Horseshoe Lake Information
Robin Schachat
A Brief Review of the Situation at the Shaker Lakes,
with emphasis on the issues surrounding Horseshoe Lake
Historic Background Timeline
1840’s: The North Union Shakers dammed the North and Middle Forks of Doan Brook to create Horseshoe Lake (aka Upper Shaker Lake), so that they could use hydropower to run a mill.
Ca. 1860: The North Union Shakers dammed the South Fork of Doan Brook to create Lower Shaker Lake, the spillway from which powered two more mills.
1895: Shaker Heights Land Company donated the Shaker Parklands to the Doan Brook Park Commission, City of Cleveland, “for park purposes only.”
Ca. 1900-1910: The van Sweringen Brothers created two additional lakes, Marshall and Green (aka “The Duck Pond”) to create more desirable housing areas in the townscape they were beginning to build. Marshall Lake is completely surrounded by private properties, while Green Pond is surrounded by private properties on one side.
Upper and Lower Lakes, by contrast, are surrounded by public parks (aka The Shaker Parklands), per stipulations above.
1911: Village of Shaker Heights was broken off from Village of Cleveland Heights.
1947: Parkland falling within the boundaries of Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights leased by Cleveland to those cities, to be maintained as parkland at the expense of those cities.
1964-5-6: Clark Freeway Fight ensues. SLGC and about 50 other groups successfully defeat its creation, and Nature Center at Shaker Lakes (NCSL) is built on Parkland between Upper and Lower Lakes, along the Doan Brook waterways.
1971: The Nature Center was named a National Environmental Education Landmark by the National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior.
1990: Lease renewed for an additional period of 50 years (expires 2040).
2002: Doan Brook Watershed Partnership (DBWP) is incorporated, having served as a local committee for just over 25 years previously.
2003: Audubon Society declares Shaker Parklands to be a worldwide Important Bird Area, with considerable support from SLGC.
2006: National Wildlife Federation declares Shaker Parklands to be a Wildlife Habitat Site.
Recent History, selective
Ca. 2017: Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) declares dams at Upper and Lower Lakes to be out of compliance to serve as Class 1 Dams. Class 1 Dams are those which serve to protect downstream areas specifically from Loss of Life, not just property losses. It is the responsibility of ODNR to make reviews of dams in the state, not to fix them. This information was apparently shared at the staff level with city administrations of Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights after the determination was made. Dams are reviewed every 3-4 years in rotation by the Ohio Dam Safety Program, an ODNR subsidiary.
Information was also referred to the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD), which has legal responsibility for stormwater management issues in the area. Per NEORSD, however, the two cities are responsible for maintaining the dams in compliance with ODNR regulations.
June 14, 2021: NEORSD presented to the City Councils of both Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights, as well as the directors of the NCSL and DBWP, its proposed means to mitigate the stormwater issue. That plan (for more detail see Get the facts about Horseshoe Lake – Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (neorsd.org)) entails permanent removal of the dam at Horseshoe Lake, reversion of the lakebed to an area including two meandering streambeds (North and Middle Forks of Doan Brook) which come together in the former lakebed and then proceed to flow downstream to NCSL. Further, a much larger dam would be built at Lower Lake, along with lake dredging and possible reconstruction of local roadways, to enhance the water-holding capacity of Lower Lake. Projected cost as presented at that meeting was $27.4 million, which does not include specific plans for appropriate beautification or restoration of natural areas at either lake, nor does it include any study of the impact of the proposal on NCSL and its major recent improvements.
June 15, 2021: A Zoom meeting was held, available to citizens of the area, that presented this same information to interested citizens. At that time NEORSD represented that local leaders, including the city councils, NCSL, and DBWP, had been consulted during the process of developing this plan and agreed to its desirability.
June 24, 2021: Jane Ellison and Robin Schachat met with DBWP director Tori Mills for background, discussion on behalf of SLGC.
June 28, 2021: Jane Ellison and Robin Schachat met with Kay Carlson, director of NCSL, for background and discussion of the issue on behalf of SLGC.
June 28, 2021: Jane Ellison and Robin Schachat sat in on Zoom presentation by NEORSD, modified from the 6/14-15 video, to board members of NCSL.
Ca. July 1, 2021: NCSL and DBWP issued letters, with wording based on their organizational mission statements, that were identified by the NEORSD as being specifically supportive of the NEORSD plan. You may review these documents personally to see whether you agree with that representation.
July 15, 2021: Jane Ellison and Robin Schachat presented to the SLGC Ad Hoc Committee on Special Funds a status update on this issue.
August 9, 2021: Robin Schachat attended live meeting at Cleveland Heights Community Center of interested citizens and combined Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights City Councils, with a further modified NEORSD presentation. This meeting was co-chaired by Cleveland Heights’s Vice Chair Kahlil Seren and Shaker Heights’s Mayor David Weiss. Members of both City Councils stated a preference to see an independent review of needs and options prior to taking action. She later spoke with Shaker Mayor Weiss and Shaker Councilwoman Anne Williams concerning SLGC’s history with the lakes and the Parkland, and the club’s desire to be considered an “interested party” and to be included in future planning.
A videotape of this meeting is online at NEORSD’s website. Notably, that website does not allow the public to view the scientific materials, paid for by sewer use fees paid by homeowners of the area, that were used to reach conclusions reached by NEORSD.
Ca. August 1-September 20, 2021: At least four separate groups of citizens, perhaps more, have coalesced online and in person to discuss means to move forward. Jane Ellison and Robin Schachat would appreciate knowing if anyone in SLGC is aware of specifics of any of these groups and their actions as time goes forward, to keep the SLGC best informed. One of these organizations has printed a number of “Save Horseshoe Lake” posters which can be seen liberally scattered through the Heights, and that group has hired a legal and hydrology team, as well as a PR firm, to fight the NEORSD proposal and retain a lake on the Horseshoe site. Aspersions have been cast on the fundraising activities of another organization, suggesting its fundraising is not being used in efforts to retain Horseshoe Lake. One group is working on a plan to move forward with best possible outcome planning on the assumption that NEORSD’s proposal cannot be gainsaid. We can only suggest you listen carefully to what various agents are actually saying and putting in writing.
August 17, 2021: NEORSD held an additional Zoom meeting for citizens of Shaker Heights, presenting a further modified version of their prior presentations. Sadly, neither Jane nor Robin was able to attend on behalf of SLGC. Was any other SLGC member able to attend, and if so, would you please add your report to this one?
September 21, 2021: Robin Schachat presented, along with Jane Ellison, a full status report, as well as we are able to understand, to the SLGC Board. Please address further inquiries to them.
On Tuesday September 28th at 9 AM, on the Sound of Ideas on WCPN (NPR) Radio 90.3 FM, there was a conversation about Horseshoe Lake issues featuring Kyle Drefuss-Wells, CEO of NEORSD, and Tony Coyne, attorney with Mansour Gavin, who represented one of the groups seeking to retain the Lake.