MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — An ordinance that looks to welcome new businesses into Morgantown has passed first reading.
In a decison made by Morgantown City Council during their regular meeting Thursday, the ordinance implements a tax credit for all new and existing businesses looking to construct in the downtown area. For most of the downtown area, businesses with a minimum of $5 million worth of construction done is eligible for the tax credit. Morgantown City Manager Paul Brake feels the amount, capped at 80 percent, is more than enought to make a positive impact downtown.
“We’re hoping that it brings a much more significant development — those sort of things that makes a difference in the downtown area,” said Brake.
The ordinance was passed unanimously by Council and includes the majority of the downtown area as eligible for the tax credit, including the majority of the Waterfront area. Deputy Mayor Mark Brazaitis feels the ordinance has a chance to help the city economically.
“It’s going to be a great opportunity for our community to develop in those places that are appropriate to develop,” said Brazaitis. “We need a stronger downtown and this makes that happen,” he said.
The ordinance also is intended to inspire businesses for areas potentially annexed in Morgantown city limits. Brazaitis, feels it’s gives a positive reason to want to get annexed into Morgantown.
“I think it has to be a mutual engagement between the city and the people outside our borders and this is a real outreach to those peoples,” he said.
A couple of issues that were addressed by council during the meeting included a potential addressing regarding historic buildings and a potential conflict with “green space,” in the event new businesses need to potentially cut down forest. According to Brazaitis, who brought up the issue during last week’s Committee of the Whole, the ordinance more than addressed the concerns.
“It did a great job,” he said. “Great cities don’t happen in an unplanned fashion, great cities happen in a planned fashion. This keeps a plan in place to keep us great, to make us great over the next 20, 30, 40, 50 years.”
More discussion will be done on the ordinance before Council’s next regular meeting on February 21st.