Chapter 2: Background
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Regional Context/Trends
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| The City of Mayfield Heights, containing 4.2 square miles, is situated in the far eastern portion of Cuyahoga County, approximately 12 miles from downtown Cleveland as shown in Map 2. Neighboring communities include Lyndhurst, Richmond Heights, Highland Heights, Mayfield Village, Gates Mills, Hunting Valley, and Pepper Pike. The City is bisected by Interstate 271, running generally north/south, and by State Route 322, Mayfield Rd., which runs east/west through the center of Mayfield Heights. |
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Map 2
Regional Context Map |
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Overall, the Cleveland metropolitan region continues to decentralize as the region’s population and employment have experienced minimal growth, yet more people and jobs are moving away from Cuyahoga County to neighboring Lake, Geauga, Summit, Medina and Lorain Counties. Between 1980 and 2000, Cuyahoga County lost 7 percent of its population while adjacent counties of Geauga and Lake experienced 22 percent and 7 percent population increases, respectively.
Population and Housing Characteristics |
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Table 1
Population of Area Communities
1990 & 2000
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Community
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1990
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2000
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Change
1990 - 2000
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#
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%
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Beachwood
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10,677
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12,186
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1,509
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14%
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Gates Mills
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2,508
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2,493
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-15
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-0.6%
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Highland Heights
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6,249
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8,082
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1,833
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29%
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Hunting Valley
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648
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588
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-60
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-9.3%
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Lyndhurst
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15,982
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15,279
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-703
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-4.4%
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Mayfield Heights
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19,847
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19,386
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-461
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-2.3%
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Mayfield Village
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3,462
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3,435
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-27
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-0.8%
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Pepper Pike
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6,185
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6,040
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-145
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-2.3%
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Richmond Heights
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9,611
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10,944
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1,333
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14%
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Cuyahoga County
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1,412,140
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1,393,978
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-18,162
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-1.3%
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Source: U.S. Census
In 2000, the total population of the City was 19,386 residents, down slightly from 19,847 residents in 1990. Population for the City and its neighboring communities is summarized in Table 1 and shown in Map 3.
Like many of the communities in eastern Cuyahoga County, the population level has stabilized and is not expected to increase significantly. As a community characterized by smaller lots and a considerable number of apartments, the City has a higher density level than neighboring communities with about 4,600 persons per square mile. Appendix A contains detailed demographic and economic data tables. |
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Map 3
Population 2000 |
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Table 2
Persons Per Household
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The average household size in Mayfield Heights was 1.95 persons in 2000, down slightly from the 2.06 persons in 1990 and 2.17 persons in 1980. As demonstrated in Table 2, this trend is typical in northeastern Ohio communities as many cities are experiencing an increase in the number of households and a resulting decrease in the size of the average household.
