Committee approves series of ordinances on waterfront leases, sidewalks, market funding and stadium insurance; several items sent to other committees

The Municipal Service and Properties Committee on Feb. 3 considered and approved a slate of departmental emergency ordinances covering waterfront submerged-land leases, stadium insurance procurement, sidewalk/right-of-way permitting and fees, a reallocation of previously approved West Side Market funds, tax-increment financing (TIF) language related to the Bedrock Cuyahoga Riverfront project, and other public-improvement and easement matters. Some items were referred to other committees for detailed review.

Votes at a glance - Ordinance 11-73-2024 — Submerged land leases (approved): Authorized the director of port control and related departments to enter one or more submerged land leases with the state of Ohio for lakefront parcels west of West Third Street to East 40 Ninth Street, with terms up to 99 years and two 50-year renewal options. Committee members were told submerged land leases are required to obtain the state’s consent to lease lakebed property; council approval would still be required for any future development agreements on those parcels.

- Ordinance 22-20-25 — Stadium insurance procurement (approved): Authorized the director of public works, parks and recreation and finance to hire consultants to assess and procure property insurance for Huntington Bank Field for one year. Department staff said the 2025 insurance estimate is about $700,000, roughly $70,000 more than the prior year, and explained vacant facilities can be harder to insure.

- Ordinance 11-41-2023 (as amended) — Sidewalk and right-of-way code and fee changes (moved to Finance): Committee approved a lengthy amendment to codified ordinances on sidewalk, excavation and obstruction permits that sets explicit permit fees (varied by district and activity), inspection fees, expedited review charges and new engineering-review fees for elevated structures or earth-retention systems; the item was forwarded to Finance for final consideration.

- Ordinance 99-20-25 — West Side Market funds reallocation (approved): Authorized reallocation of $3,096,087.79 previously committed for West Side Market improvements so those dollars can be combined with the city’s $20 million ARPA allocation and the nonprofit’s fundraising to fund Phase 1 capital work including basement and East Arcade repairs, a connector and elevator, roof and building-envelope work, and design/construction costs. City staff said combining funds permits tax-credit leverage and construction efficiencies; the market’s nonprofit is pursuing federal historic and new-market tax credits and philanthropic grants.

- Ordinance 45-20-25 — Bedrock / TIF clarifications (approved; moved to DPS): The ordinance clarifies delivery methods for riverfront public improvements (construction-manager-at-risk), confirms five previously-extended TIFs are part of the shorter-quarter TIF district during extension periods, and — as amended — allows the city to allocate up to 90% (amended from 100%) of a TIF district’s value, beginning in 2056, to reimburse outstanding public-improvement obligations until paid off (the city share remains capped at $400 million with 2% annual inflation adjustments while the district remains active). Committee approved and moved the item to the Department of Public Service (DPS) for further review.

- Ordinance 13-53-2024 — Consent for ODOT bridge stabilization (approved): Authorized city consent for a state-led, ODOT-funded project to underpin and stabilize Tower B (an aesthetic column) of the Detroit-Superior Bridge; staff said the work is aesthetic and ties into hillside stabilization and estimated the project at about $550,000 paid by the state.

- Ordinance 43-20-25 — Contracts to support trauma-informed recreation centers (approved): Authorized contracts to hire consultants to design and implement programs transforming city recreation centers into trauma-informed neighborhood resource centers and to sustain out-of-school-time programming and summer jobs; the Office of Prevention, Intervention and Opportunity for Youth and Young Adults said 1,211 young people were served in city jobs last year and that programming had increased after COVID-era declines.

- Ordinance 44-20-25 — Easement for Tamir Rice Memorial after Old West Boulevard vacation (approved): Companion to a proposed vacation of Old West Boulevard, the ordinance revokes an encroachment permit and provides a perpetual easement to the Tamir Rice Foundation to maintain the memorial in place; staff said the memorial had been built under an encroachment permit in 2020 and the easement would provide permanent rights.

Committee process and next steps Most ordinances were approved by the committee; several items were forwarded to other committees or departments for follow-up. The sidewalk/right-of-way revisions were specifically forwarded to Finance for additional consideration and fee confirmation. The Bedrock/TIF clarifications were sent to DPS for further technical review. Several items lacked vote tallies in the transcript; the committee recorded approvals and instructed staff to sign or to forward to the relevant committee.

What to watch for - Finance committee: final consideration of the sidewalk and right-of-way fee schedule and permit processes. - Departmental follow-up: staff promised district-specific fee tables and a line-by-line comparison of current versus proposed fees for the sidewalk/right-of-way item. - West Side Market: staff and the market nonprofit said award announcements and tax-credit closings are expected this spring; the committee asked for an update on progress with the nonprofit’s fundraising and project timeline.

No formal roll-call tallies were recorded in the public committee transcript for most items; meeting minutes or subsequent council records will show vote counts where required.