Find a way to protect village, park

The tiny village of Peninsula made some news this past week by imploring the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park to preserve a former golf course for unknown possible development.

Being a conservancy, the request was politely declined.

Instead, the group said it completed its purchase of the 207-acre former Brandywine Country Club property at 5555 Akron-Peninsula Road with the intent of selling 192 acres to the National Park Service and using 15 acres for unspecified programming being developed in a master plan. Generous donations made the purchase possible.

To us, this is all good news. We consider the national park to be one of our region’s top assets and fully support not only protecting its scope but adding additional acreage where it makes sense.

We’re also sympathetic to the plight of Peninsula, a tiny gem with a population of just 536 that swells to thousands on nice days for visiting the park or nearby scenic railroad. About 2.76 million people visited the park in 2020.

Once a popular canal and railroad stop in the 1800s, the village still boasts more than 20 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as the hub for many park visitors seeking food, shopping or even a bike rental. The park needs Peninsula as much as its businesses need the park to bring customers to their doors.

Village leaders viewed Brandywine as some of the last developable land within their boundaries, offering potential funding for village services, including a 24/7 police force with four full-time officers and 20 part-timers. They claimed the land sale would be “a worst case financial scenario” and “a death (knell) to the village’s prospects.”

If true, that’s unfortunate and demands a re-evaluation of whether the people of Peninsula and Summit County are best served by its current situation.

Nearly 11 months ago, erosion of Akron-Peninsula Road caused by the Cuyahoga River forced the closure of the busy two-lane road popular with park visitors and residents. The village was unable to afford repairs initially estimated at $810,000 and sought help from the Summit County Engineer’s Office, which secured a grant. Crews will soon begin moving the road about 35 feet with a reopening expected in November.

This is not meant as criticism of Peninsula’s leaders, but one could argue the village’s effectiveness is already compromised if it can’t maintain key roads. We’re not sure how any village could financially survive with so few residents and businesses and large swaths of tax-exempt land. Funding a police department alone is not cheap.

We’d also note the village’s existence and police force help serve everyone in Summit County by making the park area more attractive to visit.

We also don’t believe all potential development in this area should be avoided, presuming there’s a high bar for proper environmental considerations. There’s a similar debate taking place just a few miles south where Akron and Cuyahoga Falls officials are developing a master plan to balance environmental and development interests in the Merriman Valley.

The same planning conversation seems appropriate around Peninsula.

We also wonder if everyone might be better served by dissolving the village and allowing Boston Township to function as the primary local government with help from Summit County, especially the sheriff’s office. It’s happened elsewhere in Ohio in recent years, including Brady Lake in Portage County and twice in Clermont County near Cincinnati. A third village there is considering a November issue to dissolve.

Now, we’re not endorsing such a move. And we understand some in Boston Township still resent the extent of the park’s original property acquisitions while facing similar funding challenges to Peninsula.

We’re simply suggesting that recent events provide a window of opportunity to explore new options, perhaps including lobbying the county, state and federal governments for more support.

We want Peninsula’s businesses and the park to thrive in harmony while protecting a treasured area and river for future generations.

The park needs Peninsula as much as its businesses need the park to bring customers to their doors.