakers to acknowledge your time. Once again, when you see the yellow, that means to wrap it up. And when you see the red, that means that you need to abruptly stop. The first person that we have is Brenda Bickerstaff from Ward 9. Brenda's here to talk about the clarity of oversight by Fox 8 and Gallagher. And she's not representing anyone and not being paid by anyone, Ms. Paperstaff, you have the floor. Good evening, everyone. First, I would like to do a shout out to Bill Patman. As you know, he passed away and went to the service last week, and I want to say thank you, Bill Patman, for showing me how to do budgets, and thank you for showing me about politics. Thank you for championing people that's been formerly incarcerated. Great man, great person. I just wanted to give that a shout out. Well, it gallaged once again did a series on oversight. He said there's too many oversights in the city of Cleveland. Let me break it down to you. You got all the subprofessional standards, all of the professional standards only does investigations. Then you got the Cleveland Police Review Board. Cleveland Police Review Boards takes the information of the investigation and makes a recommendation. Then you have the Cleveland Police Commission. The Cleveland Police Commission is like the appealable part where if you don't like or you feel that something that was missed during the investigation or the recommendation, you could take it to the Cleveland Police Commission. That is not a lot of oversight. Bernie Marino, mind your damn business. Focus on Westlake, because you got cops in Westlake who kick people in the back of the head in their handcuffs. So next time when I come, Bernie Marino, I'm gonna name the names of the cops and have pictures.
openpublica.com