Blog 6

 While Lillian Kuri’s primary job is with the Cleveland Foundation, she also plays a role for the Cleveland Planning Commission. While she has served on the commission for 17 years, she was recently appointed to be the chair. This promotion was granted by major, Justin Bibb, and holds an important significance. Kuri is the first woman to serve as the Chair in the 226 years the Commission has been established.

The Commission consists of seven members. Six of the seven are appointed by the mayor of Cleveland and one comes from the City Council. They oversee and approve projects in the city of Cleveland ranging from new neighborhood, district and downtown plans, to zoning rules, streetscapes, and even transportation planning. I was able to sit in on one of their meetings. These meetings are open to the public. Various people pitched various projects ranging from everything from making new crosswalks to completely new buildings requiring rezoning. Some projects were approved with ease and others required a lot of back and forth. One interesting conversation involved the redeveloping of an area with historic significance to the African-American population. It was a hub for arts and culture and a group wanted to build a new building. Many board members spoke of their concerns about the disrespect that would be put on this area of significance. They were told to rethink their idea and their pitch was ultimately shut down. I think it was very interesting to see this because most of the other ideas presented were approved. It is important to consider the array of effects a project that has seemingly positive outcomes can have. 

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