City to Host Workshop on Nature-Based Solutions to Lake Erie Shoreline Erosion

Along Euclid's Lake Erie shoreline, erosion threatens more than lakefront backyards. It also puts public beaches, parks, trails and critical infrastructure under pressure, raising the question of whether shoreline defenses can protect private land without sacrificing the public waterfront.

The city will bring property owners and coastal communities together from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, at the Lakefront Community Center, 1 Bliss Lane, for an interactive workshop on nature-based strategies. Residents can RSVP through the city's event page. Lakefront property owners are invited to bring photographs or drawings of their shoreline.

The session will examine sustainable shoreline protection using natural materials and ecological design to combat erosion, stabilize the coast and enhance natural habitat. Among the options under study are cobble beaches, native shoreline plantings and hybrid green-gray breakwater concepts. Living shorelines use stabilized coastal edges made from plants, sand or rock to guard against erosion and flooding while improving water quality and habitat. Vegetation buffers use deep-rooted native plants to reinforce sediment, slow runoff and reduce wave energy. Dune restoration relies on clean sand and native dune vegetation to rebuild and hold dunes in place, protecting inland areas from erosion and storm impacts.

The workshop is supported by a grant from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation's National Coastal Resilience Fund for a project titled "Building Capacity for Euclid and Sims Park Shoreline Protection (OH)," which calls for collaborative workshops and community engagement to restore a half-mile of Lake Erie shoreline.

The city's shoreline resilience study lists reducing erosion, improving habitat and maintaining public access among its goals, along with protecting private property and public amenities from storm impacts. Euclid held landowner and neighborhood meetings in August and September 2025 to gather local preferences on shoreline treatment and public access, and that feedback was used to refine alternatives in the study deliverables.

The focus on both private property and public access reflects how broadly erosion affects Euclid. A 2022 Ohio DNR technical report, using aerial photography from 2015 through 2020, found that some portions of the city's coast were losing more than 1 foot of land each year. Historical recession rates across the broader area ranged from 0 to 5 feet annually, depending on the location and time period. A 2014 state coastal erosion assessment estimated that 4.4 acres were lost across the region studied from about 1990 to 2014, with Euclid and Bay Village accounting for roughly half of that loss.

The risk extends beyond high-value lakefront homes. A 2014 state hazard mitigation plan estimated that 2,619 buildings in the region were exposed or vulnerable to coastal erosion, with an associated replacement value of $78.3 million. Euclid's waterfront project materials identify storm and sewer connections, along with single-family and multifamily housing, as critical infrastructure in the area. The city says one stabilization effort was needed to protect roughly 1,400 renters living in four apartment towers in one project area.

Public access is also central to the stakes. Euclid has invested more than $20 million in waterfront improvements, including a public fishing pier, restored beaches and nearshore habitat, shoreline stabilization and the lakefront multi-use trail. Nearly 100 private property owners granted easements for the lakefront project, allowing public-trail construction and stabilization work on erosion-prone bluffs.

Those investments serve a city with an estimated population of 48,823 and a median household income of $48,696. Public beaches are intended for passive recreation, including walking, watching sunsets and quiet use, while swimming and other water contact are prohibited under local ordinance.

Sims Park, at 23131 Lakeshore Blvd., is Euclid's largest lakefront park, open daily from sunrise to sunset with lake access, a small beach area and a fishing pier. The city highlights previous improvements there, including an accessible walkway, restored beach and nearshore habitat work completed as part of the waterfront project. A three-quarter-mile multimodal lakefront trail, open from dawn to dusk, begins at the Sims Park Fishing Pier and extends east. The waterfront plan also created Kenny Yuko Park at Lakeshore Boulevard and E. 247th Street, with walking trails, parking, landscaped greenspace and Lake Erie views. The Upland Sims Park expansion was substantially complete and opened to the public on Oct. 21, 2025.

Planned or future waterfront features include a paddle-craft launch, beach house, public restrooms, restaurant or lounge and trail-support facilities. Whether those amenities remain accessible as erosion continues will depend in part on how the city balances shoreline protection with public use.

A SmithGroup article published in August 2026 described Euclid's lakefront project as a community-based model in which shoreline protection, habitat restoration and expanded public access are pursued together, emphasizing collaborative planning to convert largely private shoreline into publicly accessible trails while mitigating erosion.

The Sept. 10 workshop is being presented with partners including SmithGroup, the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, LimnoTech, The Ohio State University and County Planning.

Christine McIntosh, Euclid's planning manager, is the contact person for the workshop. Questions can be directed to McIntosh at [email protected] or 216-289-8154. Kirsten Holzheimer Gail is mayor of Euclid and is serving her third and final term.