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1980
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1990
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2000
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1980-2000
% Change
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Mayfield Heights
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2.17
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2.06
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1.95
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-10%
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Cuyahoga County
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2.51
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2.46
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2.39
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-4.8%
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Northeast Ohio Region
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2.90
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2.69
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2.57
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-11%
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Table 3
Younger and Older Households 1990 & 2000 |
| Mayfield Heights is characterized by a population that is generally older than that of Cuyahoga County. As Table 3 demonstrates, while 32 percent of Cuyahoga County’s population was less than 18 years of age in 2000, only 19 percent of the City’s population was under the age of 18. Similarly, while 27 percent of the County’s population was 65 years of age or older in 2000, 41 percent of the City’s population was 65 years of age or older. |
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Percentage of Households with
Children Under the Age of 18
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Percentage of Households with
Individuals 65+
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1990
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2000
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1990
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2000
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Mayfield Heights
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16%
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19%
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41%
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41%
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Cuyahoga County
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32%
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32%
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29%
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27%
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Northeast Ohio Region
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35%
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31%
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38%
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37%
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Table 4
Housing Units 1990 & 2000
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| In terms of its housing characteristics, the City had 10,461 housing units in 2000, an increase of nearly 2 percent from 1990. The rate of growth of housing units in the City is comparable to that of other built up communities in Cuyahoga County as shown in Table 4. This generally indicates a positive trend, as there has been a slight increase in residential units during a time period that experienced a slight decrease in population. Nearly 70 percent of the community’s owner-occupied housing was built before 1970. |
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1990
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2000
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Change
1990 – 2000
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#
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%
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Beachwood
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4,732
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5,447
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715
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15%
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Gates Mills
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992
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974
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-18
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-2%
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Highland Heights
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2,176
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2,862
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686
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31%
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Hunting Valley
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269
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255
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-14
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-5%
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Lyndhurst
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6,729
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6,855
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126
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2%
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Mayfield Heights
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10,300
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10,461
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161
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2%
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Mayfield Village
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1,416
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1,471
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55
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2%
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Pepper Pike
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2,170
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2,296
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126
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6%
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Richmond Heights
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4,503
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5,060
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557
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12%
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Cuyahoga County
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604,538
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616,903
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12,365
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2%
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Table 5
Housing Units by Type 2000
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| The City’s residential housing is described by type of unit in Table 5. In 2000, 52 percent of the City’s housing was represented by single-family homes (the great majority of which are detached), 47 percent by multi-family buildings with 5 or more units, and 2 percent by buildings with 2-4 units and other housing types. Of the total housing units in the City, owners occupied 48 percent while renters occupied 46 percent in 2000, with 4 percent of the units remaining vacant. Between 1997 and 2002, new housing in Mayfield Heights had been constructed at an average of about 15 units per year. |
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Table 6
Median Household Income and
Median Value of Housing Units
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| As indicated in Table 6, the median household income in the City rose 30 percent from $28,688 in 1990 to $37,236 in 2000 not quite as strong a growth rate as that experienced by the entire county. The median income of a Mayfield Heights household remains generally lower than that of its neighboring communities and slightly lower than that of the county in 1999. The median value of a single-family home was $125,000 in 1999 representing an annual average increase of 6.4 percent since 1989 as also shown in Table 6. This average annual increase in housing value is comparable to that experienced by the rest of Cuyahoga County that grew at an annual average of 6.0 percent between 1989 and 1999 |
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Table 6
Median Household Income and
Median Value of Housing Units
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Median Household Income
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1989
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1999
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% Increase
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Mayfield Heights
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$28,688
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$37,236
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30%
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Cuyahoga County
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$28,595
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$39,168
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37%
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Median Value - Owner Occupied Units
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1989
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1999
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% Annual
Average Increase
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Mayfield Heights
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$77,000
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$125,000
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6.4%
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Cuyahoga County
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$71,200
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$113,800
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6.0%
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Economic/Commercial Development
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Table 7
2002 Major Employers
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The City’s economic base is substantial and somewhat diverse with a considerable retail and office base that complements the City’s sizable residential population. Mayfield Heights is home to more than 1,400 businesses that employed nearly 28,000 people in 2000. A listing of the City’s major employers in 2002 is provided in Table 7. The Hillcrest Hospital complex, and its related businesses, remain a primary source of employment for the City, and private businesses have become more important to the City’s tax base over the years.
With an estimated 1.9 million square feet of retail square footage, Mayfield Heights has grown to become a regional retail center due its location on Interstate 271 and its high concentration of residents. In terms of retail activity in the eastern suburbs, only Beachwood has more total retail square footage than Mayfield Heights. A comparison of retail square footage on a per capita basis (with neighboring communities) indicates that only |
- Hillcrest Hospital
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- Parker Hannifin Corporation
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- Rockwell Automation
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- Alcan Aluminum Corporation
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- Progressive Casualty Insurance
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- Cleveland Clinic Foundation
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- QualChoice Inc.
