×

Wheeling Set to Adopt 10-Year Comprehensive Plan Update

Ashley Cox of Pittsburgh-based consulting firm Evolve: Environment & Architecture, addresses a crowd on hand in February 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. (File Photo by Eric Ayres)

WHEELING – Members of Wheeling City Council are expected to adopt the city’s 10-year Comprehensive Plan update during their first meeting of the new calendar year, solidifying a blueprint of sorts that will guide Wheeling’s future for the next decade.

For more than a year, a phase-by-phase effort unfolded to develop the updated plan, now known as Wheeling Forward 2034. A number of community conversations, focus group discussions, meetings, public comment periods and behind-the-scenes number-crunching sessions have taken place over the past several months to get to this point.

While this Comp Plan update includes a wealth of information based on input from local leaders, public stakeholders and members of the community, much of the basic structure of the nearly 150-page document remains very similar to Wheeling’s current Comprehensive Plan that was developed back in 2014.

“I don’t think many realize that the progress we see today within the city of Wheeling is a direct result of the last Comprehensive Plan put in place from 2014,” said Wheeling Planning Commission Chairman Jeremy West. “Public input is so very important, even though it’s hard to look so far down the road.”

Wheeling Forward 2034 outlines the city’s vision and strategic direction for the next decade, West noted.

“It provides the framework to guide the city’s development, addresses current and future challenges, and complies with state planning requirements, all with the goal of enhancing the well-being of the Wheeling community,” he said.

West Virginia requires cities to update their Comprehensive Plans every 10 years. Locally, the city of Moundsville has also been in the process of updating its 10-year Comprehensive Plan update.

Ashley Cox of Pittsburgh-based consulting firm Evolve: Environment & Architecture conducts the city of Wheeling’s second public meeting on its 10-year Comprehensive Plan update last May in Wheeling University’s Troy Theatre. (File Photo by Eric Ayres)

Officials in Wheeling hired Pittsburgh-based consulting firm Evolve: Environment & Architecture to help create its updated plan – one that is, in fact, quite comprehensive.

“A detailed Comprehensive Plan is important because it serves as a basic, long-term plan for land use, economic development considerations, development of recreational and cultural facilities, and reminds us that transportation services, educational systems and health services are important for maintaining a stable community,” Wheeling Mayor Denny Magruder said. “Comprehensive Plans can also be very valuable in supporting various grant applications.”

A first reading of an ordinance to adopt the city’s new Comprehensive Plan update took place before Wheeling City Council on Dec. 17, and the legislation is expected to be passed following a second reading and a vote during council’s first meeting of the 2025 calendar year this Tuesday night.

Council members are expected to support the plan. Councilman Ben Seidler was recently appointed as the council representative on the Wheeling Planning Commission, and prior to that, Councilman Dave Palmer served on the Planning Commission for many years. Both men were involved in the many meetings before both city council and the Wheeling Planning Commission over the past year when representatives from Evolve conducted work sessions and provided regular updates on the plan’s development.

Different neighborhoods in Wheeling have different needs and priorities, and participants in the third community conversation on the city’s 10-year Comprehensive Plan update shared ideas about how to improve the city’s neighborhoods in the future. (File Photo by Eric Ayres)

Even before taking a seat as a new member of Wheeling City Council in July, Connie Cain was a consistent attendee of the Comp Plan community conversations that took place throughout 2024. After taking office as the Ward 3 councilwoman, Cain remained vocal about the need for city leaders to participate in the process of creating this long-term plan update.

“As a city council member and resident of Wheeling, it’s important that every 10 to 20 years, we have a Comprehensive Plan to work with while moving the city of Wheeling forward,” Cain said. “Also, having the city of Wheeling and the community working together is what is needed so that different ideas could be included to make our Friendly City thrive for the next generations to come.”

Magruder agreed that it has been crucially important to have members of the general public weigh in on this once-in-a-decade effort.

“It is extremely important to include members of all segments of the community when developing the plan so there is buy-in when the plan is adopted,” the mayor said. “I believe the process itself may be as valuable as the final plan.”

The overall framework of the plan leans on citywide systems planning as it relates to different topics, including culture, development, economy, housing, mobility and resilience. Language in the Wheeling Forward 2034 plan has been tweaked somewhat to be more flexible, with an intentional inclusion of areas defined more broadly as “mixed-use” in many neighborhoods.

Neighborhood planning outlines the vision for land use designation and categorizes the city into defined areas of river communities and creek communities. Flooding issues and landslides are highlighted as issues to be addressed in these “water communities,” but the Ohio River and Wheeling Creek are also viewed as assets and untapped resources for recreational opportunities, as well.

The update has proposed action plans that call for future consideration for the rezoning the National Road corridor near Wheeling University for mixed use development, including housing, and pedestrian-accessible businesses to increase choice for people walking and driving.

