Metro West Community Development Organization hosts ward meeting

Approximately 25 people were in attendance, including Metro West staff facilitating sign-in and logistics, two Cleveland Police representatives, and Cleveland City Council Member Jasmin Santana.

There was no signage on the building, but this location will be the new office of Metro West Community Development Organization.

Executive Director of Metro West Emily Lee led the meeting and agenda. The meeting began at 6:15 p.m. Lee said she wanted to give time for folks to arrive. Metro West provided pizza.

New nuisance abatement program

Cleveland Police Sergeant Reginald Lanton and Detective Jasmine Brown gave a presentation on the city’s new nuisance abatement program:

• The new nuisance ordinance covers criminal activity at a property (defined in Chapter 630 of the Cleveland code)
• Nuisance vs. criminal nuisance: The ordinance covers criminal nuisance, not general nuisance, neighborly opinions, or disputes.

Most common reportable nuisance activities are animal violations, disorderly conduct, drug abuse, family offense violations, gambling, littering, liquor control, obscenity/sex offenses, offenses against other persons, property offenses, theft, weapons/explosives, sound devices/noise, reckless operation (drag racing, street takeovers).

An arrest is not necessary for the nuisance abatement process — only probable cause (this is a change with the new ordinance) — triggered by a call to 911 or the non-emergency line at 216-621-1234.

Lanton said residents should give the address and reason for the call. Police are asking that callers be very specific in their reports to help police get proof of the violation. Probable cause and proof (neighbor’s testimony, video/photo, etc.) are required for citations, regardless of the quantity of calls about a certain property.

• They ask that doorbell camera files be timestamped in case the police cannot make it to the property before the activity ends. In the past, an officer had to see the activity to jumpstart the nuisance abatement process. This is a change under the new law.

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An attendee asked if police will issue citations on the scene. Lenton responded that this will happen only if the activity is witnessed by the officer. Citation is not required for the nuisance remediation process to start.

An officer will interview the caller the next day with QR code to upload videos/photos to help the police’s case.

Reports are anonymous, and the reporter can tell the dispatcher not to have an officer come to their home for an interview. They can set up an appointment at the station instead.

Following a report, the process is:

• Three verified calls within 12 months (with proof) = a warning letter to the owner of the property.
• Property owner must provide a plan within 10 days to address nuisance activity.
• Failure to do so results in a $100/day fine beginning on the 11th day until a plan is submitted.
• Owner has 30 days total to submit a plan while fines accrue.
• On the fourth verified complaint after inaction by the owner after the initial 30 days, the property gets a nuisance declaration with a $250 fine that keeps escalating upon additional reports with proof ($1,000 fine for the seventh and subsequent violations). 
• If the owner doesn’t pay, invoices are turned over to the county every September to place liens on properties.

Resident concerns about properties

Residents began sharing concerns about repeated reports on the same properties that they said have not received police attention or have not received timely attention. The sergeant continued to encourage residents to report repeatedly.

The property that was the subject of the most discussion was the Rose’s Discount Store location near West 65th Street and Clark Avenue. The police representatives, residents, and Santana all acknowledged that the city has been attempting to work with store owners (located in North Carolina) regarding drag racing and other illegal activities occurring in the parking lot overnight.

The sergeant reports that owners were not responsive to a warning letter and only became responsive after they received an invoice from the city with their accrued fines ($2,500).

Negotiations with city officials are in progress, and the city law department is involved at this point, Lenton said.

Residents called for more patrols in this area, as they said the activity is regular and fairly predictable.

Residents want more police visibility

Resident comments began to touch on topics outside of the new nuisance policies.

Residents are very concerned about a perceived lack of patrols and lack of community engagement with officers. The sergeant expressed challenges with lack of officers.

Residents asked what the city is doing to hire more officers. Det. Brown responded that two classes are in progress, with one more scheduled for this year. Hiring events have been ongoing for two years — “a blessing for our hiring,” Brown said. Typically, it would take up to six to eight months to get onto the job, Brown added. Now, after a three-day hiring event, they’ll get through an application, civil service exam, fitness test and receive a conditional offer on the same day. Approximately 80 officers are in process/classes currently. “Not a lot of people are trying to be police officers right now,” said Lanton. 

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General sentiment seems to be that the neighborhood wants the police to be able to do more in the moment rather than reporting, research, etc. Residents want more visibility from neighborhood police officers.

To close, Santana encouraged people to keep calling, noting that she grew up in the neighborhood and that “the neighborhood has changed.” She acknowledged concerns about crime and encouraged people to attend the Second District meeting next Tuesday with the commander.

Santana said crime is increasing.

Modular homes and new construction

The next section of the meeting focused on miscellaneous announcements and statements from other community organizations:

• Halloween event at City Life on Oct. 31
• Santana promoted voter registration, saying Ward 14 has the lowest turnout. Registration and absentee ballot applications were available at the meeting.
• Four modular homes are coming to the ward, and other new construction is set for the Tremont North area. These projects are funded by American Rescue Plan Act dollars. A representative from Dollar Bank was present for mortgage program questions.
  • Residents expressed concern about out-of-town landlords purchasing homes in bulk in the neighborhood. They are concerned about absent landlords turning homes into “halfway houses,” along with housing density. Santana is going to check occupancy permits if residents report the addresses, as these types of homes require zoning permission.
• Greg Barron, managing director of development for Volker Development, discussed an affordable senior housing development that is being built in the neighborhood. He will be back for future meetings with updates.
• A representative (missed her name due to noise and cross-talk) from the Cleveland Office of Health & Substance Abuse shared that the city has noted an increase in overdose deaths in this ZIP code. They will be starting Narcan programming — providing Narcan and training on how to use it. They will also offer classes on peer support and helping people access treatment.

The meeting adjourned at 7:02 p.m.

These notes are by Documenter Julia Brookover.

If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@signalcleveland.org  with “Correction Request” in the subject line.