Jackson Administration Tried To Block Complete And Green Streets Legislation!
Patch.com, By Lee Chilcote-THE LAND, Posted September 13th 2021
Things could change soon!
Ward 3 councilman Kerry McCormack introduced a new complete and green streets ordinance protecting vulnerable road users in August 2020, yet for more than a year, it’s been stalled at city hall.
That’s because the city charter requires the administration to provide a mandatory referral to the Planning Commission so that it can vote on the legislation, and so far, city officials have refused.
“Technically it’s [city planning director] Freddie Collier who has to put it on the agenda,” said McCormack. “He says the administration has concerns and that’s why they’re dragging their feet. If you have open concerns, then let’s talk about it. That’s the point of legislative review, to mark it up.”
Officials in Mayor Frank Jackson’s administration haven’t said why they’re blocking the law, and didn’t respond before the deadline for this story. But the councilman thinks he knows. The new ordinance, which was crafted with input from dozens of community organizations and city residents over a period of several years, would provide more citizen input into complete and green streets.
“The crux of it is that it provides oversight and they don’t like it,” he said.
McCormack said he’s met with the mayor and his staff multiple times on the issue, but he hasn’t been able to find a way around the city’s roadblocks — that is, until now. With the help of city council’s staff attorneys, he recently learned that the administration is required to provide a mandatory referral within 30 days of council submitting a request for one. If the city refuses, then it is deemed approved and city council can begin hearing it at its committees due to the administration’s inaction.
McCormack said council attorneys submitted the official referral August 5th, yet the planning commission didn’t put it on their August 6th, August 20th, or September 3rd agendas. As of Tuesday, August 6th, McCormack said, the 30-day term will be up. Given this, McCormack expects it to now appear on the next agenda of the Development, Planning and Sustainability (DPS) committee.
The nonprofit advocacy group Bike Cleveland has put out an action alert asking residents to contact their city council representatives in support of the complete and green streets legislation. “On August 26th, Councilman McCormack introduced amendments to the City of Cleveland’s Complete Streets Ordinance orginally passed in 2011,” the alert states. “We’re calling this effort Complete & Green Streets 2.0 (Ord. 676.2020). This updated legislation will ensure equitable mobility by creating an improved process through which to elicit community input. The result will be better street designs which result in more livable, equitable communities.”
McCormack said that while he’s eager to move the legislation forward, it shouldn’t have to happen this way. “It sucks, man, it sucks,” he said. “We shouldn’t have to resort to this parliamentary procedure. We should have a partner in the administration that believes in greener streets. We’re not doing something crazy here. At every block club meeting I go to, people want safer streets.”
For more on complete and green streets in Cleveland, check out: https://www.thelandcle.org/stories/analysis-city-of-cleveland-is-quietly-blocking-citizen-planning-efforts-for-safer-greener-streets.
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