Shaker Lakes

Said the citizen group opposing the sewer district's Shaker Lakes project is growing and will organize a letter-writing campaign for the Army Corps comment period.

Urged the Army Corps to require the sewer district to analyze alternatives that don't destroy the lakes, and offered sample letters to residents.

Asked council to support a public hearing, cited 4,000 petition signatures, and shared the Army Corps comment email and project number.

Spoke about the Shaker Lakes.

Spoke about the Shaker Lakes.

Spoke about the Shaker Lakes and parks.

Suggested the city look at how Cleveland Metroparks manages water features at Garfield, Bradley and Hinckley parks, arguing Metroparks may be a better steward for the parklands issue.

Asked for a pause, saying the plan would remove 1,000 trees and bulldoze 26 acres of a historic landscape without public consent or full independent alternatives review.

Argued the parklands' unique history — deeded to the public in perpetuity and saved from freeways — demands respect, and joined the call for a pause to evaluate alternatives.

Called the project 'unspeakable,' noted his childhood memories of Shaker Lakes, questioned the Nature Center's silence after a $400,000 sewer district grant, and urged involving Metroparks and pausing.

Spoke during general public comment on the Shaker Lakes.

Spoke about the Shaker Lakes.

Urged a pause on the Shaker Lakes project, citing a 500-signature petition and news that 2,000 trees will be cut down, and asked for reasonable dialogue with council members.

Commented on Shaker Lakes matters.

Commented on Shaker Lakes matters.

Argued the 24-inch rain design standard is overkill given Ohio's record rainfall, and said the real erosion is of public trust.

Asked council to consider a pause so residents can get transparent information on plans and finances before the lakes are changed forever.

Said the public was never told about the 1,000 tree removals during years of engagement and that proceeding on a misleading process would damage public trust.

A historical society trustee and Section 106 consulting party, she compared the fight to the 1960s highway battle and said the parks are deed-protected for the people.

Called the sewer district unaccountable and implored council to call for a pause and fund an independent engineering study of alternatives.

A communications professional, she said visioning sessions never came back with real plans and urged a strategic communications process.

Called the plan a construction project, not a restoration, and said any solution must be the least invasive to the existing ecosystem.

President of Friends of Horseshoe Lake, she said all non-governmental consulting parties reject the district's mitigations and cited the site's endangered bird species.

Compared the sparse engagement to the three dozen Top of the Hill meetings and said creative alternatives must exist.

Echoed transparency concerns, citing ignored public records requests, and offered the opposition group's expertise and fundraising help as a partner.

Cited county data showing the Heights losing tree canopy fastest in the county and said cutting 563 mature trees is unsustainable.

Noted the crowd of young residents standing at the rail and urged council to keep both lakes.

A Shaker resident, he displayed tree-cutting maps from blueprints obtained via records request and asked whether the city's lawyer was hired to stop the Lower Lake removal.

A 34-year Demington Drive resident, he asked that the lakes be kept as close to their current state as possible.

Said the lake walk is core to her family's health and that she only learned of the tree removal that night — more evidence of the transparency gap.

Cited a Plain Dealer tree article and pressed council on whether the hired lawyer was retained to stop the Lower Lake removal; Mayor Petras clarified the lawyer is investigating the district's decision-making.

A consulting party, she said the Section 106 process started too late, alternatives were barred, and half the consulting parties won't sign the memorandum of agreement.

Said the lakes are the city's lungs, described the wildlife she sees daily, and warned that once lost they will be gone forever.

Cited research on the psychological value of blue space and asked for more critical thinking about what the community loses.

Commented on Shaker Lakes matters.

Commented on Shaker Lakes matters.

Commented on Shaker Lakes matters.

Commented on Shaker Lakes matters.

Commented on Shaker Lakes matters.

Commented on Shaker Lakes matters.

Commented on Shaker Lakes matters.

Commented on Shaker Lakes matters.

Commented on Shaker Lakes matters.

Commented on Shaker Lakes matters.

Commented on Shaker Lakes matters.

Commented on Shaker Lakes matters.