Preservation Strategy

Facts about Gates Mills Village and the Gates Mills Land Conservancy:

Gates Mills Village stretches for five miles along both sides of the scenic Chagrin River. The village has about 2,500 residents living in 950 homes located on 8.8 square miles (5,630 acres) of land served by 55 miles of roads. The assessed value of residential real estate has increased approximately 50% over the past ten years to more than $220,000,000 today. Some of this increase may be attributed to our land conservation efforts.

Since its formation in 1988, the Gates Mills Land Conservancy has preserved 469 acres of land within the village. Combined with the considerable green space owned by the Village of Gates Mills and the 546 acres of the Cleveland Metroparks North Chagrin Reservation, close to 15% of the Village is protected today. The extent of this protected land is shown on the corridor maps which follow.

Our Preservation Strategy identifies an additional 300 critical acres we must preserve. When we do reach our objectives, more than 25% of the land within the Village will be parkland, Village-owned or land preserved as open space. We believe that this is a very realistic plan. But the clock is ticking as development pressure from our eastern and western borders increases at a relentless pace.

If the quality of life in the Village is to be protected, the Conservancy must successfully implement its Land Preservation Strategies.

Rationale and Methodology

The Gates Mills Land Conservancy's Strategic Plan is focused on specific sites that we believe are critical to preserving the important qualities of this Western Reserve Village.

Currently, only 950 homes have been built on the 8.8 square mile area that comprises the Village. It is a very special community, consisting of extensive wooded hillsides, broad meadows, paddocks, historic homesteads and tranquil wetlands. Large open spaces surround well-tended homes and beautiful ravines. The Chagrin River lends other fine qualities to village life as it winds its way through our valley.

546 acres of Cleveland's Metroparks, including a major portion of the North Chagrin Reservation, are located within the Gates Mills Village boundaries. This parkland plus Village woodlands and the Chagrin River provide habitat for wild turkeys, bald eagles, great blue herons, coyotes, and white tail deer. Fly fishermen catch wild steelhead trout in the Chagrin River as it makes its way through the Village. Gates Mills and the North Chagrin Reservation are recognized by the Audobon Society as wild bird sanctuaries.

"If you have a unique treasure, preserve it!"

Today the open and natural character of the village is threatened because Gates Mills is bordered by rapidly developing Geauga County to the east and the urban sprawl of Cuyahoga County to the West. Large parcels of open space are very attractive to developers despite zoning regulations. To the north we are protected by the Metroparks and south by the conservation-minded Village of Hunting Valley that faces similar pressures.

Our Strategic Preservation Plan, designed to prevent these development pressures from harming Gates Mills, divides the village into three "preservation" corridors. Each corridor contains its share of "critical sites". Responsibility for monitoring the current status of each site as well as developing and implementing action plans for each corridor is assigned to a specific Trustee committee. These strategies and action plans are detailed in our overall Strategic Plan that is updated on an annual basis.

Join us in a virtual tour of The Wilderness, The Village Heartland, and The River Corridors. Learn about what we do and the benefits that accrue to our Village, the Chagrin River Valley and the Western Reserve.

---

THE WILDERNESS CORRIDOR -

the area of Gates Mills north of Mayfield Road stretching west from County Line Road across the Chagrin River valley to the western border of the village. As noted, 546 acres of this corridor are preserved as part of the North Chagrin Reservation. Wooded hillsides, two magnificent ravines, a stream holding native trout, meadows and beautiful mature forests characterize the balance of this land.

Our vision for this corridor is to preserve enough of its land to control development along its eastern border and to preserve its streams, woodlots and ravines thereby maintaining the wilderness character of the corridor for future generations.

Below is an interactive map of the Village of Gates Mills with the Wilderness Corridor defined. Use your mouse to click and drag the map to view all areas of the Wilderness Corridor:

Use the vertical slider bar at the left of the map to zoom in and out.

Use the Horizontal slider bar entitled “Layer Opacity”, at the right of the map, to fade the shaded area in and out, allowing you to see more of less of the satellite image below.

Click the “Map”, “Sat” and “Hyb” buttons to switch between street maps and satellite views.

Point and Click your mouse any where on the map to start.

