City of Weston Comprehensive Plan

City of Weston Comprehensive Plan September 2014 Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction Purpose ........................................................................................................................ Page 1-3 Comprehensive Planning ............................................................................................ Page 1-4 West Virginia Context ................................................................................................. Page 1-5 Chapter 2: Community Overview Population ................................................................................................................... Page 2-2 Housing ........................................................................................................................ Page 2-3 Economic ...................................................................................................................... Page 2-5 City Government ......................................................................................................... Page 2-6 Education ..................................................................................................................... Page 2-8 Health Care ................................................................................................................. Page 2-9 Community Facilities .................................................................................................. Page 2-9 Transportation ........................................................................................................... Page 2-11 Existing Land Use ..................................................................................................... Page 2-12 Figure 1: Existing Land Use ..................................................................................... Page 2-13 Natural Resources .................................................................................................... Page 2-14 Figure 2: Development Constraints ........................................................................... Page 2-15 Historical Resources .................................................................................................. Page 2-16 Figure 3: Historical Resources ................................................................................. Page 2-17 3 September 2014 Chapter 3: Needs Assessment Public Participation ..................................................................................................... Page 3-2 Needs Assessment ....................................................................................................... Page 3-2 Deterioration of the downtown ................................................................................. ..Page 3-3 Vacant and dilapidated housing ................................................................................. Page 3-4 Poor economic growth ................................................................................................. Page 3-5 Land Use issues ........................................................................................................... Page 3-6 Insufficient recreation opportunities .......................................................................... Page 3-8 Transportation ............................................................................................................. Page 3-8 Vision Statement, Goals, and Objectives ................................................................. Page 3-11 Chapter 4: Action Plan Action Plan .................................................................................................................. Page 4-2 Downtown Action Steps .............................................................................................. Page 4-3 Housing Action Steps .................................................................................................. Page 4-8 Economic Growth Action Steps ................................................................................. Page 4-10 Land Use Action Steps .............................................................................................. Page 4-12 Figure 4.1: Future Land Use Map ........................................................................... Page 4-13 Recreation Action Steps ............................................................................................ Page 4-15 Transportation Action Steps ..................................................................................... Page 4-17 Implementation ......................................................................................................... Page 4-19 Regional Planning ..................................................................................................... Page 4-19 Financial Implications .............................................................................................. Page 4-19 Implementation Matrix ............................................................................................. Page 4-24 Appendices Appendix 1: Public Input Appendix 2: Sources Appendix 3: Adoption Materials 4 City of Weston Comprehensive Plan Chapter 1: Introduction September 2014 Chapter One: Introduction eston serves as the county seat for Lewis County. The W City lies along the West Fork River at its confluence with Stonecoal and Polk Creeks. According to the United States Census Bureau, Weston contains a total area of 1.7 square miles. U.S. Interstate 79 and U.S. Routes 19, 33, and 119 travel through Weston, as shown on Figure 1: Location map of the City of Weston. The City was founded on January 1, 1818 by an Act of the (then) Virginia Assembly, and originally named Preston in honor of the then governor (James Patton Preston). When a new county was formed shortly thereafter and also named “Preston”, the Figure 1: Location map of the City of Weston Assembly acted in early 1819 to change the City’s name to Fleshersville. That name displeased the now former “Prestonians”, and in late 1819 the Assembly changed the name to Weston. The City was formally incorporated in 1846 when the Assembly adopted the first charter. Weston can boast more than a few impressive buildings and institutions, and also nearby developments. Within the City, there is first and foremost the former Weston State Hospital, an enormous building built in the 19th century that served as a state-run psychiatric facility until 1994. It is a National Historic Landmark. Another exceptional structure is the Citizens Bank, whose 50-foot high edifice exemplifies the Art Deco style and whose magnificent interior consists, among numerous exotic furnishings, of original ornamental plasterwork of the Great Seal and map of West Virginia on the ceiling of its south lobby. Still other notable buildings include the “Riverboat Gothic” mansion that houses the Louis Bennett Public Library, the United States Post Office that features a classical revival architecture, and the imposing Masonic Temple with its modified neo-classic design. Weston also has two museums – the West Virginia Museum of American Glass and the Mountaineer Military Museum. 1-2 September 2014 Jackson’s Mill, childhood home of General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, is approximately five miles north of Weston. The Mill has been operated as a 4-H facility since the 1920s and is also the site of a conference center operated by the West Virginia Extension Service. Established in 1990, the Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park, located ten miles south of Weston, comprises the Stonewall Jackson Lake with its marina and eighty-eight miles of shoreline, and the Stonewall Jackson Resort with its Arnold Palmer Signature golf course. In addition to amenities for families and tourists, the Resort can accommodate business conferences, while the Lake and surrounding land provide for several other recreational activities such as fishing, hunting, and camping. For the better part of its history, from the latter half of the 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, Weston had great economic potential and enjoyed a sustained prosperity that was due in no small part to the establishment of the State Hospital, the building of local railroads, the resulting boom of the regional lumber industry, and the discovery of oil and gas deposits. Even more importantly, the subsequent emergence and success of local glass manufacturing – the first factory appearing in 1902 – gained for Weston first a national and then an international reputation for glassware, much of it hand- blown. This local industry reached its zenith in the 1950s and 1960s. But thereafter it began to suffer from increased competition and foreign imports that eventually caused an irreversible decline that saw one glass company after another fail or close. The City’s overall economy naturally suffered in tandem. As of the new millennium, its branded commercial enterprise and mainstay was no more. Today Weston continues to struggle to rebuild its economic potential and restore a much needed prosperity. Purpose Weston established a Planning Commission in 2008 and set out to develop a Comprehensive Plan. In 2011, the Planning Commission developed the city’s first ever Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan seeks to provide an official long-range vision for the City of Weston. The plan also provides a basis for policies and ordinances In an effort to adopt a new direction and to help facilitate public and private land use vision for our city, it is vital that the within the city of Weston. The

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