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- Cooperative Resource Services
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- Pioneer Standard Electronics
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- Victoria Financial Corporation
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| Beachwood and Richmond Heights had more retail space per resident than Mayfield Heights in 2000 as shown in Map 4. While the presence of retail has provided the City with a considerable tax base asset, managing this retail activity and its traffic impacts continues to be a challenge to the community |
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Map 4
Retail Square Footage Per Capita
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| The two office parks of Landerhaven and Landerbrook provide the City with attractive commercial office space adjacent to the Cedar Road interchange of Interstate 271. These two office parks combined provide an estimated 400,000 square feet of commercial office space in the City. |
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Table 8
Assessed Tax Valuation 2002
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COMMUNITY
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REAL PROPERTY
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TOTAL
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Agricultural/Residential
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Commercial/Industrial
Public Utility
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Beachwood
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$289,642,860
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45%
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$355,707,750
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55%
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$645,350,610
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Mayfield Heights
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$249,047,330
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53%
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$222,082,280
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47%
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$471,129,610
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Mayfield Village
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$88,892,340
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60%
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$60,161,680
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40%
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$149,054,020
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Richmond Heights
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$171,013,230
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67%
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$85,926,950
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33%
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$256,940,180
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Lyndhurst
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$305,469,140
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80%
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$75,104,420
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20%
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$380,573,560
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Highland Heights
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$240,801,490
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80%
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$60,132,380
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20%
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$300,933,870
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Pepper Pike
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$298,408,580
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89%
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$36,729,560
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11%
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$335,138,140
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Hunting Valley
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$102,133,650
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96%
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4,172,170
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4%
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$106,305,820
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Gates Mills
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$181,597,960
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97%
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$5,595,110
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3%
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$187,193,070
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Cuyahoga County
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$17,434,757,770
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68%
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$8,390,113,301
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32%
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$25,824,871,071
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Table 9
Full and Effective Tax Rates 2002
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The City’s overall tax base is nearly $475 million, second only to the City of Beachwood in terms of total tax base when compared to area communities as shown in Table 8. In 2002, nearly half of the City’s tax base was represented by commercial/industrial businesses. With the exception of the City of Beachwood, the neighboring communities generally have lower proportions of commercial tax base as a percent of their overall tax bases.
Residential property tax rates in Mayfield Heights, summarized in Table 9, are comparable to the neighboring communities of Mayfield Village, Beachwood and Highland Heights and lower than the communities of Lyndhurst, Richmond Heights and Pepper Pike. |
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Taxing Jurisdiction
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Full Tax Rate
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Effective Rate
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Residential/ Agricultural
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Commercial/ Industrial
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Beachwood
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99.1
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54.65
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60.84
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Gates Mills
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94.6
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55.1
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59.78
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Highland Heights
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87.7
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49.52
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53.78
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Hunting Valley
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103.8
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60.46
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64.67
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Lyndhurst
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118.9
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73.13
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77.06
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Mayfield Heights
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93.7
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55.52
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59.78
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Mayfield Village
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91
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49.79
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54.55
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Pepper Pike
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108.2
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64.61
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68.54
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Richmond Heights
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104.9
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61.21
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67.77
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Distribution of Tax Dollars by %--2002
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| For the City, the residential property tax rate in 2002 was $55.52 per $1,000 of assessed valuation while the commercial property tax rate was $59.78 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. This means that the owner of residential property with a market valuation of $100,000 paid $1,943 in property taxes in 2002, while the owner of commercial property with a market valuation of $100,000 paid $2,092 in property taxes in 2002. |
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District
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Res.
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Comm.
