Morgantown asks county to step up property compliance efforts

MORGANTOWN — The town of Morgantown is asking the county to step up its enforcement efforts concerning dilapidated properties — particularly these bordering metropolis residents and property. 

Throughout a current assembly between metropolis and county officers, Assistant Metropolis Supervisor Emily Muzzarelli identified that the jigsaw nature of the town’s boundaries and the discrepancy in legal guidelines between the town and county result in situations wherein neighbors are being held to vastly completely different requirements. 

“We’re attempting to do an enormous push on property upkeep inside metropolis limits. You recognize our borders, they’re very bizarre. Generally your neighbor who occurs to be on the opposite facet of the border and there’s nothing the town can implement,” she stated. 

Mayor Jenny Selin defined additional. 

“A few of these are actively hazardous. It’s not, did you mow your garden? It’s, is your tree falling in your neighbor? Your neighbor has an expectation that they need to have the ability to get pleasure from their yard,” she stated. 

It was prompt throughout that assembly, West Virginia Code 15A-11-5 would enable the town and county to enter into an settlement via which the town might implement state constructing code past its boundaries. 

However the code seems to recommend the county must undertake the state constructing code, or at the very least the Worldwide Property Upkeep Code — a subsection of the total constructing code — to have the ability to use such an settlement.  

The county at present operates underneath its personal deserted and dilapidated property ordinance, which units up a prolonged course of involving each a volunteer Deserted and Dilapidated Properties Committee and the county fee. 

Whereas which may be acceptable in some conditions, a 30-day discover to chop already knee-high grass shouldn’t be efficient. 

One other distinction: The town has a code enforcement division dealing with compliance; the county has one particular person. 

Alex Corridor was employed as Monongalia County litter management officer in April. Previous to that, the place spent eight months largely in flux. 

Corridor stated his first order of enterprise was to basically restart the method for each property the county had on file in an effort to make sure everybody was handled pretty and nothing was missed. 

Then he began wanting on the books. 

“Just lately, over most likely the final month or so, we’ve been engaged on wanting into strengthening our ordinance to attempt to get that enforcement a little bit higher,” he stated, noting the county has simply began exploring the opportunity of adopting the IPMC. 

Whatever the route the county chooses, Corridor stated he’s open to working with the town.

“By way of working collectively and attempting to determine a plan to make all people completely satisfied, we’re completely excited by working with the town 100% to attempt to make one thing work,” he stated.