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Neighborhood tree activists question CMSD Board about building plans

This story has been updated since its original publication date. 

CMSD NEWS BUREAU

09/06/23

Nearly a dozen Northeast Ohio residents rallied at CMSD’s first Board Meeting of the 2023-24 school year on August 22nd to register their concerns regarding the District’s plan to build a school on land it owns in Cleveland’s Cudell neighborhood.

A new Marion C. Seltzer School is slated to be built next to the current Marion C. Seltzer School, an outdated facility that opened in 1972. The District underwent an extensive review process with the city of Cleveland that included three rounds of neighborhood input before the Cleveland Landmarks Commission granted permission to build this past May 1st. Construction on the new school site is slated to begin in the fall.

At the August Board Meeting, neighborhood residents said their concerns about the removal of several dozen trees is what led to their belated call for changes to the school building project.

Patti Choby, a consultant for the District, said CMSD has taken a number of highly proactive steps to address concerns raised by the tree advocates and neighborhood residents.

“As part of the Tree Preservation Plan, the District will go beyond a one-for-one tree replacement plan. The District will protect 31 remaining trees throughout construction. It will also contract with an ISA-Certified Arborist to supervise soil mitigation after construction (replacing bad soil/debris with quality soil and organic matter), select and supervise the planting of new trees, and monitor a three-year tree maintenance plan,” said Choby.

“Additional work will also be done with the city of Cleveland and community partners to research and recommend best practices for promoting healthy tree populations on school grounds to inform a longer-term investment in tree maintenance across the District,” she added. 

In November 2014, Cleveland voters passed Issue 4 that provided $200 million for school renovations and new construction. The projects are part of a modernization program that began after the roof at the former East High School, now the East Professional Center, collapsed in 2000. Marion C. Seltzer PreK-8 is one of the schools slated to be built.

To learn more about the extensive planning that went into planning of the new Marion C. Seltzer School, please visit CMSD’s Segment 8 website for more information:

https://tinyurl.com/bdecvp2m