Monongalia County Director of Planning Andrew Gast-Bray said the county’s subdivision regulations document is about 80% complete.
The timeline for getting the regulations before the Monongalia County Commission for public comment and a vote has been pushed from November to early 2020.
“I really do think we could force this through now, but why,” Gast-Bray said. “The whole idea is the outcome. We want good outcomes and I think we’re almost there. We’re working with developers to make it easy for them to do the right thing and I think that’s worth the extra time.”
Gast-Bray said there are essentially three issues raised by developers which remain under review.
Public comment — Under West Virginia Code 8a, major subdivision applications require a public hearing.
There is a concern, Gast-Bray explained, that opinions and speculation from someone opposed to a development would be given the same weight as engineering studies and data-driven analysis.
“So they asked if there is a way to take into account appropriately the data-driven analysis, versus opinion,” he said. “That’s a fair beef.”
Bonding — Another bit of feedback is a concern over what some developers feel is a “double dip” in regard to bonding — which is essentially money that must be held aside to ensure that a developer delivers on what’s being sold.
Bonding is already required by lending institutions. Bonding is also included in the subdivision regulations.
“The county has no interest in forcing a double dip. We just want to make sure that nobody who may buy into something is left in the lurch,” Gast-Bray said. “So we’re fine, in concept, in saying that if we’ve got a guarantee that is demonstrated in some way and we’ve got something from the bank, we’re fine with that.”
Roads — The biggest and most complex hurdle is exactly what will be required of developers in terms of providing access to and from developments.
Gast-Bray said he’s working with the state and developers to try to iron out connectivity options, which requires a lot of foresight.
“It’s difficult for us doing this work to break it all down because it’s site unseen. We don’t know where they might be building. So we’re trying to design a system to handle everything in the county, from little to big development, from steep hillsides to flat areas, to floodplain,” he said. “All of those things put different constraints on a given road.”
He went on to state regardless of whether it’s roads and connectivity, geotechnical analysis or any other issue, the county wants the regulations to be flexible and provide options.
“We’re trying, but we know we’re not going to please everybody, especially when developers have had a free reign,” Gast-Bray said. “Nobody likes to have their freedom curtailed in any way, but the county has not been happy with some of the unfettered development that has occurred. It’s created problems. We all know that.”
Subdivision regulations, which have been on and off the county’s radar a number of times dating back to 1968, are one of four documents used in planning — the others being comprehensive plans, zoning codes and building codes.
Much of the opposition to the regulations comes from folks conflating them with zoning laws, Commissioner Ed Hawkins said.
While zoning determines what can go where, subdivision regulations deal specifically with issues like water runoff and how property is divided and accessed.
“It’s because of that other word,” Hawkins said, referring to zoning. “I’m continually having to, not really defend it, but just give a simple, brief explanation of what we’re trying to do regarding roads and water runoff.”
Commission President Tom Bloom said he feels the process has been “very, very positive.”
“I think it’s because they’re flexible, very flexible, to the point that if something isn’t right, a developer can come in and say, ‘If I can’t do this, will you accept this,’ ” Bloom said.
The regulations, if ultimately passed, will not impact existing development and will not be enforced within municipal boundaries.
And Gast-Bray said he’s confident they will ultimately be passed.
“You’ll never get rousing endorsements from the development community, but at least they’ll say it’s fair,” he said. “And I think they will say that at the end of this, and we’re close.”
The draft document and frequently asked questions are available at monongalia county.gov/moncpc/subdivision_faq.php
Morgantown Area News
'Friday, April 19, 2024'