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Mayfield Schools
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55%
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57%
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City of Mayfield Heights
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18%
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17%
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Cuyahoga County
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22%
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22%
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Library & Metroparks
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5%
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4%
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| Natural Resources and Features |
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| Built-up communities such as Mayfield Heights do not normally think of themselves in terms of natural resources, yet, data on natural resources and features show that there are some natural features that characterize the City. The physical boundary separating the Chagrin River and Euclid Creek drainage areas passes through Mayfield Heights so that part drains naturally to the northeast and part to the northwest. Several small areas of wetlands are still found in the City as well. As a member of the Chagrin River Watershed Partners, Inc. as well as the Euclid Creek Watershed Council, the City is working with neighboring communities to address storm water and watershed management issues collectively. |
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| Assessment of City Infrastructure/Facilities |
| A community’s infrastructure refers to the public and quasi-public facilities (e.g., |
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Table 10
City of Mayfield Heights
Condition of Infrastructure—as of 2001
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Unit/Description of Condition
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Wastewater
Systems
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Maintained by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District
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Wastewater Collection
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219,000 linear feet
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217
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2
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$35,900,000
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$11,046,000
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Stormwater Collection
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240,000 linear feet
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240
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$45,566,000
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$15,189,000
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Water Supply
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Maintained by City of Cleveland Water Department
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Water Distribution
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295,000
linear feet
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NA
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NA
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NA
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NA
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NA
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NA
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NA
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NA
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Roads
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43.48 center line miles
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13.84
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17.96
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6.68
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5.00
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$27,779,000
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$7,144,900
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Bridges
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Maintained by Ohio Department of Transportation
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Culverts
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Maintained by Cuyahoga County
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Solid Waste Disposal
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Contracted with Private Provider
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TOTALS
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$109,245,000
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$33,379,900
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| Source: City of Mayfield Heights and Fisher Associates (City Consulting Engineer). |
roads, sewers, bridges, utility lines, etc.) that are necessary to support residential and commercial development, both existing and future. The availability or lack of availability of adequate utility services is an important factor in determining where development or redevelopment can occur and at what intensity. This section of the Master Plan assesses the condition of the City’s infrastructure systems and the City’s approach to maintaining and improving these systems.
Table 10 provides a summary of the condition of the City’s infrastructure focusing on those facilities that are the responsibility of the City to maintain. Fisher Associates, the City’s consulting engineer, provided the data for this table from reports submitted to the Ohio Public Works Commission in 2001. The table provides a summary of data by type of infrastructure including: the amount of infrastructure in the community; its condition; and the estimated costs of replacing and repairing those facilities. The total replacement value of the City’s infrastructure systems is $109 million, based on data available from the City (which currently excludes the City’s water |
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| Sanitary and Storm Sewer Systems |
Nearly all of the City is served by a central public sewer system with the exceptions of isolated sections of Cedar Rd. and Gates Mills Blvd., the entirety of Peeper Hollow, a private street in the northeast corner of the City, where residents currently rely on septic tank systems. The overall state of the sanitary sewer system can be described as “Fair†as 99 percent of the system is in that condition. Sanitary sewers are systematically inspected and maintained for the City under contract with the Cuyahoga County Engineer’s Department (an average contractual expense of $500,000). The City’s consulting engineer indicates that the City’s sewer systems are being maintained well under the terms of this contract.
New sanitary sewers were installed on Mayfield Rd. west of Lander Rd. in 1995 as part of a road improvement project. Proposed new major improvements to the sanitary sewer system include the construction of new mainline sewer improvements on Mayfield and SOM Center Roads as part of the road improvement projects that currently being designed. Following these major improvements to the sewer system, the City Engineer indicates that the City will consider improvements to residential sections designed to alleviate the basement flooding that still occurs in portions of the City during heavy rains. There are currently no plans to provide public sewers to the portions of the City still operating on septic tank systems. The City has been underway with a program to re-line manhole sections and mainline sanitary sewers to reduce the amount of leakage in the system (“infiltrationâ€).
