“I did receive a final, final version of the Comprehensive Plan 20 minutes before this meeting,” Wheeling Building and Planning Director Brenda J. Delbert told city Planning Commission members during Monday night’s gathering. “There were no substantive changes. There were a couple of changes specifically to the North Wheeling neighborhood that Councilman (Ben) Seidler wanted, but still very minor in the grand scheme of things.”

The Planning Commission wasted little time in approving the plan. And while that may not be a big issue in the grand scheme of things ­– the plan that will help guide the city’s development for the next 10 years still has to receive approval from members of Wheeling City Council — it seems like commission members and city staff could have at least given more than a token glance at the plan before giving approval.

The plan — known as “Wheeling Forward 2034 Comprehensive Plan” — is part of a requirement for municipalities in West Virginia. Every 10 years, cities are required to update their comprehensive plans, which describes a community’s vision for the future and provides a roadmap to make that vision become a reality.

The plan as presented includes input gathered over the past year during various stakeholder meetings. The Evolve consulting group of Pittsburgh coordinated the stakeholder meetings and crafted the plan.

It’s important to remember the plan is just a guideline for the city’s future. But with all the changes we’re seeing in Wheeling right now — a new downtown, a total remake underway in Center Wheeling, big changes in East Wheeling and elsewhere– it seems as if city leaders and staff should have been asking more questions before pushing the planning commission to give approval. Receiving a final version of the plan and presenting it to one of the key cogs in city planning 20 minutes later appears to be, well, poor planning.