Every 10 years, the City of Morgantown updates its Comprehensive Plan — a roadmap of sorts for the city’s future.
The last plan was formally updated in 2013 for 2023, so it’s time for the next update looking ahead to 2033, and the City of Morgantown wants your input. There will be two stakeholder meetings: in-person on Thursday, March 3, 6-8 p.m. at 3 Waterfront Place and virtual on Saturday, March 5, 10 a.m.-noon. You can register for the virtual meeting at http://morgantownwv.gov/Calendar.aspx?EID=4990.
This is the community’s opportunity to say what developments or changes we’d like to see over the next decade. And when certain ideas or issues come up again and again, those ideas or issues are more likely to get attention.
Some of the things that came up repeatedly in the 2013 Comprehensive Plan include:
○ Infrastructure and transportation. When the Editorial Board met with city representatives, it was noted that Morgantown has added more bicycle lanes and crosswalks — so there’s one success. But those who live in town — or commute through it — know that there’s still no good way to get from one side of town to the other and traffic congestion is still a nightmare. At the time, more than 5% of county roads were over efficient capacity, and it hasn’t gotten better.
○ “In-fill” development and redevelopment (i.e., fixing up existing spaces instead of sprawling growth around the outskirts of the city). At the time, stakeholders emphasized certain areas they wanted to see cleaned up or redeveloped, including downtown, the Wharf District and Sunnyside.
○ Affordable housing. In 2013, it was noted that Morgantown faced an extreme shortage of housing for sale that cost less than $100,000, and 80% of new developments between 2000 and 2010 were for multi-unit buildings — a.k.a., rentals and student housing. The lack of affordable housing in town forced people to reside outside of city limits and commute in, which contributed to Morgantown’s traffic (and still does). In 2013, the community asked for more diverse housing — both in cost and style — and emphasized preserving neighborhoods of single-family homes and developing “complete” neighborhoods with access to groceries and retail. If you read the housing portion of the 2013 Comprehensive Plan, the problems it identifies and the community concerns it records are eerily similar to what we are experiencing today.
○ Programs and amenities. The primary complaint in 2013 was that most of Morgantown’s best programs and amenities belonged to WVU and were not accessible to the public (or not affordably so). The city and county have made some headway on this (like the aquatic center and Krepps Park), but stakeholders really wanted a full-service recreation center for the community that also included child care services. That might need to go back on the wish list this year.
All of this to say, if you want it, you need to ask for it. Attend either of the two stakeholder meetings this week and let the City of Morgantown know what its residents envision for the city’s future.
