The first Merriman Valley Master Plan Public Workshop will be held virtually, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 15. A second in-person workshop is scheduled for August 17-19.

The citizen group, Preserve the Valley, is working on the plan in conjunction with the cities of Akron and Cuyahoga Falls, as well as Farr Associates, an architectural and planning company headquartered in Chicago.

With a core group of about 15 individuals, Preserve the Valley wants to engage additional communities around the northern side of the national park in the master planning process as well, said Drew Holland, an early organizer of the effort.

Driving around the Cuyahoga Valley, it’s clear the group has widespread support. Preserve the Valley signs, some large banners, take pride of place in many front yards. The group’s subscriber list is now 1,000 strong.

“I think our outreach has been solid, you know, we’ve learned a lot. We’ve got good people on the team,” Holland said. “Some of the outgrowth of that has been 400 plus signs and banners across the city of Akron and city of Cuyahoga Falls.”

The group wants the Merriman Valley and other communities adjoining the national park to be considered “National Park Gateway Communities,” in which citizens, businesses, developers and municipalities have a voice in planning the remaining undeveloped areas in the Cuyahoga Valley.

Instead of disparate development, unifying could help communities around the national park be considered a single economic force, Holland said, much like the 13 communities in the Chagrin Valley, which have one chamber of commerce. If properly planned and implemented, development around the national park also could contribute to significant economic growth in the region.

The group has worked toward improvements in previous developments near the park.

A current sore point is the potential development of the city of Akron-owned, 45-acre triangle of land at Theiss Woods. The proposed development prompted residents to officially unify to create Preserve the Valley in 2020, although the same residents had come together to bring improvements to plans for previous developments near the park.

Theiss Woods is near Hampton Hills Mountain Bike Area in Summit Metro Parks. Elevated above the national park, Theiss encompasses hills, woods, a natural stream and wetlands.

When the city issued a request for proposals for residential development on the property, public outcry was resounding. As a result, the city agreed to accept conservation proposals.

In March, the Western Reserve Land Conservancy proposed 100% conservation of Theiss Woods in a partnership with Summit Metro Parks. The land conservancy offered the city $410,000 for the property, writing, “The Land Conservancy believes the Theiss Road property offers too much natural resource value and too great an infrastructure cost for the city of Akron to proceed with development.”

Letters of support for the conservation deal also came from the Conservancy for the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the Akron Beacon Journal Editorial Board, Akron’s League of Women Voters and the Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund.

The city has not yet announced a decision.

“We want 100%, conservation for Theiss. That’s what we’re advocating for there,” Holland said. “And then we want a moratorium on development until the master plan can get completed.”

However, Theiss Woods is not included in the area covered by the master plan, he said.

Theiss Woods is in Akron Councilman Shammus Malik’s Ward 8. The land conservancy’s argument is compelling, Malik said, but all voices should be heard, especially since the land belongs to the city.

But deciding on Theiss Woods before creating the master plan “really puts the cart before the horse,” he said.

“For the first time in decades, we have the opportunity to have a real conversation about what is the vision of the valley for decades on into the future,” Malik said. “I think, to make a decision that would affect such a large part of the valley, before having that conversation, or in the midst of that conversation, would ultimately not be helpful.”

Earlier this year, Malik, an attorney, resigned from a law firm associated with another controversial project in the Merriman Valley at the former Riverwood Golf Course. 

As that project worked its way through City Council, Preserve the Valley fought to have the city’s dated development codes updated to include no-build areas near the Cuyahoga River. The group also successfully pushed to have the development’s density reduced and hiking trails, sidewalks and bridges installed.

Akron City Council ultimately rezoned the property to allow the Petros Development Group to build townhomes there, with some of the changes the group wanted.

To avoid future disputes, Preserve the Valley wants the master plan to involve form-based code, making sure buildings in any development near the national park are compatible with their surroundings.

Form-based code is a regulation, not a guideline, promoting the proper character of a development by organizing the various elements through form and scale and in relationship to one another.

The group also wants the master plan to reflect better accessibility in the Cuyahoga Valley. Over the years, development has taken place with no plan for sidewalks or trails for the people who live there, Holland said.

To learn more, visit Preserve the Valley’s website.