Counties spar over proposed I-90 interchange
By Rebecca Turman
Westshore
Published Aug. 29, 2007

An Aug. 22 public meeting about a proposed I-90 interchange in Avon at Nagel Road became heated with public comments, heavy with an east (Cuyahoga County) vs. west (Lorain County) mentality.

The grand room of the Stocker Center at Lorain County Community College was filled with 100-plus community members and regional officials convening to discuss the heavily debated interstate interchange.

The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency is scheduled to vote on the interchange on Sept. 14. The public forum was held to update community members on the status of the review.

A presentation was made by NOACA Executive Director Howard Maier and the economic impact analysis study was presented by D.B. Hartt, Silverlode Consulting and Oxbow, who have been working on the interchange study since authorized by NOACA in May.

David Hartt of D.B. Hartt explained to the audience that the study “focused on ‘likely’ outcomes, not ‘hoped for’ outcomes.”

Collectively, D.B. Hartt, Silverlode and Oxbow, as explained at previous NOACA meetings, believe that the interchange will clearly “have positive benefits to Avon and no material adverse impacts to the region or surrounding areas.”

Westlake’s concerns
Westlake Planning and Economic Development Director Bob Parry questioned the final conclusion of the study – “that it won’t adversely affect the region.”

Parry voiced concern that building the interchange would result in an “over-supply” of retail in the region.

“In the area of industrial development, in Westlake, we now have 367,000 square feet available for lease,” Parry said. “Over the last decade or so, the city of Westlake has lost five (industrial companies to Avon) because of tax abatements. Out of those five companies, four of those buildings are vacant today – 200,000 square feet. You don’t get backfill in old buildings. There will be vacancies, will be a loss in taxes (should the interchange be built). I don’t agree at all (that it won’t affect the region).”

In an Aug. 22 letter to NOACA, Parry cited a draft study showing the number of jobs coming to Avon if the interchange and related zoning changes are made would be roughly double the number of jobs Avon will get if the interchange is not built (7,949 vs. 14,525).

“The $64 million question is this: Where will all these jobs come from?” Parry asked in the letter. “Will they be new businesses, business moves from out of state? Is it from growth in the economic development of the region or merely shifts in economic activity and jobs from surrounding communities?”

Parry argued in the letter that Avon’s gains will likely be at the expense of its neighboring communities, Westlake in particular.

Parry told West Life that Cuyahoga County’s higher sales tax, which will rise to 7.75 percent Oct. 1, will tempt shoppers searching for big-ticket items to head west to Lorain County, where the rate is currently 6.25 percent. (Lorain County residents will vote this November on whether to repeal a pending .25 percent increase.)

Steve Weitzner, of Silverlode, responded to Parry’s concerns.

“I’m familiar with some of the relocations,” he said. “Incentives tend to be short-lived. Most industrial companies move because the facility doesn’t meet their needs anymore…If there is a weakness in what you have to offer, then you need to address that.”

Westlake Mayor Dennis Clough said he spoke with many of the businesses that left the city.

“I guarantee (their decisions to move) were based on incentives,” he said.

Clough also addressed some of the other issues he has with the interchange, including the Cleveland Clinic’s intent to build a facility in the immediate area.

“If that interchange is not built, there will be no Cleveland Clinic there,” he said.

Clough also spoke about the road improvements that would be needed once the new interchange went in.

“It’s easy to put in an interchange without addressing ancillary roads,” he said. “We are still spending millions on Crocker.”

Several other area officials spoke during the meeting.

Jim Scott, a Bay Village councilman, said the city “strongly supports the interchange.”

During the meeting, North Ridgeville Mayor Dave Gillock expressed his support for the proposed interchange. Though Gillock said the new interchange would “negatively impact traffic flow on Lear Nagle Road,” he said it would ultimately help North Ridgeville residents get to and from work more quickly, as many work in Cuyahoga County and need I-90 access.

“I will protest, with all my ability, any consideration of sharing any new taxes generated with Cuyahoga County,” Gillock said in response to the rumor that Cuyahoga County will be looking for tax kick-backs from the developed area should the interchange get the go-ahead. Gillock mentioned that the idea was ridiculous, adding that Lorain County didn’t ask for money from Westlake when Crocker Park was built.

Sucking sound
Cleveland Councilman Tony Brancatelli questioned whether population shifts were calculated into the economic shifts during the meeting.

“The sucking sound coming out of Cleveland isn’t measurable?” he asked the consultants.

Joe Calabrese, CEO and general manager of the Greater Cleveland RTA, had some concerns regarding public transportation about the study.

“I really think a point has been missed,” Calabrese said. “I know, about a week before this (new interchange) opens, I’ll be getting calls saying ‘I need to get to work.’ We need to provide some associated public transportation.”

Traffic concerns
Several Avon residents spoke out during the meeting. Karen Quisenberry, who lives on Schwartz Road, said currently there is a huge flow of traffic coming from North Ridgeville, and traffic backs up from Detroit Road to Schwartz Road at high impact times.

An Avon resident on Stoney Ridge Road told the consultants she didn’t think a new interchange would help traffic.

“The only road that we have all the way through Avon, east and west, is Detroit Road,” she said. “We need another road that goes from Westlake all the way through Sheffield Village.”

Earlier in the meeting, George Bliss, of Avon suggested that Westlake and Avon look at opening up Just Imagine Drive (Avon) to Clemens Road (Westlake).

“I think that’s an option that needs to be looked at,” Hartt said, adding that he didn’t believe it would qualify as an adequate substitute for a new interchange.

Ron Twining, director of Lorain County Development, said, “Lorain County supports this interchange.”

In the past weeks, the interchange also received formal support of the Cleveland Clinic and Lorain County Engineer Ken Carney.

Cuyahoga vs. Lorain
Rumors of Cuyahoga County NOACA board members exercising their right for a weighted vote during the final decision of the interchange were addressed during the meeting as well.

“There is a provision in NOACA’s code of regulation for voting that goes back 20 years,” Maier said. “While it is permitted (due to Cuyahoga County holding two-thirds of the population in the NOACA region), I can only recall once or twice, in 19 years, that it was used. I can’t predict whether we’ll have a weighted vote or not. We’ll see where it goes. Just because you have a whip doesn’t mean you’ll use it.”

The consultants will submit a final study to the 38 NOACA board members from Lorain, Cuyahoga, Medina, Geauga and Lake counties on Sept. 7, giving them one week to review before a decision is finalized.

For more information on the progress of the interchange study and upcoming NOACA schedules regarding the interchange, visit www.noaca.org/avoninterchange.html.

(Reporter Kevin Kelley contributed to this article.)