The City’s storm sewer system can also be described as in “Fair†condition as 100 percent of the system is considered in this condition, according to the City Engineer. The City’s storm sewers are periodically cleaned and inspected by the Cuyahoga County Engineer’s Department on an “as-needed†basis. This is less systematic than the maintenance of the sanitary sewer system. The storm sewer was also upgraded during the 1995 project to improve Mayfield Rd. between Lander Rd. and the west corporate line. Storm sewer improvements that had bee recommended in the 1972 Master Plan, including the construction of two storm relief sewers, one on Ridgebury (from Commonwealth to East Minor) and the other on Gates Mills Blvd. (from SOM Center Rd. to Kingsbury), have not yet been constructed. |
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| Transportation |
Responsibility for maintenance of the roads within the City depends on the function of the road. Nearly 32 percent of the City’s 43 “centerline miles†of local streets (i.e., those that are maintained by the City) are considered in “Good†condition, 41 percent are considered “Fairâ€, and 15 percent are in “Poor†condition. According to the City’s Engineer, the City spends between $1.7 and $2.2 million annually on preventive maintenance, repairs, and rehabilitation of these local roads and maintains a Pavement Management Program to schedule needed street repair and replacement.
A number of major projects are proposed for streets in Mayfield Heights in the next five years. In addition to the Mayfield Rd./I-271 interchange project (described later in this section), SOM Center Rd., between Marsol Rd. to the City’s northern corporate border, is expected to be resurfaced in late 2004/early 2005. |
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| Government Facilities |
The newly expanded Mayfield Heights’ City Hall anchors the municipal complex at 6154 Mayfield Road. The new project adds more than 45,000 square feet to the City’s administrative facilities.
Both the City’s Police and Fire Departments are also centrally located in the community at the municipal facility on Mayfield Road. The fire station was renovated in 1986, and currently houses the 29-member department, two fire pumpers, a Snorkel aerial apparatus, two rescue squads and two utility vehicles. In 1982 Mayfield Heights established a paramedic rescue squad, and now 24 of the firefighters are state certified paramedics, operating under the medical direction of Hillcrest Hospital. The Mayfield Heights Police Department has 33 officers providing 1.7 officers for every 1,000 residents; the department includes a Bicycle Patrol Unit that has been in operation since 1996.
The City’s existing community center building, the Ross C. DeJohn Community Center, at 6306 Marsol Rd. adjacent to I-271, contains 6,840 square feet and is well utilized by various community groups. This facility was built in 1977 and currently serves as the community’s primary location for indoor meeting activities. There are no indoor recreational facilities provided at this location. |
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| Public Parks and Recreation |
| The City’s major park facilities are identified in Table 12 and also in Appendix A (along with known information about the year of construction or major improvement of those facilities). The City’s recreational facilities consist of both City-owned properties and equipment and recreation land available to the City, but owned by the Mayfield School District. As a built-up community without a regional park or other major natural areas within its boundaries, Mayfield Heights has a relatively small proportion of its land devoted to parks and recreational space. City residents have access to nearby Metroparks facilities that include the North Chagrin Reservation and its adjoining park areas. |
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Table 12
Mayfield Heights Park Facilities
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Area
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Total Est. Acres 2003
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Mayfield City Park
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19.5
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Mayfield Middle School
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10.0
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Lander Elementary
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3.0
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Oakville Park
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1.5
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TOTAL
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34.3
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Acres per 1,000 Residents (in City)
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1.8 acres
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NRPA Recommended Acreage per 1,000 Residents
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6 --10 acres
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“Deficiency†of Recreation Space
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79 -- 155 acres
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As shown in Table 12, the City currently has about 39 acres of recreational open space available for its 19,386 residents, which includes about 17 acres at public school facilities. National standards, adopted by the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) in 1983 recommended providing between 6-10 acres of recreation/parks for every 1,000 residents in a community. Mayfield Heights has 2.1 acres for every 1,000 residents of the community. Table 12 compares the amount of open space/recreation facilities for the City against these national standards and indicates the “deficiency†in the amount of recreational space in Mayfield Heights. The current approach to parks/recreation planning encourages communities to use systems planning and to plan facility needs to address the desired “level of service†for their community rather than relying exclusively on acreage standards. |
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Programming facilitated by the Mayfield Heights Department of Parks & Recreation during the summer months is extensive, and there is full use made of the City’s outdoor recreational facilities. However, the lack of dedicated indoor recreational facilities available to the community’s residents provides limited recreational options during the spring, fall and winter seasons.
