COUNTY PLANNING NEWSLETTER

January 2025

Special Community Planning Services Program Edition

Apply for the Community Planning Services Program

County Planning is pleased to release its Project Application and Manual for the 2025 Community Planning Services Program (CPSP). Formerly known as the "Community Planning Grant Program," the CPSP continues the practice of providing professional planning services at a reduced cost for awardees.

This program year schedule is as follows: 

• Applications open: Monday, January 6, 2025 
• Deadline to submit questions: Friday, January 17, 2025 
• Applications close: Friday, February 7, 2025, at 3:00 p.m.
• Award announcements: by Friday, March 7, 2025

All 59 communities in Cuyahoga County are eligible to apply, including those that have previously received awards (with one exception—communities that have completed a Master Plan through this program within the last 10 years are ineligible to apply for another Community Master Plan). As in previous program years, cities, villages, and townships must be the primary applicant. Communities are encouraged to partner with local groups, organizations, or other neighboring communities. Only one application can be submitted per eligible community.

Through CPSP, County Planning staff will provide planning and technical services to complete various planning, zoning, and related technical projects to awardees. County Planning is expanding eligible project activities in 2025 to include targeted planning projects and encourages planning projects that complement regional plans, such as the Cuyahoga Greenways Plan, Lakefront Public Access Plan, Transit-Oriented Development Zoning Study, and Single-Family Zoning Analysis.

10 Years of the Community Planning Services Program

2025 will mark 10 years since County Planning awarded the first three master planning grants through the Community Planning Grant Program. Recently renamed the Community Planning Services Program, it was started in 2014 to address the serious need for long-term comprehensive planning among Cuyahoga County's communities. At that time, over half of the communities in Cuyahoga County either had never had a master plan, or had one that was more than 10 years old. 

The Cuyahoga County Department of Development provided $150,000 to fund the initial round of master plan awards and entered into an agreement with County Planning to provide professional planning services to complete them. A competitive application process was used to award plans to Cleveland Heights, Olmsted Falls, Parma Heights, and University Heights.

Seventeen master plans were completed through the first five years of the program, which successfully reduced the number of communities in need of new master plans. This, along with changes in funding mechanisms, allowed us to expand the types of eligible local planning projects to receive the award. Over the life of the program, County Planning has completed 18 Master Plans and 16 other plans, which include corridor and focus area studies, active transportation and park plans, and zoning map and code updates.

In the coming year, we will be celebrating the program's 10-year anniversary by highlighting the planning work done through the program, the growth in skill and expertise it has led to at County Planning, as well as well as the positive impacts plans have provided for the local communities we have worked with. We will also look forward to the future of the program and the role it can play in helping communities plan for and reach their desired future goals. 

Check out our web page as we post highlights, reports, and other content that celebrates the great work of County Planning and the amazing communities we have worked with over the life of this program.

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Cuyahoga County Planning Commission

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