Some residents of Cleveland’s Cudell neighborhood are upset that a new elementary school in their neighborhood will result in the loss of trees and green space at Cudell Park at W. 98th St. and Detroit Ave. The new Marion Seltzer K-8 school has been in the works for more than a decade, but it was only after designs had been completed that the trees were considered. Now, green space advocates are making a bid to convince the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) to shrink the footprint of the new school in an effort to keep more of the trees and green space in the park.
In a meeting with community residents held on Wednesday, Aug. 9 at Cudell Recreation Center in the park, Patti Choby of Cobalt Group outlined the process that the school district used to plan the new school over the past decade, citing three rounds of neighborhood meetings and review and approval by the city’s landmarks commission. “If you missed all that engagement over the last 10 years, please let us know suggestions as to how we can do better,” she said, saying that changing the designs now could cost $1.2 million more and delay the construction of the school.
How did this happen?
School officials told residents at the meeting, which was attended by about 40 people, that the new building is needed to serve students who are attending classes in the current Marion Seltzer school, an older, outdated building located next to the site. The construction of the new building on what was previously parkland will allow the current school to remain open while the new one is built, they said.
Ward 15 council member Jenny Spencer said when the plan was developed, no one considered the loss of trees, which she argued was a failure of the city’s and school district’s planning processes. The city’s urban forestry experts were brought in at the end of the design process rather than the beginning, she said, after it was seemingly too late to protect the canopy.
“We’re here today because we’re looking at the possibility of trees, legacy mature trees, being removed as part of this project,” she said. “How does this happen to a community? I think there are two main reasons. First, moving from concept to drawn footprint is a very different thing. We’re dealing with the reality of a school being built on a site. The second thing is that the city ordinances are not set up to protect trees, and that’s an incredibly painful reality.”
Spencer is hopeful that the city’s newly revamped tree commission will help to prevent such oversights in the future, but it won’t help save the trees at Cudell Park right now. Advocates with Friends of Cudell Commons Park are still hoping they can convince the schools to tweak the design of the new Marion Seltzer in such a way that preserves more of the trees and green space while still allowing a new school to be built on the site in a cost-effective, timely way.
Meeting attendees didn’t argue the need for a new school, but were perplexed about why a new one has to come at a cost to the trees and the green space. They noted that while plans were presented to the neighborhood, it wasn’t until engineering drawings were completed that residents, the school district, and the city acknowledged that 40 trees would be cut down. Residents believe that the city did not do enough to include them in the planning.
“We were not asked,” said one resident who lives across the street at the meeting.
“Nobody is debating the fact that the kids need an updated school, but they also need green space,” noted another resident, advocating for keeping the trees and reducing the school’s footprint. “It’s the only walkable green space around here. You can’t put a price on that.”
Competing priorities, few clear answers
The property at Cudell Park was donated by Frank E. Cudell and his wife in 1916. Cudell was a prominent German-born architect who designed several famous buildings in Cleveland, including the Perry-Payne building downtown. Although the property was donated as parkland, it did not carry any deed restrictions. Therefore, CMSD and city officials say they’re not violating any agreements by building a new school on what is now parkland.
Two years ago, the city and schools did a land swap in which CMSD got a portion of Cudell Park for the new school, and the city obtained the shuttered Watterson Lake building at W. 74th St. and Detroit Ave., which will soon be razed for private development.
School officials said in the meeting that the new design would preserve mature trees at the southern end of the park, while advocates were stuck on the fact that it would result in the loss of mature trees at the northern end of the park. Among the trees to be sacrificed are a 200-year-old bald cypress tree that’s older than the neighborhood.
“Do you know why this over 200-year-old tree was never considered to be preserved?” one resident asked at the meeting, marveling, “It’s older than the clock tower.”
Cudell resident Robert Carillio said of the proposed plan, “This isn’t a wise development, it’s not well planned. A good wise development would find a way to creatively integrate those trees.” He went on to add, “These trees are as much a part of the history of the city as are the buildings of the city; the trees are part of this city, and they should be intact.”
Cleveland schools officials discussed several alternative proposals and their shortcomings at the meeting, all of which include spending more money to accommodate the trees. The alternative plans ranged from “squishing” or making the building shorter yet wider, making the school thinner and taller, and moving the bald cypress tree. All these alternatives would require additional funds and would cause delays, officials said. Construction is set to begin this month.
In addition to arguing that it would be too expensive and time-consuming to redesign the school, school officials said they want to keep the building on two floors to make it efficient for students and staff who work there. The site would also include an expanded parking lot for staff.
Some residents at the meeting asked why their earlier calls to design a three-story building and shrink the parking area were not heeded, noting that there are other schools in the district, such as Campus International School downtown, that are three stories.
Cudell resident Brent Eysenbach said that there wasn’t enough community input into the planning process, and suggestions by residents at previous meetings to shrink the footprint of the building were dismissed out of hand. “The systems we have in the city are insufficient,” he said.
CMSD representatives stated that moving the bald cypress could be an option but “it’s expensive and there’s no guarantee it would survive.” Some residents felt that the city and CMSD were placating them with the suggestion of moving the tree.
Twenty-two year Cudell resident Jamie Brazier said, “I think they want to pacify us with this one tree while removing over an acre of green space from us.”
Carillio echoed Brazier’s sentiments, saying, “They’re throwing us a bone and it’s very insulting to people here.”
What’s next
James DeRosa, commissioner of real estate with the city of Cleveland, said the loss of parkland was being accompanied by a future city investment into the park. He said the city is planning to invest future funds into renovated green space, including new ballfields and possibly playground equipment, and that the park renovation process will kick off soon, after school construction is underway.
School officials said if the plan didn’t move forward, it would cause lengthy delays, including the possibility that it wouldn’t get constructed as part of CMSD’s “Phase 8” at all and could be placed in a later phase at a future date to be determined.
Patty Chobi of the Cobalt Group said at the Aug. 9 meeting that they were all going to regroup with the city, the CMSD representatives, and Council Member Jenny Spencer regarding next steps.
When the Land asked Spencer about next steps she said the most important next step is the operation of the newly reformed Urban Forestry Commission. “They are going to look at the ordinance from 2018 to discuss how it’s being put into practice, how it’s being enforced. and figuring out the city processes, because [the procedures] did not protect these trees,” she said.
The Friends of Cudell Commons Park, a Facebook group run by Kim McDonald and Anne Moore Armstrong, is very active with local advocates and residents rallying around one another and the mature trees in Cudell. The page currently has 191 members and is growing. They are hoping their passion and knowledge can persuade the city of Cleveland and CMSD to further consider tree preservation and protection of the current green space in Cudell.
Friends of Cudell plans to peacefully protest outside the CMSD school meeting at 1327 E. 79th St. on Aug. 22. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m., and protesters plan to arrive at 5:30 p.m. In addition, there is a petition to Save Historic Cudell Park and the 40 trees.
With construction set to start this month, residents are feeling the pressure of time constraints and hope their petition and protest will help preserve the trees and parkland.
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