ADU rules in Charleston

The Land Use Table lists 'Dwelling, Accessory' as permitted by right (P) in all six residential districts (R-2, R-4, R-6, R-8, R-10 and R-O), subject to supplemental regulation 54, which Bill No. 7740 added on June 5, 2017. A detached ADU must follow the accessory-structure rules of Sec. 3-080: not in the front yard, at least 3 feet from rear and side lot lines and from the house, and not between the house and either street on a corner lot. Only one ADU is allowed per owner-occupied single-family dwelling and lot of record. The use is not listed in the commercial, industrial or PUD districts, even where single-family homes are permitted there. In the Neighborhood Reinvestment Overlay (NRO) on the West Side, Sec. 21-060-03 separately permits one ADU by right with a single-family dwelling.

The definition of 'Dwelling, Accessory' covers a unit 'existing either within the principal structure, or on the same lot of record within an accessory structure', so internal and attached units have the same by-right status in R-2 through R-O. An attached ADU must be clearly subordinate and secondary to the main house and must meet every development standard for principal structures, including any zoning, historic preservation or architectural standards. In practice the district's house setbacks apply, not the 3-foot accessory setbacks. The one-per-lot, owner-occupancy, recorded-notice and parking rules apply just as they do to detached units.

Charleston sets no numeric floor-area cap for ADUs. Sec. 3-080(A)(6) limits all accessory buildings to 672 square feet or 50 percent of the house's ground floor, whichever is greater, 'except for accessory dwelling units which may exceed this measure but must be clearly subordinate and secondary to the principal structure'. A detached ADU's ground floor counts toward lot coverage (50 percent maximum in R-2). Detached ADUs may be up to two stories or 25 feet tall, compared with 18 feet for other accessory buildings and 2.5 stories or 35 feet for houses in R-2 through R-10. State law: from 1-1-2027, W. Va. Code §8-42-2(c) caps the protected attached or detached ADU at 75 percent of the house's gross floor area or 1,000 square feet, whichever is less. Charleston has no number, and §8-42-3(e)(2) allows more permissive local rules, so the size rule itself does not conflict. However, §8-42-2(d)(6) bars ADU height limits stricter than the house's, so the 25-foot/two-story ADU cap is likely invalid from 2027.

Supplemental regulation 54(a) and (f) allow ADUs only with owner-occupied single-family dwellings, and the owner of record must keep living in either the ADU or the main house; if either unit is not owner occupied, 'the zoning approval of use of the accessory dwelling unit as a separate household unit shall be null.' Before the zoning permit issues, the applicant must record an instrument with the Kanawha County Clerk. It tells all later owners that the approval depends on continued owner occupancy, no separate sale and no enlargement. W. Va. Code §8-42 does not bar owner occupancy (a floor amendment struck that clause from SB 659), so the occupancy rule itself survives 2027. However, §8-42-2(d)(8)(A) forbids a municipality to 'Require a restrictive covenant concerning an accessory dwelling unit', so the mandatory recorded instrument is very likely invalid from 1-1-2027. The NRO overlay's ADU permission in Sec. 21-060-03 lists no owner-occupancy or recording condition, although the Sec. 2-020 definition still describes the main house as owner occupied.

Supplemental regulation 54(d) requires on-site parking 'at a rate of one (1) parking space per bedroom' for the ADU. That is on top of the 2 spaces per unit that Table 23-060-01.01 requires for a single-family dwelling. In the Neighborhood Reinvestment Overlay, Sec. 21-060-06 requires no on-site parking for single-family dwellings, ADUs or duplexes. W. Va. Code §8-42-2(d)(1) bars a municipality from requiring a lot to have additional parking for an ADU, or a fee in lieu. Unless the city repeals it sooner, the per-bedroom requirement becomes invalid on 1-1-2027 under §8-42-3(c).

In R-2 through R-O, ADUs are a 'P' use ('permitted by right in a particular district'). Approval is a zoning permit after Type I administrative review of a simple site plan by the Planning Director (Sec. 33-050), followed by the building permit. There is no Board of Zoning Appeals or Planning Commission hearing. The zoning permit issues only after the owner records the required notice with the Kanawha County Clerk. Inside the East End Historic District Overlay, new construction or exterior changes also need a Certificate of Appropriateness, issued by the Charleston Historic Landmarks Commission or Planning staff under Sec. 21-041-05. W. Va. Code §8-42-2(d)(2) still allows design-matching rules in a historic district under a preservation ordinance.

Because the owner must live in either the ADU or the main house, the other unit may be rented. Every rental unit leased 'by day, week, month, year, or any other term' needs an annual residential rental license from the City Collector, with no fee (Code §§18-1172, 18-1173). Rental units face periodic inspections no more than once every 24 months, and renting without a license carries a fine of at least $500 per unit, with each month a separate violation. The required recorded notice bars selling the ADU separately from the main house. Neither the City Code nor the Zoning Ordinance has a short-term-rental chapter: Municode searches for 'short-term rental(s)' found no sections. The rental-license article excludes transient occupancy in 'a hotel, motel, inn, bed and breakfast, or other similar lodging facility', and §18-551 licenses tourist homes renting to transient guests for under three days, so how the city classifies nightly rental of an ADU is unsettled. W. Va. Code §8-42-3(a) preserves municipal power to regulate short-term rentals.