Coronavirus delayed plans, but are close to being finished
COVID-19 has interrupted or delayed just about everything.
In the case of Monongalia County’s efforts to implement subdivision regulations — which have been in the works to some degree since the 1960s — you can likely forgive the delay.
County Planner Andrew Gast-Bray recently asked the Monongalia County Commission to approve an additional expenditure of up to $12,000 to put the finishing touches on the proposed ordinance.
Gast-Bray explained that since the viral pandemic put the public-facing effort on pause, a lot of work has taken place.
This latest, and final, effort will reorganize the document and trim it by about 20%, from 17 articles to 12.
Gast-Bray explained that the focus of the document hasn’t changed. It’s still largely focused on storm water runoff and access — water and roads, to be short.
“What we’re regulating really hasn’t changed … But how we’re regulating has been improved. Because we were asked by the development community and the public, we have more clearly made incentive-based choices to improve design rather than requiring everything,” he explained.
According to Gast-Bray, a master table has been added to the ordinance for easy reference. He said the document is now more lenient in regards to submission schedules and bonding as well, noting “If you want somebody to do something right, you need to make it easy for them to do it right.”
While Gast-Bray said the planning office is working on a series of video tutorials to guide folks through the ordinance, Commissioner Sean Sikora said he would still like to see either in-person and/or online workshops before the document officially comes before the commission.
Either way, Commission President Ed Hawkins said the delay caused by COVID-19 has likely been a blessing — at least in this one small instance.
“In this regard at least, I think we now have a more coherent, usable directive,” Hawkins said. “Before, had it been rolled out, it might not have been nearly as well received by the public.”
Gast-Bray explained that once this final once-over is complete, there will be a three-month window in which the document is brought before the commission for a vote.
According to The Dominion Post archive, the commission approved a $30,000 contract with STS Consulting, of Columbia, Md., in October 2018 to finalize a subdivision regulation ordinance.
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