Cleveland: Annexation (Columbus, Toledo, Lorain: property taxes, property, commission)

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by Cle440

Cities/Suburbs to annex on the Eastside: East Cleveland, Cleveland Hts., Shaker Hts., Warrensville Hts., Garfield Hts., Maple Hts., Newburgh Hts., Cuyahoga Hts.(mostly Industrial), North Randall, University Hts., Bratenahl.

The Westside: Lakewood, Brooklyn, Rocky River, Fairview Park, Brook Park, Brooklyn Hts.(mostly Industrial). Also areas of Parma, Seven Hills north of Snow rd.

If I were Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, Bratenahl, Lakewood, Rocky River, or Fairview Park, why exactly would I want to be annexed to Cleveland? What exactly would I stand to gain from the transaction? I can see what's in it for Cleveland, but what's in it for me?

It would be one thing if the city of Cleveland could send an army over the borders of those cities and force annexation at gunpoint, but, um, I don't think it works that way...? So what's the point of this topic?

OTOH, I'm not at all sure why two-bit places like Newburgh Heights, Cuyahoga Heights, and Linndale even exist as separate burgs. They're practically indistinguishable from the city of Cleveland anyway.

Forget annexation. It isn't going to happen, not on such a large scale as you envision anyway. Now, regionalization, OTOH, in the form of a regional government, is a topic worthy of serious discussion.

[ottomobeale]

I lived in Westpark for 15 years. Sad really. Im thinking the opposite. To save Westpark which CAN be saved they should secede (and join Fairfview?).

Things started going downhill hardcore under Mayor Jane. Not exactly paradise under White but he was the dictator who slowed the descent. The biggest changes I noticed were 2002 to 2005 when I left.

[hillside]

Originally Posted by Cle440

I dont think that Cincinnati and Dayton are even in the same CSA. If they are than the population would be 3.2 million over Cleveland/Akron 3 million. If they are then it happened just recently because they used to be seperate. Also Cleveland and Akron are a lot closer to each other and more connected than Cincinnati and Dayton are, and lets not forget that the Cleveland/Akron MSA doesnt even include the Canton area (? not sure why) which is very connected and right next to Akron, that would put it well ahead of Cincinnati/Dayton.

I thought that the school district could possibly be added together but they would still have the same boundaries. Like people living in the Lakewood neighborhood wouldnt go to public schools in the old city limits of Cleveland. Of course there would be problems, but i think they would be worked out and it would do more good than bad.

Cinci and Dayton haven't officially merged yet. It's expected to be part of the 2010 census, so we'll see how it shakes out then. Hopefully both cities can get off their keisters and get a train runnin' from downtown Dayton to downtown Cincinnati and the airport.

[airics]

so are you saying that shaker hts would now be know as cleveland? wow.. i can see the values of shaker heights homes falling now.

[complexsimplicity]

Shaker Heights would go downhill instantly if it merged with Cleveland. The only parts of Shaker that I could see transitioning easily would be around the Lee/Chagrin area all the way towards Scottsdale. I do agree that Newburg Heights and Cuyahoga Heights should be annexed with Cleveland. Do these cities even have over 10,000 people residing there? I will have to look that up...

[Traveler87]

I am sketchy on this issue. I really would like Cleveland to annex just a little bit, but not go out of control like Columbus, Jacksonville or Indianapolis. I would also like to see Akron/Canton become one metro with Cleveland again.

[CTownNative]

Originally Posted by Traveler87

I am sketchy on this issue. I really would like Cleveland to annex just a little bit, but not go out of control like Columbus, Jacksonville or Indianapolis. I would also like to see Akron/Canton become one metro with Cleveland again.

Actually if you look at a density map for Ohio,you could make a strong case that Cleveland,Akron,Canton,and Youngstown should all be in the same MSA.They are all very close to each other,and there is alot of other medium sized cities and suburbs that basically connect all 4 cities.If they were to do that Clevelands MSA would be over 4,000,000 people,which I believe would put Cleveland in the top 10 biggest MSAs.On the topic of Cleveland annexing.I don't think they should do that.I think there is other ways the city can improve without annexing a bunch of suburbs.And if they do annex,I think they should only annex enough suburbs to make the population of the city 500,000 to 530,000.You would still have a pretty big population in the city and you would still have many suburbs.And thats something that makes Cleveland unique from other cities.The fact that it has so many suburbs.Alot of newer cities don't have that.It allows a more diverse choice of areas that you can live in in the area.If Cleveland does annex it should annex the smaller villages that are basically inside the city limits,it should annex East Cleveland,and maybe Brooklyn and Garfield Heights.

[Cle440]

I considered all the bad that could happen if Cleveland annexed those cities/suburbs, and there is a lot of negative things that could happen. But still, all the inner ring suburbs are already going downhill. Especially on the Eastside. You have places like East Cleveland that are already 100% bad, and then you have places like Shaker Hts., Cleveland Hts., and other inner ring suburbs that are gradually going downhill.

I still think that annexing all of those areas would be a good thing for Cleveland. Things cant really get any worse than they already are now.

[costello_musicman]

We're starting to see Cleveland city limits building up some of its already surprising large infrastructure. I agree with what was said above about spreading out of resources and too wide of a focus if some sort of annexation would happen to occur. I also see the pros, but looking good on paper for the short term or for a population increase is not worth it. Once we fix the core of the region, Cleveland, we can begin looking to spread out again--hopefully by this time, there will be a reason/desire for the inner ring suburbs to want to be a part of the main city.

[Clevelander17]

This is an unbelievably stupid idea from the standpoint of those of us who live in the suburbs you named. We may be struggling (some more than others, although the entire region isn't doing so hot at the moment), but pair our cities with Cleveland and watch how fast the crap hits the fan.

Furthermore, judging by your screen name, I think it's safe to assume that you live in the 440 area code. That means that, in all likelihood, you didn't list your own suburb as one that should be annexed. Talk about selfish and hypocritical. You're willing to throw other suburbs under the bus for the sake of Cleveland, but not willing to risk your own suburb in the annexation process to "make things better" for Cleveland? Unreal. I'll support such an idea only when all suburbs are willing to sacrifice themselves to annexation and when the clowns running things downtown show the rest of us that they can manage a city effectively and use some fiscal restraint.*

Until then, forget it. We'll fight to remain independent. You merge with Cleveland if you like the idea so much.






*(They can't do it now, doubtful they'll be any better with a city almost twice as big. A better idea would be for Cleveland to split up in to a few smaller cities to give more localized control to citizens and more accountability to elected officials.)