Geauga Lake Tree Cutting Latest Issue in Redevelopment Stalemate

September 28, 2017 by Diane Ryder

Geauga Lake, once a thriving amusement park straddling Bainbridge Township in Geauga County and the City of Aurora in Portage County, remains a barren 650-acre weed field a decade after the park closed abruptly in 2007.

At the center of what has become a political quagmire is the latest in a long series of controversies: the logging of a 44- acre buffer near a Bainbridge residential area.

During the correspondence portion near the end of Monday’s trustees meeting, Trustee Kristina O’Brien read portions of a Sept. 15 email from property owner Cedar Fair’s attorney, Duffield Milkie, to trustees. The email outlined the company’s position on whether reforestation is necessary on the parcel, located north of Depot Street and Geauga Lake Road.

In early June, residents called trustees to report a logging operation on the parcel, which had been part of a 1991 judgment entry in Geauga County Common Pleas Court setting aside a buffer of mature trees between the amusement park and the residences.

Trustees have requested that Cedar Fair replace the trees, which Elk River Export, a Hiram-based purchaser of standing timber, mistakenly had removed.

On Monday, Trustee Jeff Markley said the Cedar Fair email indicated that nothing would be done to restore the trees in the buffer.

“They found some forester who said it will re-vegetate naturally and they won’t do anything more,” Markley said. “That’s not the answer I wanted to hear on what resolution we wanted.”

Markley said the email showed, in his opinion, no actual remediation plan except that Elk River had agreed to donate $7,500 to The Trust for Public Land, which Markley said he was not familiar with.

Milkie provided aerial photos showing little damage to the buffer as well as a letter from Burton forester Lynne Ebel stating there was no need to re-plant the area because it would recover naturally on its own.

“That’s accurate; it will. But it will take 50 years,” said Markley, a landscape architect.

Milkie’s email concluded with: “Cedar Fair stands ready to continue its efforts to unlock the economic potential of the Bainbridge portion of the former Geauga Lake Park. A resolution of the JEDD agreement is a key to unlocking that potential and we are hopeful that the township will re-engage with Aurora and finally resolve the outstanding issues.”

In February, negotiations between Bainbridge and Aurora to form a Joint Economic Development District to share expenses and income tax revenue hit a major snag after Aurora Service Director John Trew notified a business owner planning to build on the Bainbridge portion that the city would not provide water and sewer services to the property.

During the past several months, officials in both communities have accused each other of failing to negotiate details of utilities that would serve the area, placing the JEDD in a stalemate.

“I’m disappointed that (Cedar Fair) didn’t choose to do the right thing and support Bainbridge Township in this issue,” Markley said.

Ten Years of Negotiations over Geauga Lake Development

• Sept 2007: Owner Cedar Fair announces closing of Geauga Lake Park; rides and buildings subsequently sold at auction
• 2008: Cedar Fair announces 650- acre property is for sale; property is zoned for amusement park/recreation; property straddles two communities in two counties
• 2012: Bainbridge hires consultant to upgrade the township zoning plan. Trustees and zoning officials decide that the Geauga Lake property should be studied separately.
• August 2013: Bainbridge Trustee Jeff Markley meets with Cedar Fair officials and members of Geauga Growth Partnership to discuss property potential
• May 2014: Aurora voters pass mixed-use zoning plan for their portion of Geauga Lake property
• 2014: Bainbridge places a temporary moratorium on zoning applications for Geauga Lake development until zoning plan in place
• April 2015: Bainbridge holds public hearing on rezoning Geauga Lake property; most residents in favor of mixed use
• April 2016: Bainbridge lifts zoning moratorium to allow Meijer stores to apply to build on 41 acre parcel at Geauga Lake
• August 2016: Cedar Fair closes Wildwater Kingdom on former Sea World portion of Geauga Lake
• Dec 2016: Aurora officials notify Bainbridge that the city will not agree to supply utilities to Geauga Lake property as part of a JEDD agreement
• Feb 2017: Aurora Service Director John Trew informs Discount Tire officials that the city will not provide water and sewer services to the store, to be built on Bainbridge portion of Geauga Lake property, until JEDD agreement is reached
• March 2017: Bainbridge unveils potential master plan concept for mixed uses of Geauga Lake property
• April 2017: JEDD negotiations hit major snag over who will supply utilities and other services to the Geauga Lake property; JEDD negotiations stall
• June 2017: 44- acre buffer property, owned by Cedar Fair, is logged in apparent violation of 1991 judgment entry agreement; Bainbridge requests trees be replaced
• Sept 2017 Cedar Fair informs Bainbridge that buffer property has adequate trees; they will take no further action; they request that Bainbridge and Aurora resolve the JEDD’s outstanding issues