Compare ADU rules across West Virginia

Beckley's zoning code (Chapter 15) has no accessory dwelling unit use. §15-7(f) allows only one building with dwelling units per lot unless the chapter provides otherwise, and §15-7(k) bars a residential structure on the rear of a lot or on a lot with another dwelling, with one exception: living quarters on the second floor of a two-story garage, which may be occupied only by a servant (and the servant's family) of the family living in the main house. 'Accessory living quarters' are a permitted accessory building in the R-1, R-2, R-3, R-5, R-6 and O/R districts (§15-8(a)(1) and the parallel subsections), placed under §15-24(a). A detached guesthouse is also allowed, but by definition it has no kitchen and may house only occasional guests, so it is not an ADU. From 1-1-2027, W. Va. Code §8-42-2 requires one attached, detached or internal ADU by right on every lot with a single-family dwelling and bars any employment-relationship occupancy rule, so the garage-only, servant-only limits become invalid to that extent.

Ordinance read October 2026

No internal or attached ADU use exists. In R-1, the city's main single-family district, the only dwelling use is 'single-family dwellings', and a one-family dwelling is defined as a detached building 'designed exclusively for occupancy by one (1) family', so a basement or addition apartment is not allowed there. In R-2 general residential, 'two- to four-family dwelling units' are a permitted use (single-family dwellings are only a conditional use in R-2), so a house can be converted into a two-family dwelling by right on a lot at least 60 feet wide with 3,750 sq ft of lot area per dwelling unit (7,500 sq ft for two units). This value describes that duplex route, not an ADU use. From 1-1-2027, §8-42-2 requires an internal or attached ADU by right on every lot with a single-family dwelling, R-1 included, and bars ADU lot-size minimums stricter than those for the house.

Ordinance read October 2026

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.

Ordinance read October 2026

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.

Ordinance read October 2026

Fairmont's Planning and Zoning Code lists Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) as permitted by right in the NR (Neighborhood Residential), MHN, NMU, CC, MCC, HC and I districts (Table 3.A), but the cell is blank, meaning prohibited, in GR (General Residential), the lower-density single-family district, and in MHP, T, E and R. GR is the largest district on the city's zoning layer (about 37 percent of zoned land and roughly two-thirds of residentially zoned land), so most conventional-subdivision homes cannot add an ADU today without a rezoning. Where allowed, a detached ADU may be standalone, part of a detached garage, or part of a home-occupation building; it must sit in the rear yard (or a side yard twice the district's required width), keep 10 feet of separation from the house, and only one ADU is allowed per parcel. From 1-1-2027 W. Va. Code §8-42-2(a) requires at least one ADU by right on every lot with a single-family dwelling, so the GR and MHP exclusions become invalid to the extent of the conflict (§8-42-3(c)).

Ordinance read October 2026

The code defines two ADU types, an attached ADU that is 'within or attached to a single-family dwelling' with its own exterior entrance, and a detached ADU, and Table 3.A permits ADUs by right in the same seven districts (never in GR). But the §4.25 use standards are written for a separate building: ADUs 'are an accessory structure', must be built in the rear yard, and no principal dwelling or ADU may be connected by a deck, porch, patio or breezeway, with 10 feet of separation required. The code does not say how staff applies those standards to an internal or attached unit, so confirm with the Planning and Development Department before designing one. In NR, MHN, NMU, CC, MCC and I a second internal unit can also be created as an Attached Dwelling (Single-Family Duplex), which is permitted by right subject to the duplex lot standards (for example a 3,200 sq ft minimum lot in NR); in GR neither route exists. §8-42-2(b) protects attached and internal ADUs by right from 1-1-2027.

Ordinance read October 2026

A detached ADU is allowed in two forms under Section 8.15, both approved administratively. An In-Law Suite (a unit housing a relative of the owner) may be detached only on a property of at least two acres (§8.15A(b)), and Appendix C makes it a permitted use in the Rural (R), Rural Residential (RR), Residential Growth (RG), Residential-Light Industrial-Commercial (R-LI-C), Residential Commercial (RC), Village (V) and Planned Neighborhood Development (PND) districts. An Accessory Agricultural Dwelling Unit, listed as permitted in every district, needs a property of at least ten acres whose primary use is agricultural and is limited to a farmworker or caretaker and family (§8.15B). Both types need Health Department approval, which in practice turns on septic and well capacity on unsewered rural lots.

