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Parkersburg planners approve three requests

Fourth delayed after quorum lost

By Evan Bevins 3 min read

PARKERSBURG -- The Municipal Planning Commission approved two requests from the city and one from a resident Friday.

The commission voted 6-0, with four members absent and two participating by phone, in favor of the city's request to rezone a vacated portion of Foxhill Drive from residential to recreational.

Parkersburg City Council, who will ultimately decide whether to approve the request, voted earlier this year to abandon a 30-by-127.5-foot, undeveloped section of the street to connect Johnson T. Janes Park with parcels donated to the city.

"This portion is adjacent to Johnson T. Janes Park … and will be used as park land," said Sam Tuten, with Sixmo City Services, which is providing contracted planning services to Parkersburg until a new city planner is hired.

The second request from the city was to consolidate lots at 1115 and 1115 1/2 E. 12th St. and get a variance since the new lot would still be below the minimum size required to build. The location is one of three on which the Urban Renewal Authority plans to build modular homes as part of an affordable housing initiative.

The city purchased the lots last year as part of the $495,000 project. The 1115 parcel is 2,250 square feet and 1115 1/2 is 1,350 square feet. Even combined, they fall below the 5,000-square-foot minimum requirement and the city, just like any other property owner, requires a variance before it can build a new structure, Tuten said.

A request to combine lots at 804 and 806 19th St. and get a variance for the new lot could not be voted on because commission member Sean Andrews was no longer able to participate by phone, meaning the group no longer had a quorum of six members.

"We'll have to bring that up at the next meeting," Planning Commission President Charlie Matthews said.

Also part of the affordable housing initiative, the resulting lot would be just 3,500 square feet in an area where zoning requires a minimum of 7,000 square feet for new construction.

After the meeting adjourned due to lack of a quorum, two residents of the neighborhood asked questions about the plan.

Dixie Showalter said she'd been interested in buying the property from the previous owner and the city "to leave them as they are so that the neighborhood could not have house after house after house after house."

Susannah Lowden said she only learned about the city's plans for the site when she received a notice about the variance request.

"I wish that we were notified much earlier in the process," she said.

The plans were discussed at Urban Renewal Authority meetings last year.

The meeting started off with a request from Parkersburg resident Dianna Hess for the city to abandon an unimproved portion of 17th Avenue at South Hills Drive so she and her husband could build a driveway and additional side entry to their residence. The commission granted conditional approval on a 6-0 vote, but it will not be submitted to council until the Hesses provide plans for the Parkersburg Utility Board to determine where the project is in relation to water lines.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.

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