COUNTY PLANNING NEWSLETTER
October 2025
| | Tracking Progress in Brooklyn | | County Planning is currently leading the process of updating the City of Brooklyn's 2020 Master Plan. The city has aggressively pursued implementation of the 2020 plan's recommendations, and the first phase of this update has focused on identifying the City's progress. We have developed an Implementation Scorecard & Current Conditions Update to highlight the impressive work done by the city. The results can be used to celebrate with and educate residents on what has been accomplished in the community. It will also help in future phases of the project to prioritize recommendations from the current plan, identify follow-up actions, and prepare for next steps. | |
Communities Reflect on Planning Services Program | |
Established in 2015, County Planning's Community Planning Services Program offers Cuyahoga County communities a way to obtain plans for projects at a very reduced cost. Since the inception of this program, master plans, corridor studies, zoning updates, park plans, and numerous other specialized plans have been produced by County Planning to help Cuyahoga County communities achieve their goals and vision for growth.
To commemorate the first decade of this milestone program, we are surveying awardees who received planning services to gather insights, key takeaways, and success stories. Survey questions ask them to rate the plans produced from the program using a rating scale based on intrinsic value, and how well the plan informs their work or actions using periods of time.
| The responses are overwhelmingly positive and indicate the impact these plans and the Community Planning Services Program have had on the communities. More than half say their plan affects their work on a daily basis. Nearly 90% say their plan has been "Extremely Valuable" or "Very Valuable." Almost all of the communities have used, or plan to use, their plan to apply for funding opportunities. Overwhelmingly, the communities say they valued the organized, collaborative process provided by County Planning as well as the amount of public engagement during the development of their plan. | | | | Planners Interviewed on Brooklyn Podcast | | |
Laura Mendez-Ortiz, Planner, and Micah Stryker, Senior Planner, were recent guests of Mayor Ron Van Kirk on the Brooklyn Ohio Today podcast. The conversation centered around the 2020 Brooklyn Master Plan Update currently underway. Micah and Laura talked about the process of planning, the importance of planning for the city and county, and creating a unique plan for the community that will meet its needs.
Brooklyn approached County Planning earlier this year with a request to update its 2020 Master Plan following the city's successful implementation of the recommendations from that plan. Since then, County Planning has begun gathering input from community members through an online survey. Information from the survey will help County Planning assess the needs and issues that are important to the city and its residents and ultimately guide Brooklyn on how best to address them.
| | Community Surveys in Motion | | |
Our process in developing plans for Cuyahoga County communities includes gathering input from residents and stakeholders. One of the tools we use for this feedback is online surveys. Two planning projects underway are using online surveys to engage residents.
| | Housing Advocacy on Capitol Hill | | |
County Planning's Executive Director, Mary Cierebiej, traveled to Washington, D.C. in September with planners from across the country who participated in over 70 congressional meetings with legislators and their staff members. At these meetings, Mary and other planners advocated for federal investment in planning and zoning reform as the path forward in addressing the nation’s housing challenges.
Mary, along with other planners, shared community stories, on-the-ground insights and professional expertise with federal elected officials. They proposed actionable solutions for federal representatives to take at the federal level. With momentum on the rise for housing legislation in Congress, this advocacy outreach encouraged passage of the ROAD to Housing Act of 2025, which supports: local zoning reforms that will eliminate red tape and other barriers to housing; secure flexible funding for localities; and provide access to data, models, and best practices from HUD.
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- Laura Mendez Ortiz, Planner, was named to the 100+ Latinos Cleveland Must Know list. This list was created by AmMore Consulting to shine a positive light on Latino professionals and the Greater Cleveland Latino community.
- Senior Planners Meghan Chaney and Nichole Laird presented on Park Planning and Public Engagement at the APA Ohio Statewide Conference. They talked about how to engage different age demographics in park planning, from grandkids to grandparents; the use of engagement tools such as surveys, public meetings, and targeted outreach strategies; lessons learned and engagement tips; and growing our standard practices for engagement.
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State Capital Improvement Program Application Summary
The Ohio Public Works Commission State Capital Improvement Program provides grants and loans for road and bridge improvements, and water and wastewater infrastructure. County Planning is the local administrator in Cuyahoga County for this funding, totaling $40 million for the current Round 40. The application window for the current round of funding closed on September 11 with 27 applications submitted. The District One Public Works Integrating Committee, a Cuyahoga County-based board overseeing this funding program, will supervise the review of submitted applications and produce a ranked list of projects that will be sent to the Ohio Public Works Commission early in 2026 for funding consideration.
Continuing our Role in Housing and Community Development in the County
County Planning has extended its contract with the Cuyahoga County Department of Housing and Community Development for planning activities and technical assistance to August 31, 2027. The extension contains an expanded scope of services that includes a Residential Vacant Lot Analysis for Cuyahoga County.
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