Highland Medical Center Seeks Additional Parking

Dr. Daniel Cavolo addressed City Council on Tuesday, seeking support for expanded parking at his building, Highland Medical Center, 850 Brainard Road.

"We have six viable businesses. It's become a hardship for us to acquire additional parking," Cavolo said at council's Committee of the Whole meeting. He also appeared before the Planning and Zoning Commission on June 13 with the plan, which would require rezoning residential property Cavolo owns adjacent to the medical building site.

The Highland Medical Center parking lot has 56 spaces, short of the 75 to 80 needed to meet city codes, according to Councilman Robert Mastrangelo, council's representative on the Planning and Zoning Commission. Cavolo would like to extend the lot about 35 feet into the residential property to allow for about 20 additional parking spaces.

Council President Scott Mills said extending the lot south to provide for those spaces would still keep the commercial boundary in line with the southern end of the former Catalano's site across the street.

In the past, medical building employees have been allowed to park at Catalano's, while grocery store employees parked in the medical lot on weekends, Cavolo said.

Council was supportive of the rezoning, but Cavolo needs to prepare a preliminary site plan and get approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission before council can place it on the ballot. Mills noted that time is running short for the November general election and council may need to meet during August recess in order to meet the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections deadline.