Photo by Eric Ayres Property owner Matthew Ceo of CEO Realty LLC speaks during a hearing on a zone change request for property in North Park during Monday night's meeting of the Wheeling Planning Commission.

WHEELING – The owner of acres of undeveloped property in North Park successfully requested that Wheeling Planning Commission members consider recommending a change to a rarely utilized residential zoning classification for his parcel.

During Monday night’s June meeting of the planning commission, members heard from Matthew Ceo, owner of CEO Realty LLC, about his request to change a large, oddly shaped piece of property located off of both Mount Wood Road, Eagle Avenue and Eagle Court in North Park from R2 to R4 – both residential classifications.

The major difference between the two zoning classifications is that R2 allows up to four units per building when it comes to multi-family dwellings, while the R4 classification allows for multiple buildings.

While Ceo said he has no immediate plans for developing the site, he wants to make sure that in the future, the property can be utilized the same way almost all of the adjacent properties in this neighborhood can and have been, as they are already zoned R4.

“This property is a 6.96-acre vacant parcel with potential for future development,” Ceo told planning commission members on Monday night. “The property is contiguous with a majority of R4 zoning and is the only R2-zoned parcel in North Park. In my view, the R2 zoning classification has become largely obsolete.”

To put it in context, residentially zoned parcels of property throughout the city of Wheeling have thousands listed under each of the other classifications of R1A, R1B, R1C, R3 and R4, Ceo noted.

“Of the 11,558 residentially zoned properties in the city, only 23 are classified as R2,” he said.

Changing the classification still maintains the same permitted function for the parcel – single-family, two-family and multi-family dwellings, all of which are permitted under both R2 and R4. But Ceo said changing the zoning to R4 would optimize the future potential of the parcel, have the parcel become consistent with the zoning of the surrounding properties and surrounding zoning consistency and correct “an isolated and rarely used R2 designation.”

Wheeling Building and Planning Director Brenda J. Delbert said she recommended approval of the zone change request, adding that neighbors were notified of the request. Although some neighbors expressed curiosity about the requested change, no objections were issued.

Delbert noted that a multi-family structure with up to four units in it could be built there under the R2 zoning code, and no action would be needed by the planning commission. But only one unit could be built on the nearly 7-acre parcel.

“It’s a rather large parcel to just allow one,” she said, adding that if the zone change is approved and a plan comes forward to develop multiple residential buildings on the site, the planning commission would have to review the plans.

“There are multiple accesses to the property,” Wheeling Assistant City Manager Bill Lanham, a member of the planning commission, noted, citing that the property touches Mt. Wood Road, Eagle Avenue and Eagle Court, the road leading to an existing housing complex in North Park. “If it were to be developed, you wouldn’t be in a situation where you’re dumping traffic all into one area.”

Ceo said there is a demand for new housing in the city of Wheeling, and although he had no immediate plans to develop the city, he said he was excited to hear recommendations of the city’s new Housing Development Task Force that was established earlier this year.

“I’m excited and open to all possibilities, really,” Ceo said.

Members of the Wheeling Planning Commission unanimously agreed to recommend the zone change request from R2 to R4. Members Jeremy West, Christina Schessler and Howard Monroe were not in attendance during Monday evening’s meeting.

The recommendation will be forwarded to Wheeling City Council in the near future for final approval.

In other action Monday night, the planning commission approved a resolution ratifying the decision to approve WVU Medicine’s site plan for the new regional cancer center that is expected to be built on the former Ohio Valley Medical Center property in Center Wheeling. The planning commission held a site plan review for the cancer center and approved the proposal last month. Monday’s resolution was a routine formality that ratifies the action, officials noted.