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Morgantown zoning board tables variance request for shed at 120 Doyle Street amid active court order
Summary
The City of Morgantown Board of Zoning Appeals voted to table a variance request from Brenda Hughes to place an accessory shed in the front yard of 120 Doyle Street after counsel for adjacent property owners told the board of an active Circuit Court order and pending enforcement hearing.
The City of Morgantown Board of Zoning Appeals on a unanimous vote tabled a variance request from Brenda Hughes for an accessory structure at 120 Doyle Street, citing an active Circuit Court order tied to the property.
The request, filed as VAR24-151, asked the board to allow a shed to be sited in the front yard roughly 24.5 feet back from the front property line; planning staff reported no objection to the variance but noted that any future changes to the proposal would require additional permits or variance requests. The board took testimony from the applicant and from counsel for neighboring property owners before tabling the matter to a later meeting.
The hearing drew sustained public attention after Carly King, who identified herself as counsel for the neighbors, told the board the shed had been placed on an adjacent parcel and that the neighbors had a survey and a civil court order requiring the structure to be removed. "She knew where the property lines were and she still chose to place that shed there," King said, describing repeated disturbances to her clients and alleging the shed showed signs of occupancy, including an AC unit and a doorbell camera.
Brenda Hughes, the applicant, told the board she was seeking approval to move and re-site the shed so it would no longer encroach on the neighbor's parcel. "If you do not grant me the opportunity to move it, then this thing will never be solved," Hughes said during her rebuttal.
Board members and staff said the presence of a pending court order and the prospect of conflicting rulings made it difficult to render a final determination. Planning staff (Mister Thompson) explained that the board's approval would not eliminate other procedural requirements: an accessory-structure building permit, clearances from code enforcement and fire review, and adherence to side/rear setback rules if the proposal changed.
Carly King told the board the Circuit Court of Monongalia County issued a public order under Civil Action No. 23-CD-361 (Judge Cindy S. Scott) that included a deadline of Aug. 17, 2024, to move the structure; she said her clients would seek court enforcement at a hearing on May 15. Given that active litigation and the risk of conflicting authority between the court and the board, members voted to table the zoning variance to the regular June meeting to allow time for the circuit court process and for legally required public notice.
The board's formal action was to table VAR24-151 (Brenda Hughes, 120 Doyle Street) to the June Board of Zoning Appeals meeting. The motion passed with the members present voting in the affirmative. Staff said written notice of the board's action would follow and reminded parties that any work undertaken before the appeal period lapses would be at the applicants' financial risk.
The case will return to the board after the circuit court matter is resolved or when the applicant seeks rehearing; planning staff said the board will require updated documentation and any additional variance requests if the proposal is changed.
Ending: The board did not decide the variance on the merits. The matter is scheduled to remain on the board docket for the June meeting pending the outcome of the May 15 circuit court enforcement hearing referenced by counsel for the neighbors.
