A law prohibiting bullying in city youth services, activities, programs and facilities was recently adopted by Morgantown City Council.
The initiative was presented to council by the Morgantown Human Rights Commission.
According to the law, “youth” is anyone 21 or younger and “bullying” means “any severe, pervasive or persistent conduct, whether physical or verbal, and whether transmitted in person or by written or electronic means.”
The law states that any youth-serving agency of the city — BOPARC and the library system, for example — must establish policies addressing bullying and submit those policies to city council in the next six months.
The policies must include: Reporting procedures and requirements, parental notification requirements, procedures for responding to and investigating incidents, staff orientation and training requirements and procedures for preventing bullying and identifying bullied youth.
In other city news, council adopted a pair of items at the unanimous recommendation of the Morgantown Planning Commission.
The first will change the zoning of 40 parcels along Powell Avenue from B-2 (service business) to R-1A (single family residential).
The area in question was identified in the city’s comprehensive plan as Small Study Area No. 16.
City Manager Paul Brake explained that the parcels are situated on a steep hillside and are largely not suitable for development.
According to information provided by city planning staff, the owner of the parcels wished to maintain the B-2 designation. However, development of two or more parcels could still be pursued through the Planned Unit Development approach.
Small study areas are places where the existing zoning does not align with land uses or the existing pattern of development. It may also be an area where the existing zoning is not compatible with, or does not fully support the desired future of the area.
Council also approved a planning and zoning code amendment prohibiting new construction, additions and redevelopment projects from including front-load garages that make up more than 65% of a structure’s frontage.
This law pertains to R-1, R-1A, R-2 and R-3 zoning areas.
“It’s not prohibiting garages at the front of the house. It’s saying on garages larger than that percentage, the garage doors are prohibited from being at the front of the house,” Councilor Ron Dulaney said. “You can still have the garage, but it just has to be side or rear loaded.”
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