Morgantown BZA grants variances and conditional-use permits for WVU Eye Institute and shared parking garage

The City of Morgantown Board of Zoning Appeals on an evening meeting approved four variances and two conditional uses requested by West Virginia University Hospitals Inc. to allow construction of a WVU Eye Institute and an adjacent six-level shared parking garage at parcels listed on tax map 6 in the Seventh Ward.

The approvals cover variance relief from setback standards (VAR25-006 and VAR25-007), a reduction in required loading spaces (VAR25-008), and relief from long-term bicycle-storage requirements (VAR25-009), plus conditional-use approvals for a shared parking facility and an off-site parking arrangement (CON25-010 and CON25-011). The board accepted staff findings of fact for each item and voted to grant all requests; the approvals carry a single recurring condition that any substantive changes to the approved site plan must return to the board for additional review or variance relief.

Board staff and the applicant told the board the project is an approximately six-acre development with a cited site area of about 256,645 square feet. Jeff Gola, the lead civil site engineer with Thrasher Group representing the applicant, described the building program: exam and testing rooms and support spaces on the first and second floors, an operating room and post-anesthesia care unit on the third floor, and offices and a conference center on the fourth floor. Gola said a two-story pedestrian bridge will connect the parking deck to levels three and four of the Eye Institute so patients and staff can move between buildings without crossing the street: "The goal there is patrons who are in those floors can walk directly into their medical facility there and back and forth to eliminate traffic down below," Gola said.

Planning staff recommended approval. "With respect to the front setback, the bio-pond and stormwater management considerations constitute a hardship," Planning staff member Thompson said during the meeting, recommending the finding that site constraints justify the front-setback variance.

Site and circulation details discussed during the hearing included: an existing stormwater pond that constrains placement of the parking deck and building footprint; a six-level parking garage footprint placed nearer the street while existing surface parking lies behind; an existing roughly 400-space surface lot on the campus that the parking deck partially replaces; and that the applicant performed and submitted a traffic study and a traffic-management plan to state highway authorities. The applicant said the loading-dock layout is sized to allow semi-truck deliveries and that ambulance access and a fire-lane route were preserved when arranging loading and parking areas.

On loading requirements, the applicant asked to provide two loading bays instead of the three the code nominally requires, citing limited demand for the third bay and site access constraints. On bicycle storage, the applicant sought relief from long-term bicycle-storage requirements, saying the hospital historically has had short-term bike use but little demand for long-term bicycle parking. Planning staff and at least one board member noted the project does accommodate short-term bicycle facilities and acknowledged Morgantown's emphasis on cycling.

Votes at a glance - VAR25-006 (setbacks for parking garage and pedestrian bridge): Granted; board accepted findings of fact and approved variance (outcome: approved). - VAR25-007 (rear setback): Granted (outcome: approved). - VAR25-008 (loading-space reduction to two bays): Granted (outcome: approved). - VAR25-009 (long-term bicycle-storage relief): Granted (outcome: approved). - CON25-010 (shared parking facility): Granted, subject to staff condition that any plan changes comply with the code or return to the board (outcome: approved). - CON25-011 (off-site parking arrangement): Granted, subject to the same condition (outcome: approved).

In each vote the board adopted the prepared findings of fact from the staff packet. The board recorded unanimous aye votes from the members present on each motion. Planning staff noted that a Type 3 DSI site plan had already been submitted to and conditionally approved by the Planning Commission, removing that item as a separate condition. The recurring condition placed on the approvals requires the applicant to seek further variance relief or conditional-use approval if the project plans are changed in a way that would violate the city's zoning code.

The board chair and planning staff reminded the applicant that municipal decisions may be appealed to the circuit court within the statutory appeal period and that any work undertaken during the appeals period would be at the applicant's financial risk. The applicant was told written notification of the board's decisions would follow from the planning division within approximately 10 business days.

The approvals conclude the board's review of these cases for this meeting; the board also approved meeting minutes from Jan. 15, 2025 and postponed officer elections to a future meeting.