Put your money where your mouth is...

Cleveland Scene has recently posted an article, more of a blurb, really, about the ongoing controversy revolving around the former Oakwood Golf Club.

To quote: “Meanwhile, South Euclid officials are not hiding their glee at the prospect of finally taking a chunk out of their East Side neighbors’ coffers.” So, according to Scene, South Euclid is being greedy for wanting
its share of the retail pie? Give me a break! For at least the past two generations, residents of South Euclid have been going outside the city and feeding the coffers of the various Heights – Cleveland, University,
Richmond, and Mayfield. In terms of generated tax revenue, they have been living off of us, particularly Cleveland Heights which is overrun with parking meters. So now, South Euclid is being vilified because it wants its fair share.

Jane Goodman is also being vilified – all one needs to do is read the nasty comments at Facebook’s Citizens for Oakwood page to see the evidence. It doesn’t help that Scene has misrepresented Jane Goodman’s stance in this matter, summarizing it as “Suck it, Beachwood”. Goodman is an honorable public servant, one of the few who has been critical of the way the South Euclid spends taxpayers’ money – and she’s hardly been one to sign on to every development deal that comes along. Scene has done a disservice to the complex issues surrounding the Oakwood development, Jane Goodman, and the citizens of South Euclid. The author of the story, one Vince Grzegorek, should apologize – but I’m not holding my breath.

For people in the Heights to get their panties in a bunch and foam at the mouth about South Euclid’s support of Oakwood Commons is hypocritical in the extreme. There is also a small but vocal cadre in South Euclid
screaming about it. Both groups have motivations that go beyond retail surplus and environmental issues. More about these groups in upcoming posts.

This comes down to a term that has gotten a lot of play in Cuyahoga over the last few years: regionalism. It seems everyone wants it, except those who profit from not having it. People in Cleveland Heights want a say
about what happens with the South Euclid portion of Oakwood. Some have even put forth the ideal of a petition against the proposed Oakwood Commons development. I’d like to ask Heightsters against this development: Okay, you want to have a say in this decision, which will affect South Euclid’s bottom line. Are you also willing to sign a petition stating that tax generated by retailers on the borders of South Euclid should be shared with South Euclid?