Schools Still Want Land Rezoned

The Strongsville school district is pressing on with plans to rezone a vacant 17-acre parcel off Pearl Road, adjacent to Strongsville High School property, for potential future development.

Superintendent John Krupinski said the district bought the parcel in 2005 as a new site for Center Middle School, but it's no longer needed for that.

"There are no formal or informal plans for the 17-acre parcel of land," he said. But he said the district "can't develop or use it without having the zoning classification changed."

The district is asking to have the parcel, located behind Jardine Funeral Home, rezoned from R-1 residential to Public Facilities.

The rezoning is expected to appear on the November ballot. In Strongsville, voters have the final say in rezoning residential land to any other classification.

Strongsville officials cautioned in May that the district should have a plan in place for the land before asking voters to rezone it. 

Mayor Tom Perciak said the district should offer "some type of illustration" for what the district hopes to put on the site so voters can judge whether to rezone the property.

But Krupinski, speaking at a public hearing before City Council last week, said the district believes it is prudent to address the rezoning now.

And if voters don't rezone the land, "we can have that information in advance so we can adjust our plans accordingly," he said.

The school district is in the process of building a new middle school on the site of the current Center Middle School.