MORGANTOWN — They’ve been talked about, worked on, argued over, taken up and put down countless times over the last 60 or so years.
Will 2024 be the year subdivision regulations are adopted in Monongalia County?
County Planner Andrew Gast-Bray is scheduled to present the draft regulations during Wednesday’s Monongalia County Commission meeting.
Commission President Sean Sikora said he considers this to be the start of a final stretch to get the regulations before the commission for an up or down vote.
The push for subdivision regulations in Monongalia County stretches back decades, including major initiatives that were undertaken, and ultimately abandoned, in 1978, 1994 and 2009.
This latest effort began in earnest with the hiring of Gast-Bray in April 2019.
The entire four-plus year timeline as well as a copy of the draft ordinance is available at monongaliacounty.gov by following the “departments,” “Monongalia County Planning Commission” and “subdivision” links.
Throughout the process, Gast-Bray has said the aim of the document is to be incentive-based and flexible for developers, while ensuring unchecked construction isn’t causing long-term issues, primarily due to overwhelmed roads and uncontrolled water runoff.
According to the timeline, if adopted, a six-month window will open during which projects can be grandfathered under current standards. Once that ends, the regulations will be enforced for six months before a one-year review is conducted.
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