WHEELING – The first public workshop to gather community input that will help develop the city of Wheeling’s next 10-year Comprehensive Plan was held Monday night, when a near capacity crowd gathered to share ideas about the city’s future.

The session took place Monday night at West Virginia Northern Community College. Representatives of Pittsburgh-based design and planning firm evolve: Environment & Architecture led the group through informational sessions and idea-gathering exercises that helped highlight Wheeling’s assets and its residents’ hopes for the future.

“We really want to bring folks in at the ground level so they can really be a part of creating and crafting the plan,” said Wheeling Building & Planning Director B.J. Delbert. “We’re more likely to get a call to action that way when people have some buy-in and want to be part of the change, and we can all move forward together.”

The city is required to update its Comprehensive Plan once every 10 years, and a new update is due this year. The plan serves as a guide that lays the framework for land use regulations and helps steer growth and development in the city under a strategic and throughly scrutinized strategy. The Comprehensive Plan focuses on revitalization and reinvestment in public spaces, business districts and neighborhoods.

The city of Wheeling hired evolve to spearhead the development of the Comprehensive Plan for the next 10 years. In recent months, officials from evolve have been gathering information about the city and examining Wheeling’s last Comprehensive Plan that was developed and put in place back in 2014.

Wheeling Building and Planning Director B.J. Delbert welcomed a room full of city residents and stakeholders Monday night at West Virginia Northern Community College, where a public workshop was held to gather community input on the city of Wheeling’s next 10-year Comprehensive Plan. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

“One of our core fundamental beliefs is that cities have the capability of providing something for everybody only because and only when they’re created by everybody,” said evolve Principal Christine Mondor. “You all are here tonight to do one of the most important things that a city can do.”

A Comprehensive Plan is not just a strategic document, Mondor said, but it is a process that brings people together to talk about shared goals and a shared vision. It also gives a community the tools to make those things happen, she explained.

Participants in Monday night’s workshop were people of all ages and from all walks of life – from seniors to young adults. Those in attendance filled out what were deemed “postcards to the future” of Wheeling, highlighting assets the city currently has and pitching their hopes for the future.

Jeanne Finstein of Friends of Wheeling was among the many participants who took part in group exercises. Her table touted some of the most valuable assets Wheeling currently has, from its schools to entertainment venues and hometown entities from the Wheeling Nailers to the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, the outstanding area parks like Oglebay, the city’s proximity to The Highlands, and of course, Wheeling’s rich history.

The group agreed that the city could use some more positive promotion about its assets.

“We’re tired of hearing ‘there aren’t any stores downtown – there aren’t any people working downtown,'” Finstein said. “There are actually more people working downtown now than there were when there were a lot of stores downtown. But people don’t appreciate that.”

Young adults participating in the workshop agreed that with all of the new investment taking place in the city, Wheeling is poised to become a “wonderful destination spot.”

Jeanne Finstein of Friends of Wheeling participates in a workshop Monday night at West Virginia Northern Community College, where members of the community gathered to provide input on the city of Wheeling’s next 10-year Comprehensive Plan. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

According to the Envision Wheeling Plan from 2014, the city should be a “forward-thinking, modern and sustainable community with a diverse economy, support for local entrepreneurs, strong community partnerships, robust neighborhood and infrastructure investments, and an emphasis on embracing the area’s unique heritage, culture and recreational opportunities.”

Development of Wheeling’s next Comprehensive Plan will take place in phases in the coming months and through November of this year. Phase 1 will be Articulating a Vision. Phase 2 will be Developing a Plan, followed by Phase 3 – Deepening Priorities. Finally, Phase 4 will be Launching into Action.

This was the first of four meetings that are expected to take place over the course of the next several months as a draft of the city’s next Comprehensive Plan is developed. There will be online engagement opportunities, but with each phase of the plan will also include an in-person meeting like Monday evening’s session – which was deemed a success.

“I’m very impressed with the turnout,” Delbert said. “There are a lot of people here. Hopefully as we progress, the meetings will continue to grow.”

Ashley Cox of Pittsburgh-based consulting firm evolve: Environment & Architecture listens as Jeanne Finstein of Friends of Wheeling shares ideas Monday night at West Virginia Northern Community College, where a public workshop was held to gather community input on the city of Wheeling’s next 10-year Comprehensive Plan. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

Wheeling Building and Planning Director B.J. Delbert welcomed a room full of city residents and stakeholders Monday night at West Virginia Northern Community College, where a public workshop was held to gather community input on the city of Wheeling’s next 10-year Comprehensive Plan. (Photo by Eric Ayres)