Chapter 8, Chapter 8

The Legislature hereby finds and declares that as a result of changes in the economy, population shifts, new transportation demands and increasing demands for public services, and as a result of increasing complexity in government programs and added demands on public revenues, th…

To effectuate the purposes of this article, regional councils shall cooperate with planning agencies or development agencies within the region or within other regions, with the governing bodies and administrative officials of any municipality, county or any other political subdiv…

Each regional council may appoint advisory committees of interested and affected citizens to assist in the review of plans, programs and other purposes of this article referred for review by the regional council. Whenever a special advisory committee is required by any federal or…

Each regional council shall adopt an annual budget, to be submitted to the participating governmental units which shall each contribute to the financing of the council according to a formula adopted by the council and approved by a majority of the counties and a majority of the m…

On or before July thirty-first of each year, each regional council shall prepare an annual report. The regional council shall submit copies of the report to the participating governmental units and to the Governor. The report shall include the following: (a) A consolidated statem…

Any of the provisions of this article to the contrary notwithstanding, no pending application for federal or state grants, loans, mortgages or other types of funding nor any application for grants, loans, mortgages or other types of funding intended to supplement a pending projec…

The provisions of this article shall be liberally construed to accomplish its objectives and purposes.

The following terms, wherever used or referred to in this article, shall have the following meanings unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context: (a) "Comprehensive planning" shall mean the process of (1) assessing, within a geographic area, the needs and resource…

The Governor, as chief executive officer of the state, shall be responsible for planning and development of the state's governmental, social, health, economic, environmental and physical resources. In executing this responsibility, the Governor shall: (1) Prepare, revise and upda…

(a) Within sixty days after the effective date of this article, the Governor shall define and recommend for the purposes of this article regional boundaries embracing each municipality and county within the state. (b) In delineating boundaries of the regions, the Governor shall c…

(a) The Governor shall provide for an organizational meeting of each of the regional councils within sixty days after his certification pursuant to section four of this article. He shall notify the president of each county court and the mayor of each municipality of the region of…

(a) All municipalities and all counties within the region shall be represented on the regional council. The county representative shall be the president of the county commission or a member of the county commission designated by him or her. The municipal representative shall be t…

Each regional council is empowered and authorized to contract for services of consultants to perform planning, development, engineering, legal or other services of a professional, specialized or technical nature; and such consultants shall be persons appropriately qualified under…

Each regional council may: (a) Continuously engage in comprehensive planning and development processes and prepare, and from time to time revise, amend, extend or add to, a plan or plans for the development of the region consistent with any state comprehensive planning and develo…

Each regional council shall review all applications of governmental units or independent agencies within the region for loans or grants from the federal government or any of its agencies or the State of West Virginia or any of its agencies. All recommendations and comments on app…

Any municipality or county or any two or more municipalities or counties, or any combination thereof, may cooperate with the political subdivisions of other states bordering on this state for the purpose of creating, by an agreement, an interstate regional planning commission, wh…

It is hereby declared as a matter of legislative determination: (a) That the State of West Virginia is richly endowed with numerous historic buildings, structures, sites and districts which represent the historical, architectural and cultural heritage of this state; (b) That West…

When any such commission establishes an historic district, it shall notify the county assessor of the county in which such district or any part thereof is located of the fact of such establishment and the boundaries of the district, together with the restrictions which are applic…

Upon the request of any such commission, all agencies of the state shall assist such commission in the discharge of its duties and functions. Every such commission shall cooperate and coordinate its activities with the West Virginia historical society and the West Virginia depart…

The term "region," as used in this article, shall mean a specific metropolitan interstate area designated by the proper federal agency pursuant to the "Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966" and any amendments thereto, as well as all other interstate areas…

As used in this article: (a) "Exterior architectural features" include the architectural character and general composition of the exterior of a structure, including, but not limited to, the kind, color and texture of the building material and the type, design and character of all…

Any member of an interstate regional planning commission may hold any other public office, appointive or elective, if not prohibited by some other statute or Constitutional provision, and a member thereof may also serve as a member of a municipal, county or regional planning comm…

The historic district and property regulation provided in this article is intended to identify, study, preserve and protect historic buildings and structures, sites and districts, some of which are located in zoning districts. Historic properties and districts lying within the bo…

Any municipality by ordinance and any county by order of the county commission entered of record may, if it so desires, establish a municipal historic landmarks commission or county historic landmarks commission, hereinafter in this article referred to as the commission, to consi…

(a) An interstate regional planning commission may make studies, maps, plans and reports relative to the region and shall recommend procedures and policies to the appropriate authorities, based on physical, social, economic and governmental conditions and trends, to promote the c…

(a) Any political subdivision which becomes a member of any interstate regional planning commission may contract each fiscal year with said interstate regional planning commission to pay a proportionate part of the expenses properly chargeable to the planning services rendered to…

