Ikea would impact 15.5 acres of wetlands with its proposed Cleveland-area store. A local organization focused on water quality wants the retailer to find another site.
BROOKLYN, Ohio -
This map shows the proposed site plan for the Brooklyn Ikea store, based on documents submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Northeast Ohio shoppers might be pleased at the prospect of an Ikea store opening in this suburb southwest of Cleveland.
But local organizations focused on the region's water quality aren't so happy that the Swedish furniture retailer has zeroed in on a site on Tiedeman Road.
In a letter dated Aug. 11, a committee that represents local governments, nonprofits, businesses and watershed groups asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reject Ikea's request to build a store that would erase 15.5 acres of wetlands.
Members of the Cuyahoga River Area of Concern, a consortium focused on improving water quality, believe that a 366,500-square-foot Ikea store and parking will exacerbate flooding problems in the Big Creek watershed. The group also asserts that paving a swath of forested wetlands will complicate efforts to remove the watershed from a list of trouble spots that, ultimately, sully Lake Erie.
Ikea, the river-focused group says, should choose another site.
"Were it in a more forested area, it might not be this important," said Jennifer Grieser, head of the Cuyahoga River Area of Concern's advisory committee and senior natural resource manager for the Cleveland Metroparks. "But, at this point, it's some of the last remaining wetlands in the area. ... That's where we're concerned, is that we're at a tipping point, and we really don't want to exceed it."
In the letter, which Grieser signed, the committee stresses that members aren't opposed to development. They urged Brooklyn and Ikea to consider other sites, "rather than destroying one of the last [15-plus-acre] forested wetland complexes in the Big Creek watershed."
Ikea hasn't announced a Cleveland-area project. But the company has put land under contract in Brooklyn and continues to study the potential of that property, owned by The Plain Dealer Publishing Co. and the city. The site, visible from Interstate 480, sits northeast of The Plain Dealer's printing facility.
The Army Corps has veto power over the retailer's plans thanks to the Clean Water Act, which put wetlands and waterways within the agency's purview. In July, the Army Corps posted information about a permit request from Ikea, which is seeking permission to build on the Brooklyn site and to offset the wetlands loss by contributing to conservation efforts elsewhere in the region.
The public comment period on Ikea's application ended Aug. 11. An Army Corps spokesman wasn't available Wednesday to discuss the responses.
"There were obviously many letters filed," said Joseph Roth, an Ikea spokesman. "Those (from water-quality groups) were a couple of them, but there were many in favor, as well. ... Certainly some organizations, it's clear from their mission what their position or opinion most likely would be in advance, whether it's from an economic-development standpoint or an environmental-preservation standpoint. We're just looking for a happy medium."
Essentially, the retailer would reimburse groups that have created or conserved other wetlands in Northeast Ohio. One proposed conservation site is in Erie County, while another offset proposal ties into a Nature Conservancy program focused on the Cuyahoga River.
In an Aug. 7 letter to the Army Corps, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District argued that any mitigation sites should fall within the Big Creek watershed. That area spans a network of streams and culverts, collecting water from Cleveland, Brooklyn, Linndale, Parma, Parma Heights, Brook Park, Middleburg Heights and North Royalton. More than 90 percent of the land in the watershed has been developed, according to Big Creek Connects, a nonprofit group.
The sewer district didn't outright oppose the Ikea project.
Instead, the agency offered to work with Ikea and Brooklyn to find alternative conservation sites nearby. "Although small relative to the 38-square-mile Big Creek watershed, the 15.50 acre wetlands represent some of the last remaining natural features to protect water quality and reduce flooding in the watershed," the district's letter noted.
Fran Migliorino, Brooklyn's economic-development director, said she hadn't seen the letters to the Army Corps and therefore couldn't comment Wednesday. In an email, Plain Dealer General Manager Virginia Wang reiterated that Ikea continues to conduct due diligence on the property.
"Ikea has complete control over the permitting process, including obtaining any permit or application for development impacting wetlands," she wrote.
According to the Army Corps' public posting from July, Ikea has evaluated 32 alternative sites in the region. The agency did not identify those sites and has yet to provide a copy of the alternative-site analysis to The Plain Dealer, in response to a records request. If the Army Corps approves Ikea's permit request, the proposal will face another round of scrutiny from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
The Cuyahoga River Area of Concern committee has asked the Army Corps to hold a public hearing on the project. It's not clear when the agency will respond.
"We know that we're going to get a lot of people being upset about it because it's Ikea, and that's fine," said Meiring Borcherds, the committee's vice chairman. "Nobody's doing this for a popularity contest. We just wanted to make the Army Corps aware of what the impacts could be."