Cleveland holds public hearing on petition to add lakefront parcels to North Coast Waterfront New Community Authority

Cleveland City Council held a public hearing May 29 on a petition to add additional lakefront parcels to the North Coast Waterfront New Community Authority, the city announced at the meeting.

The hearing, required under Ohio law and publicly noticed in the Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com, reviewed a petition to expand the boundaries of the existing Lakefront NCA to include properties tied to long-term leases, including areas associated with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Great Lakes Science Center, council staff said. Council previously created the initial North Coast Waterfront NCA by ordinance in March.

The petition process is governed by state statute and the city’s resolution of sufficiency. A city official said the council adopted Resolution 564-2025 on April 20, 2025, finding the petition sufficient and setting the hearing for 1 p.m. May 29 in Committee Room 217 at Cleveland City Hall. The official said the hearing was held as required by the Ohio Revised Code governing new community authorities.

Jessica Trevisano, senior advisor for major projects in the mayor’s office, told the council the North Coast Waterfront NCA is an economic-development tool allowed under state law that can collect user charges inside a geographically defined area only if property owners or lessees opt in. "I'm joined by Scott Skinner, who's executive director of the North Coast Waterfront Development Corporation," Trevisano said.

Trevisano and staff said the petition establishes the maximum types and levels of charges the NCA could impose; individual property owners must agree to any specific charge. The petition on file with council lists maximums including a 5% cap on gross-receipts-type charges, up to a 2% admission-or-ticket charge, and a maximum $5 vehicle parking fee. The presenters said negotiated charges would be used for capital improvements, place-making, programming, public-art and other public-space activation within the NCA.

Scott Skinner, executive director of the North Coast Waterfront Development Corporation, summarized the timing: "This has been the plan that we've communicated to council from the start... this very slide was in the initial presentation, that we would be coming back to add in this land, and this is us doing exactly that." He added that the NCA board, as set in the initial petition and ordinance, will adopt bylaws, negotiate with property owners or lessees, and determine spending priorities.

Presenters described the board composition included in the petition: four members appointed by city council to represent present and future residents and employers of the NCA, one council-appointed representative of local government, and four members appointed by the developer (the city, in this case) to represent developer interests. Trevisano said the term lengths for appointees will be set in the NCA bylaws.

No vote or ordinance adoption occurred at the hearing. Staff said the petition was submitted April 29 and that council is anticipated to consider an ordinance to add the properties to the North Coast Waterfront NCA at the Committee of the Whole and at full council on June 2. The public record for the petition and the resolution of sufficiency is on file in Council offices at 601 Lakeside Avenue, Room 220, and is available during regular business hours.

The hearing record and petition materials note that charges assessed by the NCA are voluntary for property owners or lessees; any specific charge must be accepted by the affected owner or lessee. The presenters emphasized the authority is subject to Ohio open meetings and public-records laws.

Councilmember Demartens and other members did not ask substantive questions during the hearing. The hearing was closed after the presentations and a check for registered speakers; no public commenters signed up during the session.