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Committee approves temporary license for Amtrak to upgrade lakefront station for ADA compliance
Summary
The Municipal Services and Properties Committee unanimously approved Ordinance 34-2026, allowing Amtrak to use city land on the Cleveland lakefront for up to two years (month-to-month thereafter) to complete Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) upgrades. The work is expected to take up to 24 months and, according to staff, to cost the city no capital outlay.
The Municipal Services and Properties Committee approved an emergency ordinance authorizing a license for the National Rail Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) to use and occupy city-owned land adjacent to the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway to make Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) improvements to its lakefront passenger station.
The ordinance, introduced as 34-2026 by Councilmembers Bishop Slife and Griffin, authorizes the director of capital projects to issue a license for a term not to exceed two years, continuing month-to-month thereafter, while Amtrak completes construction. Commissioner De Janeiro said the work will raise the existing platform, expand the station canopy, improve track crossings and provide laydown and parking space for contractors. "These improvements are intended to bring the station into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990," Commissioner De Janeiro said.
Council members asked staff to clarify historical lease terms and the nominal rent listed in the executive summary. Staff said the last formal lease dated to 1975 with renewal options that expired in 1995, leaving Amtrak on a month-to-month arrangement. The executive summary lists a nominal $1 cost in prior documents; staff said they will confirm whether that reflected $1 total, $1 per year, or another cadence in the older lease language.
Committee members pressed on coordination with larger lakefront plans, including a federally funded feasibility study to explore combining Amtrak and the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) into a multimodal center. Councilman Shaw asked whether Amtrak improvements could require rework after the city’s land-bridge and lakefront projects; director-level staff said the study is intended to identify compatibility and siting, but Amtrak must comply with federal ADA obligations and therefore needs to proceed.
On financial responsibility and maintenance, staff said Amtrak is expected to complete improvements at its cost and to restore any disturbed areas at the end of construction; the administration told the committee it does not anticipate additional city capital expenditures for the planned improvements.
The committee approved the ordinance and instructed staff to provide follow-up detail on the prior lease’s exact rent terms and on any community engagement Amtrak has conducted or plans to conduct. The ordinance was approved in committee with no roll-call tally provided in the transcript; the chair asked members to sign the ordinance.
The next steps are for staff to finalize the license agreement details and for the administration to provide periodic council updates as construction proceeds; the construction window cited by staff is up to 24 months.
