MORGANTOWN – The construction of 104 townhomes near the Morgantown Municipal Airport is under discussion between the city of Morgantown and ARJ LLC, one of the corporations under the Biafora family of development interests.
The property being considered is 12.92 acres at the corner of Hartman Run Road and Everlasting Lane, approximately 1,700 feet from the airport runway according to project engineer Scott Copen,of Cheat Road Engineering.
The land upon which the proposed development would sit is currently owned by the Monongalia County Development Authority.
According to Morgantown Area Partnership President and CEO Russ Rogerson, the MCDA has the property under a sales contract with ARJ subject to ARJ receiving approval from the city for their proposed residential use and construction plans.
The property, comprised of three parcels, was recently rezoned from I-1 (industrial) to B-2 (service business). Townhomes are permitted by right in a B-2 district.
Copen was among the members of the development team present Thursday evening for a work session with the Morgantown Planning Commission.
During the presentation, Copen explained the proposed development will have one entrance/exit point off Everlasting Lane, with townhomes situated along a single loop road.
“We are proposing to improve the intersection of Everlasting Lane and Hartman Run Road and improve Everlasting Lane up to the entrance of the development,” Copen said. “That road is 16, 17 feet wide – some places it’s more like 13. So we’re proposing to make it 22 feet, with a sidewalk out to Hartman Run … We’ve spoken with DOH. Basically, they’ve said with the proposed improvements we’re making to Everlasting Lane, that’s what they would consider necessary.”
Additional improvements would include a pad for the placement of a Mountain Line bus stop as well as a school bus stop along Hartman Run, if needed. School buses don’t currently access Everlasting Lane, though it’s hoped the upgraded road would prompt service directly to a location within the development.
Beyond the nuts and bolts of the project itself, Thursday’s session focused heavily on something less tangible – noise.
Is it marketable, and more importantly, safe, to construct homes that close to the airport?
Copen said it is.
Pulling up a 2015 noise study of the airport conducted by Michael Baker International, he pointed out that the nearest townhomes would sit more than 1,000 feet from the line that represents the federally recognized threshold of concern. The study did consider the larger aircraft that would be utilizing the airport once the ongoing runway extension project is completed.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, 65 decibels DNL (day-night average sound level) is the standard level above which airport noise should be a factor in land use considerations. The calculation of that number, which measures the impact of airport noise over time, weighs a number of factors, including the time of day the sound is occurring.
“We are 1,200 feet away from the level. The airport and the runway noise, it’s not a problem for us,” Copen said, explaining “the most common sense approach” would likely be language within home owner association documentation whereby purchasers would acknowledge they’re buying a house near an airport.
“That was going to be my question,” Commissioner Danielle Trumble said. “You think it’s common sense, like I’m buying a house near an airport, people are assuming that risk, but I think there are a lot of historical examples where people then come back and try to sue the city or sue the airport for being a nuisance.”
In addition to planes in the air, a question was raised about the noise emanating from airport maintenance hangers, located significantly closer to the property. The noise from the hangars was not considered in the 2015 study.
Copen said there have been conversations with Michael Baker International about testing the hangar noise levels, if needed.
Developer Dave Biafora said it’s not needed, calling the idea “absolutely crazy.”
According to Biafora, the development team was told it would take six weeks and $25,000 to $27,000 to get the analysis done.
“They’ve already got a sound study. It tells the story … If you want to wait six weeks, I guess we wait six weeks to make the city happy, but I don’t pay the $25,000. The city can take it out of the permits and all the money they’re going to make on this project and the tax dollars into the city,” he said. “Bringing $30 million into the city is a gift. I mean, it might not be East End Village and $100 million-plus, but we’ve got to get something to happen here.”
As Thursday’s meeting was a work session, no formal action was taken. The developer’s application seeking a development of significant impact approval for the project has not been filed.
