Planning commission forwards rezoning for Hartman Run Road site despite airport noise concerns

The Morgantown Planning Commission voted to forward a rezoning application for Map 2571 (AJR LLC, Hartman Run Road) to city council with a finding that the request is consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan, but commissioners and staff noted outstanding concerns about airport noise and long-term compatibility.

The application would change the zoning of approximately 13 acres at the intersection of Everlasting Lane and Hartman Run Road from industrial to a commercial/mixed-use district (B-2 was the final district forwarded). The staff presentation described the parcel as three contiguous parcels and emphasized its proximity to Morgantown’s airport, the steep change in topography on the site and the overlay district the city adopted after a 2012 master plan update.

Staff told commissioners the 2012 study that informed the airport overlay ordinance had concluded that noise contours would largely remain on airport property. “The 2012 study said that that basically wasn't an issue because the noise compatibility of 65 decibels was not going to be an issue off of the airport property,”…