ADU rules in Clarksburg

Clarksburg's Planning and Zoning Code (Part Thirteen, adopted by Ord. 97-9 in 1997 and carrying 1969-era residential rules) has no accessory dwelling unit use and rules out a second dwelling in a separate building: §1319.06 allows no more than one principal building used for residential purposes on a lot, and §1305.01(51.3) deems any structure containing a dwelling to be the principal building. Accessory buildings are defined as not used for human occupancy (§1305.01(1)), and §1323.03(f)(1) repeats 'not for human occupancy'; the only carve-out is garage apartments in the DRPO district, limited to those existing when that section was enacted (§1323.05(a)(1)C). This is the operative local rule on 2026-10-10. From January 1, 2027, W. Va. Code §8-42-3(c) makes it invalid to the extent it conflicts with §8-42-2(a) and (b), which require a municipality to allow at least one ADU (attached, detached or internal) by right on any lot with a single-family dwelling.

Clarksburg has no ADU use; this value describes the two-family dwelling route, since a second unit inside or attached to a house makes it a 'two-family dwelling' (§1323.02(b)). The §1323.04 table permits two-family dwellings in R3, R4, RB, BPO, B1, B2, CBD and DRPO, subject to 2,000 sq ft of lot area per dwelling unit in R3, R4, RB, BPO, B1 and B2 (a 4,000 sq ft lot), a 40-foot minimum lot width, a minimum ground-floor building size (900 sq ft in R3 and RB, 700 sq ft in R4, BPO and the business districts), two parking spaces and 35 percent lot coverage. In the single-family R1 and R2 districts a house may be converted to two units only by a Board of Zoning Appeals special exception, and only if it meets the R3/R4 two-family dimensional and parking standards (§1323.07(a)); new two-family construction is not listed for R1 at all. From 1-1-2027, W. Va. Code §8-42-2 requires one internal or attached ADU by right on every lot with a single-family dwelling, R1 and R2 included, without the lot-area, parking or hearing requirements.

Because Clarksburg has no ADU use, it has no ADU size cap. The two-family route imposes only minimums: 2,000 sq ft of lot area per dwelling unit in R3, R4, RB, BPO, B1 and B2, a minimum ground-floor building size of 900 sq ft (R3, RB) or 700 sq ft (R4, BPO, B1, B2, CBD), and 35 percent maximum lot coverage (§1323.04). Accessory buildings may not exceed 14 feet in height, must sit at least 5 feet from the rear line and, when detached, at least 50 feet back from the front lot line (§1323.03(f)(2)), while dwellings may reach 35 feet in R1 through R4. W. Va. Code §8-42-2(c) caps an attached or detached ADU at 75 percent of the single-family dwelling's gross floor area or 1,000 sq ft, whichever is less (no stated cap for internal units), and §8-42-2(d)(6) bars ADU height and setback standards stricter than the house's, so from 1-1-2027 the 14-foot and 50-foot accessory-building limits are likely invalid as applied to a detached ADU.

Nothing in Part Thirteen ties a two-family dwelling (the only second-unit route) to owner occupancy, and the code has no ADU-specific occupancy rule. 'Owner occupied' appears only in the Rental Housing Registration Program, as a scope and fee category (§1767.02, §1767.03(g), §1767.07(c)), never as a condition of zoning approval. W. Va. Code §8-42 does not preempt owner-occupancy rules (the enacted article has no such clause), but from 1-1-2027 a municipality may not require a restrictive covenant concerning an ADU or condition a permit on one (§8-42-2(d)(8)), so an owner-occupancy rule Clarksburg might add could not be enforced through a required deed restriction.

The §1323.04 table requires one on-lot parking space for a single-family dwelling and two for a two-family dwelling, so adding a second unit through the duplex route costs one additional space; R1 and R2 conversions must meet the R3/R4 two-family 'vehicular parking standards' (§1323.07(a)(1)), and §1319.07 requires every new building to provide the specified parking. A front-yard parking pad in a residential district must be at least 9 by 20 feet, paved, reached by a drop curb and built under a building permit (§1323.03(f)(4)). W. Va. Code §8-42-2(d)(1) bars requiring additional parking or fees in lieu for an ADU, so from 1-1-2027 the extra space cannot be required for a qualifying ADU.

For the two-family route, R3, R4, RB, BPO, B1, B2 and CBD are by right: a 'permitted use' needs no Board action before the zoning permit (§1305.01(50.2)), so approval is a building permit with a plot plan plus a certificate of occupancy for the change of use, both from the Building Inspector (§1309.01(a) and (g)); the city takes building permit applications online through Cloudpermit. In R1 and R2 a conversion requires a Board of Zoning Appeals special exception, referred to the Planning Commission and decided after a public hearing on findings about neighborhood character (§1323.07(a), §1339.02; $200 fee under §1309.04(c)). A detached second dwelling cannot be approved at all (§1319.06). From 1-1-2027, §8-42-1(b) and §8-42-2(a) require one ADU by right, with no hearing, variance or special exception, on any lot with a single-family dwelling.

Units in a two-family dwelling may be rented, and there is no ADU-specific rental or separate-sale rule. Article 1767 (Ord. 17-16, 2017) requires owners to register every rental unit with the Code Enforcement Office and hold a city business license, and to obtain a Certificate of Use and Occupancy after inspection before a vacant or newly built unit is occupied; it expressly covers owner-occupied dwellings in which a portion is rented (§1767.02, §1767.05(b), §1767.06). Council took up an amendment to Article 1767 in 2026 (second and final reading on the 4-2-2026 agenda) and a new §1712.07 tying development permits to valid rental occupancy permits (second reading on the 8-20-2026 agenda); neither is in the 2026-01 codification and their text was not found online. The code has no short-term rental rules; the closest defined use is a 'tourist home' (one to five guest rooms for transient guests for compensation, §1305.01(59)), a BZA special exception in every district except R1, R2, R3 and B3 (§1339.04), and bed and breakfasts are a contingent use only in DRPO (§1335.03). W. Va. Code §8-42-3(a) leaves municipal short-term rental regulation intact.