MORGANTOWN – The Morgantown Board of Zoning Appeals has approved a request for “reasonable accommodations” regarding parking requirements for a West Virginia Sober Living house at 201 Waitman Street.
A quorum of board members unanimously voted Wednesday to approve the request upon the recommendation of city staff and the guidelines of the federal Fair Housing Act, which recognizes recovery from substance abuse disorder as a covered condition.
Under city code, a group residential facility is allowable by right in single-family residential zoning districts, but such uses must provide minimum off-street parking equal to one space per employee plus one space per five residents.
In this case, the facility would have eight residents, one of whom would serve in a leadership capacity, meaning three spaces would be needed. The property has no capacity for off-street parking.
WVSL came before the BZA in September requesting variance relief from the parking requirement. The body denied the request, explaining the additional on-street parking associated with the facility would add to parking scarcity and congestion issues already facing the neighborhood.
In the request for accommodation, WVSL pointed out that waiving off-street parking requirements in favor of on-street passes is already common practice for the city in this neighborhood and others.
The city concurred.
In providing the recommendations of city staff, Morgantown Zoning Administrator Sailor Thompson explained, one, that the Fair Housing Act mandates housing be offered to handicapped persons in a manner equal to that offered to other residents; two, that on-street parking passes “are typically provided to other single-family homes within the neighborhood without requiring the construction of off-street parking spaces.”
Even so, WVSL Director of Operations Dan McCawley said vehicle traffic associated with the house will be minimal.
“Really, there’ll be one car there all the time as far as people who live there who have access to a car. There will be an occasional drop-in by me or another employee during business hours to check in and make sure they have the support they want,” he said. “But just like any of our other recovery residences in town and abroad, we don’t have any on-site parking for the participants themselves, because 99% of the time they don’t have a vehicle, and when they do, they find a spot downtown. We’ve got a pretty good relationship with a couple of the lots where they can rent regular spaces. We’ll do the same thing here. We don’t want to create any undue burden on the neighborhood.”
According to the Monongalia County Assessor’s Office, the nonprofit purchased the home and 0.05-acre property for $335,000 in June. The 2,035 square-foot structure was built in 1924.
