Aug. 19 actions include affordable housing support, home repairs, neighborhood safety spending and tax-increment financing for East Side development
By The Cleveland Observer
CLEVELAND — Cleveland City Council approved a wide-ranging package of legislation Aug. 19 affecting housing, neighborhood safety, economic development and public infrastructure.
Unlike the previous two weekly City Records, the Aug. 21 edition contains a full council legislative session. Council passed 20 emergency ordinances on first reading and another 18 after second reading. Thirteen council members were present for the votes; Kevin Bishop and Joseph Jones were absent.
East Side tax-increment financing district approved
Council approved creation of the East Side TIF District, establishing a tax-increment financing structure covering designated properties.
Under the measure, improvements to certain properties can be exempted from property taxation while owners make payments in lieu of taxes. Those payments are to be distributed to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and city funds supporting infrastructure and redevelopment. The legislation also authorizes a school compensation agreement with the district.
The measure passed 11-2, with Council Members Brian Kazy and Tanmay Shah voting no.
Why it matters: TIF districts can steer revenue generated by rising property values toward infrastructure and redevelopment rather than sending all of the increased property-tax revenue through the normal tax system. Because that can affect school revenues, the agreement with the school district is an important part of the legislation.
Circle Square expansion moves forward
Council separately approved changes to an existing tax-increment financing agreement for the Circle Square development near Chester Avenue and Stokes Boulevard.
Earlier phases produced the 24-story Artisan building with 298 apartments, Library Lofts with 207 apartments, the redeveloped Martin Luther King Jr. library branch and parking facilities. The newly authorized phases call for a 14-story hotel with about 170 rooms and 20,000 square feet of retail space, a 24-story building with approximately 281 residential units and 17,600 square feet of commercial space, and another future commercial or residential development.
City records estimate the new phases could create about 103 full-time-equivalent jobs and approximately $98,000 in new annual city tax revenue. The ordinance extends the ability to use 30-year, non-school TIF agreements for the unfinished phases. It also passed 11-2, with Kazy and Shah opposed.
Why it matters: This is not simply an administrative TIF change. It clears the way for significant additional housing, hotel and commercial development in an area where hundreds of apartments and a new library already have been built.
$150,000 approved for affordable housing
Council approved up to $150,000 in Ward 5 Neighborhood Equity Funds for the Oasis Hyacinth Housing Project.
The money will go to Eternal Housing Fund or its designee to help finance construction of affordable residential housing and living spaces in Cleveland.
Council also amended an existing program offering loans or grants for down-payment assistance, appraisal gaps and construction financing for single-family homes. Assistance under the program can reach $40,000 per homebuyer and up to $40,000 per housing unit for construction-gap assistance. The principal change adds the Department of Development to the agencies authorized to administer the existing program.
Another measure amended authority for a city grant agreement with Union Miles NuPoint Community Development Corp. to partially finance construction of homes for veterans experiencing homelessness.
Slavic Village homeowners get repair assistance
Council authorized up to $105,000 for Community Housing Solutions to operate the Slavic Village Home Repair Project.
The program is intended to address health and safety repairs for low-income homeowners who might otherwise be unable to afford the work. Funding comes from casino revenue funds.
Why it matters: Unlike larger development incentives, this funding is aimed directly at existing homeowners and maintaining occupied homes, potentially helping residents remain safely in their neighborhoods.
$100,000 approved for East 105th Street safety program
Council approved a contract of up to $100,000 with Ginger Ridge MHA or its designee for the East 105th Safety and Security Program.
Paid through Ward 9 Neighborhood Equity Funds, the program is described as a crime-reduction and community-engagement effort.
Council also authorized $5,000 from Ward 8 Neighborhood Equity Funds for youth engagement programs targeting young people who are unemployed or not involved in out-of-school activities.
Municipal Court receives $230,000 for treatment programs
Council authorized Cleveland Municipal Court to accept a $230,000 grant from the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County.
The money is intended to expand evidence-based supervision and treatment for defendants participating in four specialized court programs: Greater Cleveland Drug Court, the Mental Health Docket, Veterans Treatment Docket and Human Trafficking Docket.