Areas currently protected are shaded in RED. They include land owned or under easement by the Gates Mills Land Conservancy, Cleveland Metroparks or the Village of Gates Mills.

"If you have a unique treasure, preserve it!"

The Conservancy has categorized more than 150 acres in this corridor as critical and has targeted them for protection through easement, gift or outright purchase. This corridor also contains a significant portion of the village's vulnerable eastern border along County Line Road. The Conservancy closely monitors the status of the land along this border and has action plans in place to be implemented when the timing indicates such actions are appropriate.

---

THE VILLAGE HEARTLAND CORRIDOR –

The southern half of the Village surrounds its historical center or heartland. The houses that can be observed as one strolls from the Village Hall over the "walking bridge", past Saint Christopher's Church and up Old Mill Road cover historic ground where, in 1826, Holsey Gates built the first dam on the Chagrin River to power the saw mill he built that same year. Some of the handsome Western Reserve houses you pass date from that era. Go south on Epping and Berkshire Roads and then return to the Village Center along the Chagrin River and you will see the Polo Field, paddocks, open expanses of well tended green lawns and woodlots, old stone walls and split rail fences with lovely houses set well back from the roads on tree shaded driveways.

Below is an interactive map of the Village of Gates Mills with the Village Heartland Corridor defined. Use your mouse to click and drag the map to view all areas of the Village Heartland Corridor:

Use the vertical slider bar at the left of the map to zoom in and out.

Use the Horizontal slider bar entitled “Layer Opacity”, at the right of the map, to fade the shaded area in and out, allowing you to see more of less of the satellite image below.

-

Click the “Map”, “Sat” and “Hyb” buttons to switch between street maps and satellite views.

Point and Click your mouse any where on the map to start.

Areas currently protected are shaded in RED. They include land owned or under easement by the Gates Mills Land Conservancy, Cleveland Metroparks or the Village of Gates Mills.

"If you have a unique treasure, preserve it!"

The original vision for this corridor was to protect approximately seventy five acres of land so as to preserve the natural woodland beauty of the area fronting on Beverly Lane. We also hope to minimize development on the land along Epping Road, keeping the vistas of wide green lawns, stone walls, and split rail fences in place for future generations.

Progress in the Heartland - The Conservancy recently completed an agreement with the Douglas Wick family that preserved 53 of those acres including the wetlands, meadows and piney woods along Beverly Lane between Epping Road and Chagrin River Road. This was an extraordinary cooperative effort on the part of the Gates Mills Land Conservancy and the Western Reserve Land Conservancy resulting in a conservation gift of more than 25 acres of land, a conservation easement on additional acres, and the purchase of the balance.

Also recently completed was a very complex project involving the Village of Gates Mills, the Gates Mills Improvement Society, the Chagrin Valley Hunt Club and Village residents that has resulted in a comprehensive Conservation Easement on our historic ”Polo Field”. This beautiful 25 acre open space will be preserved in perpetuity. Click on Success Stories in the Protected Land section for details.

Our continuing vision for this corridor is the preservation of its vista of green lawns stretching from the polo field south along Epping Road. The Conservancy continues to work with other property owners in this corridor and we are hopeful that our vision for this part of the Village will be successfully fulfilled within the next few years.

---

The Chagrin River Corridor -

This corridor's geography is essentially those properties within sight of the Chagrin River, usually bordering on it. These properties can be viewed on the maps of the Wilderness and Village Heartland Corridors so are not repeated on a separate map for this corridor. Some of the conservation issues here are unique to riverfront properties and the plan recognizes this, assigning them to a special corridor and to their own committee. For instance, there is significant annual erosion of the river banks which can be the result of development activity in close proximity to these banks. Riparian setbacks are often involved or special plantings may mitigate erosion and should be considered when stewardship issues are addressed. In January 2008, an additional 5.4 acres along the East bank of the River were preserved thanks to the generosity of Jennifer Creech and Bob Calamari.

"If you have a unique treasure, preserve it!"

The Conservancy's vision for this corridor is to preserve the natural beauty of the land on both sides of the River and to attempt to minimize development by conservation easements and riparian setbacks. Enactment of appropriate riparian setback legislation is essential and has already been established by neighboring communities in the Chagrin River Valley.

Go to Map of Protected Land or Success Stories to get more information about individual properties.