ok, one workaround I found for this issue was to put the Cute Editor inside a UserControl called "Editor.ascx", then wrap those specific properties I would sure use/modify (such as Text, Width, Height) and the problem was gone.. VS Designer will work ok

I also found this solution pretty nice for simplifying CuteEditor's aspx markup declaration since I use the same properties for all my pages so whenever I had to change one styling or other property, I had to do the same on all pages

Hope this helps anyone

Eric