MORGANTOWN — The city of Morgantown will host an open house from 6-8 p.m. Thursday in the Wiles Hill Community Center gymnasium to collect additional public guidance as part of the lengthy Morgantown 2033 comprehensive planning process.
West Virginia Code says municipalities must update their comprehensive plans every 10 years.
The document serves as a road map for community leaders and includes recommendations on a wide variety of issues, including land use, housing, transportation, infrastructure, community services and facilities, recreation, economic development, community design and character, financing, historic preservation, renewal and/or redevelopment.
The city last underwent the comprehensive planning process in 2013.
That plan highlighted a number of issues the city has since taken on, including the need for aggressive airport development and regular, yearly street maintenance.
This mandatory update began back in March 2022 with a large public event held at the Morgantown Event Center.
“The City’s planning team has received a lot of good input from the community throughout the planning process. This information has been used to craft the vision, goals, and strategies for the seven components of the Comprehensive Plan update,” Morgantown Development Services Director Rickie Yeager said.
He went on to say Thursday’s open house will allow participants to “review the recommended strategies and provide feedback to the planning team. This information will help planners further refine the plan and prepare a final draft for adoption.”
The city’s comprehensive plan update is being done in collaboration with updates to the Monongalia County Comprehensive Plan and the Morgantown Monongalia Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Long-Range Transportation Plan.
Consulting firm Rhodeside & Harwell was hired to assist with the city’s planning process.
Yeager said the formal adoption process is slated to begin later this month when the full plan is made available for public review. That process will include stops before the Morgantown Planning Commission as well as Morgantown City Council.
While the plan will be available online, hard copies will also be available for review in the Development Services Department at 430 Spruce Street and the Morgantown Public Library (373 Spruce Street).
The Wiles Hill Community Center is located at 287 Eureka Drive.
