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Pepper Pike, located 13 miles east of Cleveland and occupying 7.5 square miles, is part of the pleasant Chargin Valley area. It is bounded by I-271 on its west flank, Cedar Road to its north and SOM Center Road to the east. It was incorporated as a village in 1924, and officially became a city in 1970, when its population reached 5,000 (it's now just over 6,000). It has a mayor and a seven-member city council form of governance.

The city, largely residential, boasts a gracious, traditional lifetsyle, a throwback to a simpler past. Its gently winding streets and generous cul-de-sacs, its many traffic circles and wide open spaces lend it a gloriously uncluttered feel. It recently began a community band, and holds an annual ice cream social, which comes complete with a pie-baking contest.

Pepper Pike is home to two country clubs — Pepper Pike Club and The Country Club — and several places of worship. They include Park Synagogue, home to one of America's largest conservative congregations, and designed by the famous architect Edward Durrell Stone. Landerwood Plaza, built in 1960 as a graceful, low-rise neighborhood center, remains the community's favorite place to shop.

At the same time, it's also a thoroughly progressive place. Nearly two-thirds of residents take part in the recycling program, making Pepper Pike the "greenest" municipality in Cuyahoga County. The National Arbor Day Foundation regularly recognizes the city for its attention to tree planding and environmental stewardship. Since its founding in 1957, the Pepper Pike Civic League has been keeping a close eye on things, serving as an intepdendent advocate for good government. A Citizens Police Academy runs training classes designed to educate citizens on saftey issues and provide insights on how the police force operates. A sophisticated Reverse911 telephone system, installed in the wake of 9/11, allows city officials to quickly warn residents, on a targeted bases or en masse in the event of an emergency.