Raleigh Commission to consider annexation with future development in mind

May 9—The Raleigh County Commission will consider a proposal to annex roughly 100 acres along U.S. 19 into the city of Mount Hope.

Jina Belcher, executive director of the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority, said the move would allow the city of Mount Hope to extend its water infrastructure toward the site and make it more desirable for future development.

The Raleigh County Commission will host a public hearing on the annexation at 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 21, in commission chambers on the second floor of the county's offices at 116 N. Heber St. in Beckley.

Following the public hearing, commissioners will vote on the annexation.

The properties being considered for annexation into Mount Hope are divided into 14 parcels and span roughly 118 acres along U.S. 19.

The properties begin at the Days Inn on Ontario Drive, which is just past Crossroads Mall, and continue up U.S. 19 for roughly a mile to the end of a pipeline materials storage yard on Appalachian Heights Road.

According to the Raleigh County assessor's online tax map, the properties are owned by Northside Properties LLC.

None of the properties are residential.

Should commissioners approve the annexation of the properties to Mount Hope, Commission President Dave Tolliver said the properties would remain within Raleigh County's boundaries.

He said the only change would be that Mount Hope would grow to span two counties, Fayette and Raleigh.

"Raleigh County isn't losing any property," Tolliver said. "The big thing with this is Route 19; there are a lot of areas out there that can really be put into use for manufactures or whatever but you have to get water out there — get infrastructure out there."

Belcher said the site has drawn the attention of developers for years due to its flat terrain, but the property's lack of infrastructure has always been a drawback.

She added that the property drew the attention of the NRGDRA in 2019 following studies by AEP, which noted that the site had considerable access to power and could connect with multiple broadband providers.

Paired with its location along a main highway, Belcher said the property was deemed an industrial-capable site.

"We get inquiries on this site frequently, at least four or five a year, from industrial tenants because it's just such an attractive location and has attractive site attributes," she said. "We started working with the new owner a couple of years ago to identify how could we recruit an industrial tenant."

Belcher said this led them to look for a way to get water infrastructure to the site, which no one had been able to accomplish successfully for several decades.

"The goal of the annexation of the property is it will now be within Mount Hope's municipal boundaries, so Mount Hope will be the water provider for an industrial tenant," she said.

As a municipality-run utility, Belcher said Mount Hope will have access to public funding to extend its service along U.S. 19. She added that when the site is occupied, the sale of its water to the occupants will be a considerable source of revenue for the city of Mount Hope.

Belcher said this move will also help with future developments along U.S. 19.

"This now provides an alternative infrastructure source, and this really will help us determine our next steps as we venture down Route 19 toward Fayette County with additional water and sewer," she said. "It's serving as a regional project that's kind of like the first step in continuing to look for developable acreage and prioritize development down Route 19."

Email: jmoore@register-herald.com