MORGANTOWN — After a two-year public review process, the city’s comprehensive plan update — Morgantown 2033 — is ready for prime time.
Following a presentation during Tuesday’s committee of the whole session, Morgantown City Council moved the plan forward for an initial vote as part of its Oct. 3 regular meeting.
The 213-page plan is available at morgantownwv.gov/morgantown2033.
It’s the culmination of two years’ work by the city’s development services office, the Morgantown Planning Commission and consultant Rhodeside Harwell; all working off guidance provided by members of the community through various public input opportunities.
It will impact nearly every aspect of city life for the next decade including land use, housing, transportation, infrastructure, community services and facilities, recreation, economic development, community design and character, financing, historic preservation, renewal and/or redevelopment.
“The comprehensive plan not only touches on land use, but so many different elements that impact the function of the city, from utility infrastructure to social services to educational facilities, etcetera. It’s a very broad reaching plan,” Rhodeside Harwell project manager Ron Sessoms said.
While the sprawling plan contains far too much detail to summarize in one evening, there were a couple interesting takeaways.
One, Sessoms explained, is that truck traffic was the issue most heard about during feedback sessions.
“It was the issue. Truck traffic touches every element of the comprehensive plan,” he said, noting the relocation of the primary barge loading site is one of the plan’s suggestions to reduce the number of heavy trucks in the city.
In addition to a number of interesting statistics — for example 29% of Morgantown’s land area is comprised of WVU-owned sites, or that the largest land use in the city by category is tax exempt (non-religious) at 33% — the plan puts a major emphasis on what Sessoms called “complete neighborhoods,” which means an increased focus on things like small neighborhood businesses.
Councilor Danielle Trumble is a member of the city’s planning commission, which voted unanimously to move the plan to council with a recommendation for approval.
“We look forward to all of the rezoning that we will be tasked with developing to implement a lot of this plan,” Trumble said of the commission. “I am a fan of mixed-use development, especially neighborhood-based businesses and the different types of housing and accessory dwelling units that are kind of limited right now. We look forward to exploring those options that are recommended. It’s a lot of work.”
West Virginia Code says municipalities must update their comprehensive plans every 10 years.
“It’s the guiding tool to help the planning commission and, ultimately, our elected officials make decisions about land use in the city,” Development Services Director Rickie Yeager said.
