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Council committee approves creation of North Coast Waterfront New Community Authority with amended board appointments
Summary
Committee approved an ordinance creating a North Coast Waterfront New Community Authority (NCA) to allow property owners and lessees to opt into charges funding shared waterfront infrastructure; members also approved an amendment setting initial board appointments.
A Cleveland council committee approved legislation to establish the North Coast Waterfront New Community Authority, a state-authorized quasi-governmental entity that can levy opt-in charges on property owners or lessees inside a defined district to fund shared public infrastructure and amenities on the lakefront.
Presenters Scott Skinner and Jessica Trevisano told the committee an NCA can assess fees only with the property owneror lesseeconsent and can use those revenues to finance public space, district parking and related infrastructure. Trevisano said the NCA would be governed by a board of at least seven members; for this authority, four members are council appointees to represent present and future lakefront interests, one is a local government representative, and developer representatives fill the remainder. The city is identified as the developer because it owns the underlying land.
The ordinance creates an initial NCA boundary covering stadium parking, municipal lots, the Great Lakes Science Center, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Burke parking and adjacent parcels; presenters said some properties must be added later after submerged land-lease issues are resolved. Skinner emphasized the opt-in nature of charges: "Each individual user has to opt in," he said, adding the authority cannot unilaterally force participation.
Committee members asked about board membership, designees, and possible charges. Councilman McCormack offered and the committee adopted an amendment naming specific citizen and developer representatives and a local government representative for the initial board appointments; the committee seconded and approved the amendment by voice vote recorded in the transcript as "Ayes have it." The motion listed citizen members (Amanda Taunt, Talia Thomas, Sean O'Malley, Brian Zimmerman), local government representative Shelby Anthony Hairston, and developer representatives Donovan Duncan, Thomas Einhaus, Ricardo Leon and Jessica Trevisano.
Presenters said the NCA is intended as a financing and governance tool that can be used alongside tax-increment financing, special improvement districts and other tools. They also said charges would be disclosed publicly and the NCA would be subject to Ohio open meetings and public-records laws.
The committee recorded approval of the ordinance as amended (Ordinance 1061-2024). Presenters said they will return in coming months to add additional property once submerged-lease issues are addressed and to present bylaws and development agreements for board action.
