Civil Municipal - May 2024

municipalities and large venues. “I have to hand it to Industrial Commercial Properties because they’ve been very proactive on this. Probably once a month I have a meeting with them, just to talk about how things are going,” notes Burke. OPEN FOR BUSINESS He identifies Garfield Heights’ potential as a central hub in the region, acknowledging that there have been some barriers to progress.“Our zoning has not been updated since 1962. Just recently, our council and I worked together on getting the zoning code studied and we’re going through an update right now.We’re ready to rewrite some of the zoning codes and update the zoning,” he shares. “The reason we haven’t had the investment here, by outside developers and individuals, is because we have not made it easy. We put too many roadblocks in front of them. So, we’re currently trying to get rid of those roadblocks and help in making it easier for a developer to come in.” In partnership with Cuyahoga County, Mayor Burke says Garfield Heights is also conducting a study of a potential corridor for a transit-oriented development. “That is a big thing right now, connectivity, getting people around,” he asserts. INFRASTRUCTURE AND RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT Moving on to the subject of infrastructure, Burke says the city diligently goes after any available grant money for water and sewer upgrades in identified areas. “Cuyahoga County and the state of Ohio have been wonderful because, the Cleveland Water Division and Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, they’re the ones who monitor our water and sewer lines. They look at the current infrastructure and at ways that they can reroute to make it a better situation for everybody,” he conveys, expressing gratitude for the work of Senator Sherrod Brown, who was instrumental in the $3.2 million in funding received toward water and sewer projects in the city. “He worked hard to get that for us. And we can see the benefits of that.” Currently, plans are underway to secure grant funding for various programs aimed at designating the entire city as a Community Reinvestment Area (CRA), to encourage residential development. With numerous empty lots across different wards, one innovative strategy being considered is to offer a housing development option for young professionals with the support of local industry. This would involve partnering with companies like Mpac, where promising individuals could be offered the opportunity to purchase empty lots at a largely discounted rate, with incentives like tax abatements, on the condition that they build a home within a specified period. Burke portrays, “What that does is it keeps that professional, who has the job and is making good money, here in Garfield Heights, in a brand new home that they were able to build. It develops the workforce and develops the city at the same time. If we could ever pull something like that off, I think that would be incredible.” In addition, the city is looking at ways to encourage infill development and is working to adjust zoning on the residential side.“We’ve got to reestablish our TOPSOIL MULCH COMPOST GRASS SEED FERTILIZER GRAVEL LIMESTONE HARDSCAPES DECORATIVE STONE NATURAL STONE Northeast Ohio’s Premier Landscape Supply Destination 94 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 05