MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — When Morgantown City Councilman Ron Bane voted against a measure to rezone an area of Wiles Hill he said he was thinking of the long term consequences for third ward residents.
“It’s not about what he’s going to build. It’s what land use can be,” Bane explained. “Our place is looking at the potential of what could be there.”
Tuesday, council heard from at least a half dozen residents who said allowing for more density in housing along Stewart Street would compromise their neighborhood.
Claims included the potential for noise nuisances, overcrowded streets and lack of parking.
The zoning request would have allowed 18 parcels of land to include multi-family dwellings at an uncomfortable height for Bane.
“If you’re looking at 10 feet per story, that’s 8 stories on that corner. To me, the potential is there for problems. That, to me, is more than I can bear.”
Currently, the neighborhood is zoned for single-family and 2-family residences.
The developer interested in creating more housing spoke before council indicating his plans for development are in line with what he thought city leaders asked for in a comprehensive plan for the city – additional, affordable housing.
Councilmen Mike Fike and Bill Kawecki were the only council member to vote for rezoning.
Property owner Greg Metheny did not reveal specific plans for the property, but at least two council members encourage community and developer collaboration to come up with an agreeable project.
“What can we do to move that? I think councilman Nugent said right, yes, he’s voting against it now but he would like to see the developer and community to work together,” Bane said.