Any such commission shall be authorized, but not required, within the jurisdictional limits of the municipality or county, as the case may be, and within the limits of available funds, to: (a) Make a survey of, and designate as historic landmarks, buildings, structures and distri…

Prior to designation of an historic landmark or historic district, the commission shall make or cause to be made a report on the historical, cultural, architectural significance of each building, structure, site and district proposed for designation, based upon the following stan…

In the event that any commission shall exercise authority to issue a certificate of appropriateness to regulate new construction, alteration, removal or demolition of buildings, sites or structures within an historic district or individually designated as an historic landmark, th…

The municipal or county governing body or the historic landmarks commission shall be authorized to institute any appropriate action or proceeding in a court of competent jurisdiction to prevent any material change in the appearance of a designated historic property or historic di…

Violations of any such ordinance adopted in conformity with this article shall be punishable by a fine up to ten percent of the total cost of the project requiring a certificate of appropriateness or $500, whichever is greater, or imprisoned in the county jail not more than six m…

The following terms, whenever used or referred to in this article, shall have the following meanings unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context: (a) "Alternative fuels" include compressed natural gas, liquified natural gas, liquified petroleum gas, methanol, etha…

This article may be cited as the "Urban Mass Transportation Authority Act."

Each authority is hereby given the power: (a) To sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded; (b) To have and use a seal and alter the same at pleasure; (c) To make and adopt all rules and regulations and bylaws as may be necessary or desirable to enable it to exercise the powers a…

(a) Every authority operating any vehicle accessible to the public, designed for the ground transportation of eight or more persons, shall post "No Smoking" signs conspicuously at the entrance to, and on the inside of, each such vehicle. No person shall smoke or carry a lighted p…

Contributions may be made to authorities from time to time by the participating governments and by any other municipalities, counties or persons that shall desire to do so. All such funds and all of the other funds received by any authority shall be deposited in a separate accoun…

The authority, as soon as practical after its organization, shall prepare a comprehensive plan with respect to a program for a unified or officially coordinated system as a part of a comprehensively planned development of the urban area within its service area. Said program, to t…

Before the authority shall acquire or construct any system, the authority shall adopt a proper resolution which shall include: (a) The estimated cost of the acquisition or construction and all incidental expenses connected therewith; (b) The probable sources of revenue and the es…

The authority is hereby empowered and authorized to provide by resolution, from time to time, for the issuance of revenue bonds of the authority for the purpose of paying all or any part of the cost of acquiring, constructing or improving a system or systems, or any part thereof,…

In the discretion of the authority, any bonds issued under the provisions of this article may be secured by a trust indenture by and between such authority and a corporate trustee, which may be any trust company or banking institution having the powers of a trust company within o…

Before the issuance of any bonds under the provisions of this article, the authority shall, by resolution, provide for a sinking fund for the payment of the bonds and the interest thereon, and the payment of the charges of banking institutions or trust companies for making paymen…

Any holder of bonds issued under the provisions of this article or any of the coupons appertaining thereto, and the trustee under any trust indenture securing the same, except to the extent the rights herein given may be restricted by such trust indenture, may, by civil action, m…

Each authority may issue bonds, borrow money and incur any proper indebtedness and issue any other obligations as authorized by law or provided in this article. No such indebtedness or obligation incurred by any authority shall give any right against any member of the governing b…

(a) After September 1, 1993, a political subdivision may purchase or lease alternative fuel vehicles for use by any agency of the political subdivision as follows: (1) Any agency of a political subdivision may acquire or be provided with equipment or refueling facilities necessar…

The Legislature hereby finds and declares: (a) That a significant part of the population of this state is located in expanding urban areas; (b) That in certain of these areas there are no urban mass transportation systems and in others there are urban mass transportation systems …

It is hereby found, determined and declared that the creation of any authority and the carrying out of its purposes is in all respects for the benefit of the people of this state in general, and of the participating governments in particular, and is a public purpose; and that the…

Whenever any authority acquires any existing system pursuant to the provisions of this article, the employees of such system shall be protected in the following manner: (a) The employees of such system shall be retained to the fullest extent possible consistent with sound managem…

Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, the term “deductions”, as defined in §21-5-1 of this code and applied to the wages of an employee of an urban mass transportation authority under this article which is a direct or indirect recipient of federal funding fr…

No member of any authority, nor any of its officers, employees, agents or consultants, shall have any interest in any firm, partnership, corporation, company, association or joint-stock association engaged in the business of providing public transportation in the area encompassed…

(a) Any contract for the construction of facilities by any authority, when the expenditure required exceeds the sum of $25,000, shall be based solely on competitive sealed bids. (b) Except as provided in subsections (c) or (d) of this section, the procurement of all supplies, equ…