Council Meeting Highlights
Apr 27, 2026
City Council met in person this evening in Council Chambers, and the meeting was also live-streamed. A quick reminder that the Council website and email addresses now end in .gov, so please update your contacts. The next Council meeting will be on May 11th (no meeting on May 4th). Here are a few highlights from today’s meeting:
City Going After State Brownfield Funding: Council approved legislation to designate certain parcels located within the Midline Development Area as a Priority Investment Area pursuant to Ohio Revised Code to declare the parcels as brownfield sites requiring environmental remediation suitable for redevelopment. The legislation also authorizes a five-year tax exemption for improvements to the property as allowed under Ohio Revised Code.
The Midline Development Area is a historically industrial area that stretches along the Norfolk Southern rail line passing through the Central and Fairfax neighborhoods. To qualify this area for state brownfields funding Council is required to pass legislation that establishes clear geographic boundaries, exempt the property from taxes and provide evidence that the property is a potential brownfield, which have be established from environmental assessments. Ord. No. 401-2026
Pre-fab Company Expanding: Council passed legislation authorizing the city to offer a $500,000 loan to Guardian Structural Technologies LLC, to provide economic development assistance to partially finance the acquisition of machinery and equipment associated with the company’s expansion to the building located at 18105 Cleveland Parkway and other associated costs necessary to acquire the machinery. The city is offering the company a seven-year, 5% loan.
Guardian Structural Technologies, an employee-owned company that manufactures prefabricated wall and roof panels, and plans to lease a roughly 48,000-square-foot building near its current site to keep up with rising demand. Ord. No. 402-2025
Improving Parks and Recreation Facilities: Legislation was passed to design, construct, rehabilitate, renovate, replace or otherwise improve recreation facilities, ancillary recreation buildings, parks and playgrounds, and other similar structures or amenities, on City-owned and City-leased park property, including site improvements and appurtenances; and authorizing the city to enter into one or more public improvement contracts and/or one or more public improvement requirement contracts, and enter into one or more professional services and other contracts needed to implement the improvements. $13.301,500 from the General Fund, Restrict Income Tax, Unspent proceeds from prior Recreation bonds as well as new bond sales will be used for the improvements. Ord. No. 234-2026
Introductions
Short-Term Rental Policy Introduced: Legislation was introduced to change the city of Cleveland's short-term rental policy. An earlier version of the legislation was introduced but underwent significant amendments, leading to the introduction of new legislation. (That piece, 588-2024, was tabled.) The legislation provides a licensing procedure and regulations for the use and operation of STRs in residential neighborhoods. All STRs must be licensed. There is a density limit and there must be a local contact. The legislation will go to Building and Housing, City Planning Commission, Finance, and Law; before going to Development Planning & Sustainability, and Finance Diversity Equity & Inclusion committees before a full vote of Council. Ord. No. 561-2026
Data Center Moratorium: Legislation was introduced, sponsored by Councilman Charles Slife, to establish a moratorium on the review and issuance of zoning permits, certificates of occupancy, and other license or permit applications, including licenses or permits issued by the Department of Public Utilities, for data centers in the City of Cleveland. The legislation will go to Public Utilities, City Planning Commission, Finance, and Law; before going to Utilities, Development Planning & Sustainability, and
Finance Diversity Equity & Inclusion before a full vote of Council. Ord. No. 556-2026
Playhouse Square DORA: Legislation was introduced to create a new designated outdoor refreshment area (DORA) in the Theatre District part of Cleveland. State law oversees DORA's and based on its population, the City may establish up to six DORAs. There is currently have one created in the East 4th Street area. The goal is to further establish the Theatre District area as a destination and to provide for cultural and economic betterment of the businesses in and around the area.
Within DORAs, customers are allowed to purchase alcoholic beverages in specific cups from participating businesses and carry them outside and around within the boundaries of the DORA.
The Playhouse Square DORA is unique in that it plans to have two areas. The “Base Area” will be a smaller portion of the DORA that will be active on a daily basis. The “Expanded Area” will be a larger area used for special events, including: Cleveland International Film Festival Tri-C JazzFest BorderLight International Theatre & Fringe Festival Saint Patrick’s Day Octoberfest HB Half Marathon Arts & Culture Festival Fan Fest / Draft Party / Opening Day Weekly Plaza Programming Air Show Watch Party. The legislation will go to Public Health, Finance, and Law; before coming to Health, Human Services & the Arts, Safety, and Finance Diversity Equity & Inclusion before a full vote of Council. Ord. No. 557-2026