County to review subdivision regulations

An issue that has veered in and out of the pubic eye since the late 1960s is about to make a return.
Monongalia County Planning Director Andrew Gast-Bray told the county commission on Wednesday that he’s laid out a tentative schedule that would have subdivision regulations before the commission for a vote in November.
Gast-Bray explained that a draft copy of the regulations has been in the hands of the county commission and other involved stakeholders since August and that the document is continually being tweaked for clarity.
Subdivision regulations help ensure safe and sustainable development by mandating proper inclusion of roads, stormwater management, utilities, right-of-ways and other infrastructure needs in conjunction with any type of subdivision, be it commercial, residential or industrial.
The last attempt at passage of subdivision regulations began in 2015. After the document was submitted to the commission, it took two years before a public hearing was held, with much of the feedback coming out against the document.
On Gast-Bray’s timeline is a series of public meetings to be scheduled around the county in October, as well as a developer roundtable session.
He said he’s confident this set of regulations can meet the needs of the county as well as developers.
“We’re very close to getting over, and I hope to conjecture, getting it supported and embraced by the development community, because I think they’re very close to embracing this,” Gast-Bray said.
A link to the 102-page draft regulations and accompanying guidelines can be found at monongaliacounty.gov/mon cpc/subdivision.php.
In other county news, Granville’s plan to annex West Virginia Division of Highways rights-of-way is back before the commission.
The town first submitted the request in March but was asked to revise the plan after questions were raised about the metes and bounds included in the document.
The commission formally accepted the revised plan on Wednesday and will announce a public hearing in the coming weeks.
The annexation plan includes County Route 19 from the Star City Bridge to 507 Scotts Run Road (Granville Fire Department Station 2), Lady Bug Lane, Scotts Run Road from the municipal line to Lady Bug Lane and Chaplin Road from Westover’s municipal boundary to the intersection of CR 19.
The request is similar to annexation efforts denied by the commission in August 2017. However, unlike the previous effort, which drew some public pushback, this annexation effort includes no residential or business properties.
Also on Wednesday, the commission signed a proclamation declaring September Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.