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City staff propose reconstituting Housing Advisory Committee to address affordable, workforce and accessible housing
Summary
City development staff presented proposed revisions to the ordinance that governs the Housing Advisory Committee, seeking to broaden membership, refocus duties on missing-middle and accessible housing and create a clearinghouse for policy ideas; councilors discussed quorum and membership size concerns.
Morgantown — Ricky Yager, director of Development Services, presented proposed revisions to the city ordinance that establishes the Housing Advisory Committee and asked council whether it wished to reconstitute the committee with clarified duties and expanded membership.
Staff rationale: Yager told council the committee — created in 2014 to improve communication among the city, the university and student-housing stakeholders — was active under earlier leadership but waned after the COVID period and is now largely inactive. He said staff convened stakeholder meetings and reviewed resources including the 2021 housing needs assessment and guidance from the Lincoln Institute and the National League of Cities/American Planning Association toolkit. Staff recommended refocusing the committee on practical policy evaluation and including broader stakeholder expertise to vet proposals before they come to council.
Council discussion: Councilors asked about causes of past low participation, appropriate committee size and quorum rules. Several members warned that a 13-member board could be hard to seat and keep quorate; one councilor suggested turning strict membership slots into aspirational goals rather than rigid requirements. Members urged that the committee explicitly address “missing middle” and workforce housing, universal design / accessible housing and interactions with employers to understand workforce housing needs. Staff said the committee could begin by reviewing proposals identified in the city’s comprehensive plan update and the 2021 housing needs assessment.
Next steps: Yager said staff will work with the city attorney to draft an ordinance amendment if council desires; councilors suggested specifying quorum language and keeping membership numbers attainable to ensure meetings can be held and work completed.
Ending: No formal vote was taken. Councilors expressed support for reconstituting the committee with attention to membership size, quorum rules and clear objectives such as missing-middle and accessible housing.
