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City panel approves two rezoning map changes to support multifamily and campus plans on West Side
Summary
The DPS zoning committee approved two map changes — Map Change 2689 along West 20th Street to consolidate split zoning for a proposed multifamily project and Map Change 2675 (Phase 1 Lorraine rezoning) to align zoning with existing institutional and retail uses, including the Ignatius campus.
The Department of Public Safety & Service zoning committee approved two separate municipal map changes May 13 that city planners say are intended to support walkable retail corridors and ongoing campus expansion on Cleveland’s West Side.
City planners said the first measure, Map Change 2689, changes zoning along West 20 Sixth Street to a single multifamily-residential designation and adds a five-foot map setback so a proposed project can align with an adjacent multifamily building rather than the homes on West 20 Eighth Street.
Shannon Leonard, chief zoning administrator for the City Planning Commission, told the committee: “This map change … is to promote walkability and support a diversity of housing typologies, which is in alignment with the Connecting Cleveland 2020 comprehensive citywide plan.” Leonard described the request as a fix to a split-zoning block and said the adjustment would allow the development to sit closer to West 20 Sixth Street and away from the recently built townhomes farther south.
The committee also approved Map Change 2675, described in committee as Phase 1 of the Lorraine Avenue strategic rezoning. Leonard said that change will realign a mix of two-family, multifamily and limited retail districts along Lorraine Avenue, keep the pedestrian retail overlay in key corridors and convert parts of the St. Ignatius campus to an institutional-research zoning district to accommodate campus growth. “What this will allow is for the educational campus to continue to grow and revitalize and expand, and the zoning really just fits the use,” Leonard said.
Ohio State Incorporated’s chief real estate officer, Ben Trimble, testified during the brief public-comment period on Map Change 2675 that he and his organization, owners of two parcels in the district, support the rezoning. Councilman Michael McCormack told the committee the local block club had also provided a letter of support for Map Change 2689.
Both ordinances were reported approved by the committee on the record: “Ordinance number 501‑2025 stands approved” (Map Change 2689) and “Ordinance number 567‑2025 stands approved” (Map Change 2675). Committee discussion was limited, and no additional amendments were requested.
Background provided in committee materials shows the Lorraine rezoning is being phased so staff can return later in the year for Phase 2 community conversations about additional properties and heights. Leonard said Phase 1 focuses on preserving walkability around the Westside Market and the Rapid station while aligning campus zoning for future institutional uses.
The approvals come after City Planning Commission review and neighborhood outreach; staff noted the map setbacks and height district changes must still be implemented through the city’s legislative process and building permits as projects advance.
