COMMENTARY
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – In the 19th century, “manifest destiny” described the belief that expanding the United States’ borders to the Pacific Ocean and throughout the American continent was both justified and inevitable.
Fast forward 200 years and there is an idea in Morgantown that the city’s borders should be extended to Cheat Lake and the size of the current city doubled.
It’s Morgantown’s “manifest destiny.”
Deputy Mayor Mark Brazaitis declared that extending the city’s borders and annexing the businesses and property beyond the city limits was a mandate from voters and described annexation as a matter of economic justice.
Despite Morgantown City Council’s desire for annexation, the ultimate authority to increase the city’s footprint, is out of the council’s hands. Under current state code, property can be annexed by petition, election or minor boundary adjustment. Either all or a majority of the “freeholders” must agree to the annexation in the first two scenarios and the county commission must, by law, consider seven criteria before granting or denying a minor boundary adjustment.
That’s likely why proposed revisions to the West Virginia Urban Growth Boundaries appealed to the Morgantown City Council.
The changes council discussed with local state representatives prior to the legislative session, would eliminate much of the county commission’s authority in matters of annexation and leave property owners within the areas to be annexed with little recourse to oppose being forced into a municipal boundary.
Under the proposed amendments, an “urban growth boundary can be established by “identifying an area around and outside the corporate limits of a municipality that includes, but is not limited to, all or a portion of an urbanized area as designated by the United States Census Bureau.” Once that boundary is established the municipality may annex the property within the boundary with an ordinance, while approval by the county commission is not required.
“The cities always want an edge to make it easier to annex areas, counties want to be involved and have the right to veto that action and generally those folks and businesses outside municipalities don’t want anything to do with either,” said Metronews Legal Analyst Harvey Peyton on Morgantown AM.
When asked if he believed the bill would gain any traction at the state capitol, Peyton described the bill as “dead on arrival.”
To date, the bill has not been introduced at the legislature.
“The key is you have to have something to sell,” said Harvey, who has litigated both sides of annexation cases.
“Municipalities that tell folks your fire insurance premiums are going to go down, better police service, that really doesn’t pitch much to somebody who is talking $20 difference a year in fire premiums or whose house has never been broken in to.”
Selling successful businesses on the idea that there are advantages to increased taxes and another layer of bureaucracy to deal with can be a tough pitch. Equally as difficult, is convincing individual property owners there is value in a substantial increase to their personal property tax bill.
The council’s support for legislation that would greatly increase the power of the municipality while at the same time almost eliminating the individual property owner’s rights in matters of annexation, demonstrates the council’s belief that expanding the city’s borders is inevitable and justified.
It’s Morgantown’s manifest destiny.