Staff says subdivision-ordinance overhaul needed before granting minor-subdivision approval authority to staff

Planning staff told the Morgantown Planning Commission on Oct. 11 that an amendment to give staff authority to approve minor subdivisions would require a larger code update and is not feasible immediately.

A staff presenter said the department had drafted an amendment to the subdivision ordinance to allow administrative approval of some minor subdivisions, but that the city’s existing ordinance is grandfathered into the state code and any change would require bringing the code entirely up to current standards.

"Because of our existing salvo, is grandfathered into the state code, any amendment would require a full bringing up to code now, and we're not prepared to do that at this time," the staff member said.

Staff said they plan to begin a comprehensive overhaul of the South End code this year that would include the proposed authority changes. The staff member also said they had discussed potential approaches with City Attorney Simonton to find ways to avoid triggering a full code rewrite while still addressing administrative efficiency.

The commission heard that staff and the city attorney will continue to explore options and that a full code update for the South End is likely to follow in the near term.

What happens next: Staff will continue work with the city attorney and intends to start a comprehensive South End zoning and subdivision code overhaul; any administrative authority for staff to approve minor subdivisions will be considered as part of that larger process.