To meet the indoor recreation needs of its residents, the City has developed shared use arrangements that provide additional recreation programs and activities for its residents. For example, Mayfield Heights residents (and those of the other three communities in the Mayfield School District) have access to the Mayfield High School Field House facilities (i.e., basketball and volleyball courts, walking track, weight room, and indoor pool facilities). However, time available for resident use is limited to those hours available after the High School, its Athletic Department, and the District’s Community Education Department have scheduled their needed hours.
Also, the City has recently made arrangements for community residents to use the ice rink at Gilmour Academy (which has recently installed a second sheet of ice at its facility) for limited periods of time. Private recreational facilities that are available to the community’s residents are located at Fitworks in Richmond Heights and at Bally’s in Willoughby. |
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| Traffic Impacts and Issues |
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Mayfield Heights has some of the most congested roadways in the Cleveland region with stretches of Mayfield Rd. in the “extreme†category in terms of “levels of service.†Mayfield Rd. has seen a trend of increasing traffic as indicated in Table 13. Both Mayfield and Cedar Rds. are programmed for widening projects, with the Mayfield Rd. project expected to commence construction in late 2005/early 2006.
A summary of the key elements of the project to widen Mayfield Rd. and improve the I-271/Mayfield Rd. intersection is provided below: |
Table 13
US 322--Mayfield Rd. Traffic Counts
(passenger and commercial vehicles—average daily)
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Location
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1994
|
2002
|
% change
|
|
West of SOM Center Rd.
|
31,866
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38,553
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21.0%
|
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At SOM Center Rd.
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27,696
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29,982
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8.3%
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East of SOM Center Rd.
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25,878
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28,377
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9.7%
|
|
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- • Project is currently in its “final design†phase, engineering and design work is nearing 100 percent completion.
- The overall project will rehabilitate Mayfield Rd. from the Lyndhurst corporate line to just east of the SOM Center Rd./Mayfield Rd. intersection.
- • Lyndhurst to Lander: new pavement (no widening)
- • Lander to Woodrow: new pavement and signals (no widening)
- • Woodrow to SOM Center Rd: widening with turn lane in center
- • SOM Center Rd. to Gates Mills border: new pavement (no widening)
- • I-271/Mayfield Rd. intersection: certain ramps will be configured to create a “T†that will permit signalization and enhance movements in and out of major retail centers adjacent to the intersection (similar to Chagrin Blvd./I-271 intersection)
- • Sidewalks will be improved where needed
- • Potential enhancements (not currently funded): pavers between the curb and sidewalks.
Conversation with Matt Wahl, Project Manager for HNTB (Architects, Engineers and Planners), consulting engineer for the design/engineering of the Mayfield Rd. widening project.
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The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority provides transit services on several major routes to the City of Mayfield Heights. The Mayfield Rd. Number 9 service, connecting Mayfield Heights to University Circle in Cleveland is a well-utilized and productive route for the RTA. A map of RTA transit services to the community is provided in Appendix C.
In terms of the pedestrian character of the community, most of the City is served by sidewalks, with the exception of some areas, most notably along Gates Mills Blvd. where a central green space or “greenway†is also centered in the boulevard. Major intersections remain pedestrian-unfriendly, however, some of this should be addressed with major road widening projects that are currently being implemented. The existence of high traffic volumes on major roads presents an unfavorable environment for on-street bike trails. As an alternative, stretches of less-busy residential streets could be considered for designation as bike corridors |
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