County Planning’s 2024 Annual Report reflects our continuing efforts to foster growth and development along corridors with bus and rail access. Many identified transit corridors have space for further expansion to support job creation, active first floor spaces, and multi-family residential units. This multi-year effort toward Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is a focus of County Planning, along with many partners, to capitalize on these assets for further economic development and create meaningful connections between people and employment in Cuyahoga County.

Another signature project of County Planning with multiple phases in recent years is the Single-Family Zoning Analysis performed throughout the First Suburbs communities to address the need for infill housing. Our recommendations to update the residential zoning in these communities and promote new housing construction have borne fruit. To date, nearly half of the First Suburbs communities are in process or have addressed their single-family zoning regulations, resulting in 25,000+ parcels that no longer need variances for construction.

We are proud to have supported the formation of the Cuyahoga Greenways since 2015. The continued expansion of trails every year since then offers more opportunities for area residents to walk, bike, or run to points of interest in Cuyahoga County, whether for work or recreation. As we inventory trails planned, designed and built, we look forward to more groundbreakings.

In addition to these projects, County Planning continues to work with individual communities in Cuyahoga County to help meet their needs for growth. Whether it is a comprehensive plan, a redevelopment plan for a commercial corridor, a community signage plan, or repurposing an area with a large retail site, we are ready to assist our communities as they envision a brighter future.

Top image by Jason Cohn via Rails to Trails Conservancy