MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Morgantown council members held the Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday night in-person at city hall. Councilors will consider a change to the Housing Code and heard a presentation from the Human Rights Commission asking council to ban conversion therapy in city limits.
Council members agreed to move proposed changes to the city housing code regarding inspections of rental property to the next regular meeting agenda. The revisions would require a city official to inspect any rental house, building, mobile home or any portion that can accommodate more than one person every three years.
Morgantown city fire marshal told council members the measure would end some confusion and add clear guidance for landlords. Additionally, a great deal of the new language changes terms that are also used in the fire code.
“This puts our local ordinances in line with the laws of the State of West Virginia,” Tennant said,” Everything is on an even playing field.”
Morgantown Code Enforcement Manager, Amy Fairman said the regulations will increase safety and keep landlords or their agents more involved in management of the property. She said over time many landlords make physical changes to the property that don’t get properly approved or inspected.
“We some landlords that start out registering a single-family dwelling and when we go to inspect it, it’s suddenly a five unit building,” Fairman said,” So, having the fire marshal’s ability to definitively say what it is will be a big help.”
The proposal would also make renting a property without proper documentation from the city could result in cash fines not to exceed $500. Inspections can also be requested by neighbors, tenants or the owner. The proposed measure allows city officials to inspect any property as frequently as necessary to ensure correction of violations of the revised city code, Building Code or Fire Code.
One major change in the language will keep the city and landlords in closer communication and help mitigate emergency or legal incidents.
“The property owner is required to have representatives that live in the area or at least in the state,” Taennant said,” Where before we’ve had difficulty to get property owners to come out of there is an issue- a condemnation or occupants displaced, who do we get a hold of?”
Morgantown City Council also heard a proposal that would ban a controversial anti-LGBTQ+ pseudoscientific practice within city limits by medical officials on the agenda.
After a presentation by Morgantown Human Rights Commission Chair Ash Orr, Council unanimously endorsed further discussions to continue on a potential ordinance that would ban professional psychologists from using conversion therapy for minors who identify as LGBTQ+ within city limits and expanding the Human Rights Commission the ability to investigate claims relating to the practice. The proposed ordinance was described by Orr as a major step towards tackling mental health concerns and LGBTQ+ acceptance.
“That amendment would basically be, someone files a complaint, the investigation would be taken care of by the HRC (Human Rights Commission),” said Orr during her presentation. “So you would investigate it, we would give what we would hope to see as a solution to this issue, and pass that on to the appropriate party afterward,” she said.
According to Orr, an ordinance similar to one passed in Charleston in early August would be the blueprint for an ordinance in Morgantown. In the event that a medical professional is accused of either practicing or recommending conversion therapy, they would be investigated by the Morgantown Human Rights Commission in accordance to state laws under questionable medical practice concern. If found guilty, the psychologists could be levied several fines and potentially lose their license. Religious groups, who are more predominately known for practicing the pseudoscientific are exempt from the ban as part of the religious protections under the 1st Amendment.
“I know that there were cautions too about the religious elements,” said Orr regarding changes to the Charleston ordinance as a result of 1st Amendment protections. “I believe their amendment may have had to do with the religious part of it, but other than that, like this is probably the same exact thing as what they passed in Charleston,” she said.
While acknowledging that psychologists and certified mental health counselors practicing conversion therapy are few and far between in the Morgantown Area, Orr stated that she has received reports of at least one mental health professional encouraging conversion therapy practices under the guise of a “confidence building camp.” Despite the lack of reported cases, several members of the LGBTQ+ community spoke about the affects found from WVU For a potential penalty, Orr stated that would need to be discussed between the Morgantown City Attorney and the Human Rights Commission but the parameters around the Charleston ordinance would be considered reasonable. The ordinance passed by Charleston City Council penalizes psychologists caught practicing conversion therapy to up to $1,000 in fines per day it’s practiced with a guaranteed revocation of their license.