LAKE COUNTY, Ohio — Mentor has voted to continue using the 215 acres of land for conservation purposes, which Painesville leaders said would impact their plans for economic development.
But Painesville said it's not giving up.
We don’t just report the initial story—we follow through to its conclusion. Read and watch our previous reporting on this story below and see more stories that we've followed through on here.
In a five-to-two-vote Tuesday, Mentor voted to continue using 215 acres of land on Brookstone and Shamrock Boulevard in Painesville for conservation purposes while establishing police and sanitary regulations for the properties.
“That kills those 1400 jobs. It kills nearly $350 million worth of new investment,” said Painesville City Manager Doug Lewis.
Mentor is the owner of this land within Painesville’s city limits.
However, Mentor has made it clear from previous News 5 reports that this ordinance does not change anything besides clarifying the land’s exact legal status.
“Painesville representatives are telling you development of those 200-acres are critical to their future. We haven’t been included in any of the conversations up to this point regarding interchange upgrade plans,” said Mentor City Manager Kenneth Filipiak.
Lewis disagrees, saying Painesville City Council proposed to split 50% of their income-tax revenue with Mentor through a Joint Economic Development Agreement in 2023, which would also address Mentor’s traffic concerns to finance necessary road improvements.
But, he said Mentor has so far declined this proposal.
“There’s also been no real analysis done in terms of what potential income tax revenue could be generated from that site,” said Filipiak.
Still, Lewis remains hopeful the two cities can come to some resolution.
“We’re not going to sit back. I mean, it’s very important for us to develop this property,” said Lewis.
If this happens, Lewis and Economic Development Director Susan Crotty said this would help boost Painesville’s economy and income tax for services like safety and public works.
“We need to be able to generate income that we can provide those services, but it also does make sure that you have an environment where you have jobs for your residents,” said Crotty.
In the coming weeks, Painesville said it plans to evaluate a written agreement between the cities to see if any violations took place through the passing of this ordinance.