Why it matters: The funding supports alternatives that combine court supervision with treatment and services for defendants whose cases involve addiction, mental health, military service or human trafficking.
Council backs brownfield cleanup effort
Council unanimously supported Great Lakes Towing Co.’s application to the Ohio Department of Development for brownfield-remediation funding for the former Cuyahoga River Old Channel Graving Dock property at 4500 Division Ave.
The company wants state funding to address legacy environmental conditions and prepare the city-owned property for redevelopment and expansion. The resolution specifies that the city’s expression of support does not create a financial obligation for Cleveland.
$1.6 million added for road and infrastructure engineering
Separate from council legislation, the Board of Control authorized an additional $1.6 million for Soil and Materials Engineers Inc. for engineering and related work on several city projects.
The work includes the St. Clair Avenue target-speed project, traffic signal upgrades on Chester Avenue, residential street resurfacing inspections, Main-River-Elm street rehabilitation and the Superior Midway project. The action raises the firm’s contract ceiling to $2.5 million.
The board also approved an estimated $106,948 contract for Cleveland Fire high-rise kits and added $38,000 to a nuisance-wildlife services contract, raising that contract ceiling to $250,000.
New proposals to watch
Several potentially significant measures were introduced Aug. 19 but were not yet passed.
One would make $2.13 million in additional appropriations, including $1.06 million to the General Fund and another $1.06 million for Public Works’ street construction, maintenance and repair operations.
Another would authorize Cleveland to seek approximately $1.03 million from the U.S. Department of Justice for the Public Safety Radio Program. Council also began reviewing proposed changes to food-shop licensing fees and regulations governing public garages and parking lots.
Those proposals were referred for committee and departmental review, meaning residents could see changes before final passage.
Neighborhood zoning decisions
The Board of Zoning Appeals approved new residential development at 5013 Franklin Blvd. and 5111 Herman Ave. and conditionally approved a three-family dwelling at 1677 Cliffview Road. No cases considered at the Aug. 17 meeting were denied.
Questions that need to be answered
East Side TIF District
The creation of a large tax-increment financing district deserves closer public explanation.
- Exactly which neighborhoods and parcels are included in the East Side TIF District?
- What is the estimated value of the tax exemptions over the life of the district?
- How much revenue is projected to flow into city-controlled TIF funds? How will Cleveland Metropolitan School District be compensated, and how does that amount compare with what the district otherwise would have received?
- What specific public improvements will the TIF finance?
- What safeguards ensure that neighborhoods generating the increased property values receive the promised benefits?
Council Members Brian Kazy and Tanmay Shah voted against the measure. Why did they oppose it, and what concerns do they believe residents should understand?
Circle Square
- How much public assistance has the Circle Square development received across all phases, including tax abatements, TIF financing and other city assistance?
- What is the estimated value of the additional 30-year tax exemptions?
- How many of the approximately 281 new residential units will be affordable to residents earning below the area’s median income?
- What assumptions support the projection of approximately 103 new jobs?
- What happens if the projected development, employment or tax revenue does not materialize?
Oasis Hyacinth affordable housing
Council authorized up to $150,000 in Ward 5 Neighborhood Equity Funds for the Oasis Hyacinth Housing Project. The City Record describes it as financial assistance for affordable residential housing but doesn’t tell readers how much housing that produces.
- How many housing units will the $150,000 help create?
- Where will they be located?
- What rents or purchase prices will qualify as affordable, and at what income levels? How long will the affordability requirements remain in place?
- What is the project’s total development cost, and what other public or private financing is involved?
- When are residents expected to be able to occupy the housing?
Council Members Brian Kazy and Tanmay Shah also voted against this measure. The Cleveland Observer invites them to explain their objections and invites the developer, administration, project sponsors and neighborhood stakeholders to respond.
The Cleveland Observer also invites the legislation’s sponsors, the Bibb administration, Cleveland Metropolitan School District and affected residents to respond. The Cleveland Observer based this report on the Aug. 21, 2026, edition of The City Record, the official weekly publication of Cleveland City Council.
