Parkersburg City Council takes no action on home occupation ordinance
Photo by Evan Bevins Parkersburg Municipal Planning Commission member John Reed speaks during the public forum at Tuesday’s Parkersburg City Council meeting at the Municipal Building. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Parkersburg City Councilwoman Wendy Tuck, left, passes copies of the city’s five-year capital improvement plan to Council President Mike Reynolds as council members J.R. Carpenter, Zach Stanley and Cathy Dailey look on during Tuesday’s council meeting at the Municipal Building. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Photo by Evan Bevins Parkersburg Municipal Planning Commission member John Reed speaks during the public forum at Tuesday’s Parkersburg City Council meeting at the Municipal Building. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Parkersburg City Councilwoman Wendy Tuck, left, passes copies of the city’s five-year capital improvement plan to Council President Mike Reynolds as council members J.R. Carpenter, Zach Stanley and Cathy Dailey look on during Tuesday’s council meeting at the Municipal Building. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
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PARKERSBURG - An ordinance to require approval for home-based businesses in two of the city's historic districts wasn't voted on by Parkersburg City Council Tuesday night, but one of the sponsors plans to bring it back for discussion.
Councilman J.R. Carpenter made a motion to approve the ordinance changing home occupations from a permitted to a conditional use - which would require approval by the Board of Zoning Appeals - but it died for lack of a second. Without a second, legislation cannot be voted on or discussed.
Home occupations are a conditional use for residential properties in the Washington Avenue Historical District. Carpenter said residents of the Julia Ann Square and Avery Street historic districts want that provision to apply in those areas as well.
"All the residents want is notification if one's moving in, so they can analyze it themselves," he said after the meeting.
Carpenter said he plans to bring the ordinance back before council. The makeup of a future meeting would likely be different since three members - Councilwoman Jesse Cottrille and Councilmen Bob Mercer and Chris Rexroad - were absent Tuesday.
The proposed ordinance was rejected in November by the city's Municipal Planning Commission on an 8-1 vote but brought to council with the sponsorship of Carpenter, Council President Mike Reynolds and Councilwoman Wendy Tuck. Reynolds and Tuck said earlier this week they wanted to discuss the ordinance more before deciding whether to support it.
Planning commission member John Reed, a former councilman, spoke against the ordinance during the public forum. He said passing it would be the "single largest intrusion" in people's lives by the city's legislative body.
Reed said the change would require people working from home for employers like the federal Bureau of the Fiscal Service to seek approval from the Board of Zoning Appeals. The board would likely authorize those, he said, so why not an accountant operating out of his or her home.
The change could affect seamstresses and crafters as well, Reed said, requiring them to pay for an application and taking up additional time for the BZA.
"Is the zoning board really going to deny that lady the opportunity to do seamstress work out of her house?" he said. "No, probably not."
Reed pointed out the state's efforts to encourage people to move to West Virginia and work from home.
"What this ordinance is saying is, 'Hold on a second. We want you to come to West Virginia but just not to Parkersburg,'" he said.
Carpenter said after the meeting that the ordinance would only apply to commercial operations, not people working out of their home.
"That had nothing to do with this," he said. "A business that would bring in traffic is a concern."
Council approved the only other piece of legislation on the agenda - the reappointment of Patrick McCormick to the Board of Zoning Appeals - on a 6-0 vote.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.