The view from the Idea Center

The city of Cleveland dropped two newsworthy stories on Christmas Eve, perhaps on purpose, that you might’ve missed.

They released a list of  15 goals for the West Side Market in 2020, which is significant because some tenants are leaving over displeasure with management of the market. The city is promising $3.5 million in improvements in 2020, with electrical work due to begin in the next few months.

City Operations Chief Darnell Brown told me they’re also looking to utilize underused areas of the market for social spaces, artwork, culinary education and perhaps features on the history of the facility on West 25 ^th St.

The city also posted a cease use notice on Christmas Eve at the  Denison United Church of Christ after inspectors deemed the facility unsafe for the up to 50 homeless people staying at a hospitality center set up by the nonprofit  Metanoia Project. The violations include "no working Manual Fire Alarm System in the building" and "areas within the building with blocked or obstructed egress..."

Ideastream's  Mike McIntyre reports for the Plain Dealer  “the building department alleges that having people sleep there constitutes an illegal change of use for the building, and the church must apply to the city to allow such a use.”

This story follows a years-long battle in  Akron over entrepreneur Sage Lewis’s Homeless Village and a recent report showing  high eviction rates in Akron.

This confluence of stories indicate that homelessness is not only a serious problem in Northeast Ohio, but the problem is increasing.

Are compromises possible between cities and churches or individuals that want to house the homeless? What can be done to ensure that homeless people are living in safe conditions that comply with city ordinances?

Those questions will figure prominently into reducing the homeless population in 2020.

See you bright and early tomorrow morning on the radio,
Glenn Forbes

Need to KnOH

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Your ideas

Cleveland plans to  update the West Side Market next year, including capital improvements and creating more social spaces for customers. When was the last time you shopped at the historic West 25th Street venue and what changes do you want to see that would draw you there? Call us at  (216) 916-6476, comment on our Facebook page or join the conversation in Public Square. We'll feature some of your thoughts and comments here in Noon(ish) and on Morning Edition.