A ten-acre development around Richwood Avenue in Morgantown has passed the first reading.
Morgantown City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance that would rezone 55 properties from residential to business B-1 zoning. The ordinance was approved in a 6-1 vote, and it supports goals set out by the 2023 Morgantown Comprehensive Plan, which includes the development of combined residential and business investment within close proximity to downtown and surrounding Morgantown neighborhoods. The plan was recommended and approved by the Morgantown Planning Commission with help from the Monongalia County Planning Commission and the Morgantown Area Partnership.
“The aim of it is to show the connections that this redevelopment will have with our community, (between) the Greenmont Neighborhood, the Woodburn Neighborhood, WVU’s campus, and downtown,” said Morgantown Area Partnership Vice President of Economic Development Erik Carlson, who was a part of the planning process.
The majority of the soon-to-be rezoned properties that are included in the ordinance are located on Richwood Avenue itself (19). Properties on parts of Pine Street, Dallas Street, Locust Avenue, Allen Avenue, Cass Street, Snider Street, and Gem Street (32), would also be rezoned into Business B-1 properties. In addition to four vacant lot properties across from Richwood Avenue that would be rezoned into residential R-2 and R-1A zones, the rezoning would allow for developments that would allow for multi-story structures that could house both residential housing and local businesses at the same time. The proposal was determined by the Monongalia Planning Commission with the help of many local stakeholders.
“Complete neighborhoods include a variety of land uses, a mix of residential-dwelling types will be located within walking distance and/or biking distance from amenities,” said Morgantown Area Partnership Vice President of Economic Development Erik Carlson on the intention of the proposal.
Business B-1 zoning would also prohibit assisted living facilities, charitable, fraternal, or social organizations, and places of worship. Dance or social clubs, drive-thru facilities, emergency shelters, passenger stations, pawn shops, and reuse of closed or vacant school or church facilities would also be prohibited as part of the Richwood Avenue development.
The Richwood Avenue development plan would include an expansion of parts of Richwood Avenue to account for road improvements and the construction of a multi-use development that would be able to connect with the Woodburn Neighborhood, Greenmont Neighborhood, the West Virginia University downtown campus, and downtown Morgantown. Connections would include an expansive sidewalk and trail network that would encompass the development.
“(That’s) One of the reasons why the City of Morgantown, the County of Monongalia and West Virginia University have all taken part in participating with this project,” said Carlson on how the zoning was determined. “It is to ensure that through the Mon County Development Authority, there’s a community-minded organization that can usher this development,” he said.
Members of Morgantown City Council who supported the ordinance emphasized the importance of developing properties around the Richwood Avenue parts of the Woodburn Neighborhood. Councilors Danielle Trumble and Brian Butcher each spoke heavily against the ordinance, where they both expressed a desire to include text amendments that would guarantee a certain level of housing development that would be different from multi-story structures. Trumble voted in support of the ordinance as an “extension of trust,” while Butcher was vocal in his opposition as the lone dissenting vote.
“I’d like to see all of those houses go down, and I’d like to see a good intentional project go forward,” said Butcher ahead of his no-vote. “This project, right now, in the way that is even being presented, it’s not one that I feel is in the best interest of the city, I find it very disturbing in the way it’s being presented,” he said.
Erickson responded to concerns from council members, where he supported further conversations with the Woodburn Neighborhood Association, the Morgantown Area Partnership, the Morgantown Planning Commission, and Morgantown City Council themselves to support text amendments that would incorporate more housing options. For a text amendment to be brought before council, the rezoning ordinance would once again have to be approved by the Morgantown Planning Commission ahead of a formal vote. Despite further delaying the development around Richwood Avenue, Carlson encouraged more discussions so everyone in the community would be satisfied with the project.
“Housing will absolutely, one hundred percent, be a part of our redevelopment, particularly in the B-1 zone,” said Carlson. “That is the core of this project, and to have a mixed-use development, it would not work without a daytime and nighttime economy.”
The council also approved an ordinance that rezones the Friendship Manor Senior Home located on Van Voorhis Road from a Professional, Residential, and Office (PRO) district into a R-3 multi-family residential district. This would allow for a piece of the property to be used for hospice care. That rezoning ordinance was also included in the 2023 Morgantown Comprehensive Plan.