Neighbors Speak Out Against 'Phase 2' of Clifton Pointe Development

The proposal for the second phase of the high-end townhomes took another step forward on Monday. But that didn’t sit too well with neighbors.

The proposal for a second phase of the Clifton Pointe development on Sloane Avenue took another step forward on Monday. As construction of the first phase is under way — and all 17 units are sold — Lakewood City Council is considering a measure that would extend the 10-year tax break to the second phase of development. The second portion of the project would also require a zoning change. But the development proposal hasn’t come without opposition. About a dozen neighbors of the proposed, high-end townhomes along Sloane Subway attended a couple of council’s committee meetings to speak out on Monday. Many of those residents shared concerns that included the “size and scope” of the project; parking; landscaping; a possible impact on property …

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Spike in the Number of Cases In City’s Housing Court in 2012

“With the assistance of the city administration, the diversion program has become a useful tool for the court to bring houses into compliance with the city’s building and safety codes,” according to the 2012 annual report.

There was an overall decrease in the number of cases at the Lakewood Municipal Court in 2012. The exception to the trend was the number of cases before the city’s housing court. The number of cases before Judge Patrick Carroll in housing court jumped from 156 in 2011 to 258 cases in 2012. One of the reasons for the increase, he wrote in his annual report, is multiple charges against the same defendant. “While there may appear to be greater emphasis on housing code violations in light of the relatively small number of cases,” Carroll wrote, “these cases are extremely important because of the age of many Lakewood homes.” Many of the cases involve the usual suspects: painting, landscaping and masonry. “Building code compliance became more …

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Mayor Outlines Goals, Challenges in State of the City Address

With more than 100 residents attending, Mayor Michael Summers went through several key issues during the address on Tuesday.

Housing, parks, public safety and commercial development.  These were just a few of the issues shared by Lakewood Mayor Michael Summers at his annual State of the City address at the Lakewood Masonic Temple on Tuesday night. With more than 100 residents attending, he covered some of the initiatives, goals and challenges facing the city. Entering his third year in office, the address was one of Summers’ shortest to date. Following his remarks, Summers fielded questions from about half-dozen residents in the audience, ranging from the trouble that hauling new recycling bins could cause to frequent power outages in the city. Here are a few of the key issues outlined in the address: Commercial development: Summers rattled off dozens of new …

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How Much Are Homes Selling for in Lakewood?

Check our searchable database for sales and transfers in Lakewood and the rest of Cuyahoga County in February.

If you’re looking to put your home on the market soon—or if you’re just curious how much the house down the street sold for—take a look through our searchable database of the most recent property transfers in Cuyahoga County.   In February 2013, there were 131 transfers in Lakewood, and about 3,600 transfers across Cuyahoga County. The information in the database was provided by the Cuyahoga County Fiscal office. You can search by city, zip code or street address. For the address, just type in the name of the street—you don’t have to include the suffix, direction or street number.

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LOOK: How Old Are the Homes on Your Street?

City releases detailed map highlighting the development patterns of Lakewood neighborhoods.

With its focus on the city’s aging housing stock, Lakewood officials are looking to gain some insight about the city’s development. A new map provided by the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission — at no charge — is expected to shed some light on the city’s past. As well as its future. (click on the attached PDF at right and zoom-in to find your neighborhood) Dru Siley, the city’s director of planning and development, said the map will help highlight issues such as historic preservation. “The better informed we are about development patterns in Lakewood, time of construction and how neighborhoods developed, the better able we will be as effective advocates for our 100-year-old building stock,” he said. City officials will share the map with …

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Colin McEwen

10:24 pm on Thursday, January 24, 2013

Hmmm. Wonder if you've got a blocker up... I know it can take a moment to load, but perhaps you'll need to adjust your system preferences... Anyone out there more proficient than me with this problem?   more ›

Have You Seen the Lakewood Patch Real Estate Page?

Latest news in listings, events and all-things-housing in Lakewood.

SEARCH: Is Your House Up to Code?

City updates its recent comprehensive housing strategy. Nearly half of the homes that "needed work" got fixed up.

After the city finished up the work of its comprehensive Residential Housing Survey earlier this year, the residents who received notices in their mailboxes began the work of fixing up their homes.  The result? Of the 1,741 homes in Lakewood that “needed work,” almost half of them were improved over the summer. Lakewood Patch has compiled a complete database to look up the properties in Lakewood that need some work. While most of the homes improved since the city's initial survey, 44 homes dropped into the "needs work" category. Also, city officials didn’t resurvey the ‘twos’ because the focus areas were on the 'threes.'  City officials point out that most of the issues are minor: peeling paint, cracked driveways, broken fences. The …

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Colin McEwen

10:06 pm on Monday, November 26, 2012

Thanks for pointing that out, Sarah. I got it!   more ›

858 Homes in Lakewood Improved Since May

City follows up on its comprehensive Residential Housing Survey. Of the 1,741 homes in Lakewood that “needed work,” almost half of them were improved over the summer.

Corrrection: 858 homes were reported improved. The previous version of this story had the wrong number of houses. After the city finished up the work of its comprehensive Residential Housing Survey earlier this year, the residents who received notices in their mailboxes began the work of fixing up their homes.  The result? Of the 1,741 homes in Lakewood that “needed work,” almost half of them were improved over the summer. Most of the issues were minor: peeling paint, cracked driveways, broken fences. The updated housing survey map (to the right) shows hundreds of color-speckled dots on a satellite image of Lakewood telling the story of the current state of the city’s aging housing stock.  Red is bad, green is good. There’s now more green …

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WATCH: Volunteers Fixing Up Lakewood Neighborhoods

A couple of corporations partnered with LakewoodAlive to help fix up some old Lakewood homes on Wednesday.

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