Along creekside communities, action calls for a study to identify traffic calming techniques in the area — including installation of bump-outs, sidewalks and commercial district branding could make the areas more appealing for different types of users.

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

A Wheeling Creek master plan could be used to identify ways that current property owners and institutions like Wheeling University could work together to create a continuous creek experience in the future.

Much like the 2014 Comp Plan, Wheeling’s update focuses on maintaining the character of each neighborhood in the city and connecting those neighborhoods together to make a stronger community as a whole.

“Both plans have six main objectives, they are similarly rooted in walkability and neighborhoods,” Wheeling Building & Planning Director Brenda J. Delbert said. “The Wheeling Forward 2034 has a large focus on mixed land use and residential land uses that support a range of housing types. This plan emphasizes the ability for single-family homes, duplexes and townhouses.”

Although the Comprehensive Plan does not change any of the city’s zoning codes, it does serve as a guide for future zone change requests and similar actions. Members of the Planning Commission have often referred to the Comp Plan to make sure a zone change request is consistent with the vision for the neighborhood that is outlined in the plan. It is not uncommon for a request to be denied because a proposal for a development is not consistent with the city’s Comprehensive Plan.

Planning Commission member Howard Monroe was chairman of the Comprehensive Plan committee when the last plan was crafted in 2014. In fact, he was also on the commission when the previous plan was adopted 10 years before that.

“Beyond simply being a requirement of state code, the Comprehensive Plan gives a sense of direction for the city, both in terms of potential land use as well as a philosophical approach to growth in the coming years,” Monroe said. “I have seen local groups use it as a guide for their own planning, and out-of-the-area developers have used it as they make proposals to the city.”

Hands-on surveys conducted by the city of Wheeling’s consultant Evolve: Environment & Architecture strategically help gather a wealth of input from the public, which officials said is a crucial part of developing a new Comprehensive Plan. Several colored sticky notes with brainstormed ideas from participants pepper a neighborhood map of Woodsdale during a Comprehensive Plan workshop held at the White Palace in Wheeling Park last September. (File Photo by Eric Ayres)

Proposing to put visions into action, the plan eyes an expanded Wheeling waterfront to feature destinations on both sides of the Ohio River, including Heritage Port, new Centre Market district development and new parks that are being developed on both sides of the river on Wheeling Island and at the mouth of Wheeling Creek. The increased activity will support amenities such as water taxis and docks for Wheeling Island and Downtown.

Heritage Port will be more vibrant with riverfront mixed use infill development and renovations of key historic buildings to face the river, according to the plan.

South of Wheeling Creek, large warehouse structures between 20th and 24th streets can be transformed into mixed-use spaces, and the former railroad siding can become a raised park connected to the buildings. The properties should be master planned to create a stronger destination, unique amenities, and shared facilities such as shared parking.

Creekside development can be encouraged through zoning, incentives and education, with trails continuing east and integrating with nearby properties.

Residents rely on city officials to uphold codes that protect the residential character of certain neighborhoods or allow new business ventures to open in other areas.

“As a practical matter, the Planning Commission can look at the Comp Plan for what it recommends future land use might be when considering issues like zone changes,” Monroe said. “I think this year’s plan is a little more wide-ranging than the previous – an effort made to be more ‘nimble.’ To recognize there are a variety of different approaches to growth. There’s a greater focus on neighborhoods and housing, I think. A more concerted effort to tie culture and history into economic development and entrepreneurship.”

Wheeling Planning Commission Member Michael Baum reviews a draft of Wheeling Forward 2034 – the city of Wheeling’s 10-year Comprehensive Plan update – during a meeting in October. (File Photo by Eric Ayres)

Monroe added that the plan has been created with all of the citizens in mind as the community works toward a shared vision for Wheeling’s future.

“For the plan to have any buy-in by the public, the public needs to be involved in providing input,” he said. “Which is why there were meetings with stakeholders, business folks and multiple public meetings to let people test their ideas and offer suggestions. Obviously not every suggestion is taken, but the public does have a chance to help guide this plan, and that is really important.”

The Wheeling Forward 2034 Comprehensive Plan Update can be found online on the city’s website at www.wheelingwv.gov/departments/buildingandplanning/comprehensive-plan.

Officials have noted that the document contains an almost overwhelming amount of details and information. In fact, officials have openly commented about some of the plan update sessions over the past year that became somewhat tedious for many in attendance. But despite the rigorous process, officials have agreed that the foundation of the sprawling comprehensive plan provides an invaluable guideline for future growth in the city of Wheeling.

“There are a lot of ‘buzz words’ and ‘consultant speak’ in the document, but at heart, it lays out some good guidance,” Monroe said.

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

Starting at $2.99/week.

Subscribe Today