Morgantown staff outline housing affordability package including ADU ordinance, density bonus and rehab programs

Morgantown— City staff on Tuesday summarized stakeholder and public listening sessions on housing affordability and presented a package of short-, medium- and long-term policy tools aimed at creating more attainable housing options.

Ricky Yeager told council staff held four stakeholder meetings and two listening sessions in January 2026 that identified six main barriers: housing cost burden and market pressures, rental availability and stability, infrastructure and utility costs, regulatory and development barriers (setbacks, minimum-lot sizes), workforce capacity constraints and financial-literacy gaps. Staff said participants favored preserving existing housing, incentivizing affordable rental units and exploring community land trusts.

Near-term policy items in the draft package include an accessory dwelling-unit (ADU) ordinance (separate attached and detached classifications), a density-bonus/inclusionary-zoning incentive for projects that set aside a percentage of units for income-eligible households, and site-plan review clarifications. The draft ADU ordinance would permit attached ADUs by right and require Board of Zoning Appeals conditional-use review for detached ADUs; the current draft also includes an owner-occupancy expectation for parcels establishing ADUs and allows rentals, including short-term rentals, with applicable housing-code registration and inspections.

Medium- and long-term proposals include owner-occupied rehabilitation loans (for income-eligible households), exploring a community land trust to preserve long-term affordability and pursuing participation in HUD's HOME partnership programs in collaboration with neighboring jurisdictions. Staff said these programs often require dedicated funding and administrative capacity.

Council discussion focused on the merits of inclusionary incentives versus regulatory change, protecting neighborhood character, the timing of action relative to pending state legislation that may require municipalities to allow ADUs, and outreach to neighborhood associations. Several council members recommended referring the draft ADU ordinance to the Planning Commission; staff will return with recommended text after that review.

No final ordinance was adopted at the workshop; staff will send the draft to Planning Commission for formal review and will continue outreach to stakeholders.