Ordinance read October 2026

Section 8.15 says an ADU 'may be attached to the principal dwelling unit or detached', and the two-acre minimum applies only to detached In-Law Suites, so an attached or internal unit (an addition, basement or conversion with its own kitchen, bathroom and sleeping area) is available on any lot in the seven districts where In-Law Suites are permitted. What makes it conditional is occupancy: the unit is limited to a relative of the owner (blood, marriage or adoption), the owner or an immediate family member must live in one of the two units, and the Health Department must approve it. In-Law Suites are not permitted in the NC, GC, HC, LI, MI, OC and IC districts (Appendix C).

Ordinance read October 2026

Martinsburg's Zoning Ordinance (Part Thirteen, Chapter Three of the Codified Ordinances, adopted as Ord. 2021-07 on 7-21-2021) lists Accessory Dwelling Unit as an accessory residential use in Table 1327-1: permitted by right in Urban Residential (UR), Downtown (DT) and Mixed Use Residential (MUR), by special exception from the Board of Zoning Appeals in Suburban Residential (SR), and not at all in Mixed Use Commercial (MUC) or Medical-Institutional (MIN). A detached unit must sit "in a detached accessory structure occupied, or formerly occupied, on the first floor by a garage, barn, or similar Accessory Use", so an apartment over a garage or a converted garage or barn qualifies but a purpose-built backyard cottage does not. The lot must be at least 7,500 sq ft and hold exactly one one-unit residential structure, and occupancy is tied to the owner's family (see the owner-occupancy and rental fields). From 1-1-2027 W. Va. Code §8-42-2 requires at least one attached, detached or internal ADU by right on every lot with a single-family dwelling, so the SR hearing, the garage-only form, the MUC and MIN exclusion and the lot minimum (where it exceeds the house's own minimum) become likely invalid under §8-42-3(c).

Ordinance read October 2026

An attached or internal ADU may be placed "in a Principal Structure, provided that there is a separate entrance to the exterior or to an unconditioned porch type space", and that exterior entrance "shall not be visible from the front right of way". The same district split applies (by right with a Use and Occupancy Permit in UR, DT and MUR; special exception in SR; prohibited in MUC and MIN), as do the 7,500 sq ft minimum lot, owner occupancy and family-only occupancy, and no new separate utility connection may be installed for a unit inside the house unless the lot already has more than one. A different route for an internal second unit is converting the house to a Two-Family Dwelling (special exception in UR and SR, by right in DT and MUR, lots no larger than 10,000 sq ft), which carries no owner or family limits but needs two parking spaces per unit. From 1-1-2027 §8-42-2(a) and (b) require an attached or internal ADU by right on every single-family lot, and §8-42-2(d)(6) bars an ADU lot minimum stricter than the house's (UR-2 and SR-2 houses need 5,000 sq ft, UR-3 3,000, MUR 2,000).

Ordinance read October 2026

Table 1327-1 marks Accessory Dwelling Unit "R" (permitted by right) in UR, DT and MUR, where approval is a Use and Occupancy Permit reviewed and issued by the City Engineer/Planning Director (§1321.09; the current application form lists a $100 new-construction fee) alongside the building permit, and "SE" in SR, where the Board of Zoning Appeals must hold a published public hearing, make six written findings, and grant only with the concurring vote of four of its five members (§§1321.10, 1321.11). MUC and MIN leave the cell blank, which §1327.03(b)(3) makes a prohibited use. Lots in the Historic Preservation Overlay also need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Review Commission for exterior work. From 1-1-2027 W. Va. Code §8-42-1(b) and §8-42-2(a) require approval by right, with no special exception or public hearing, on every single-family lot, and §8-42-3(b) caps the ADU application fee at $250 plus usual building fees.

Ordinance read October 2026

Morgantown's code has an accessory dwelling use in only one place: Block A of the Wiles Hill Gateway Overlay District (WHOD), a few blocks of Wiles Hill bounded by Stewart Street, Highland Avenue, Raymond Street, Wellen Avenue and Lorentz Avenue, where 'Dwelling, Accessory' is an accessory use (A) in Table 1358.03.01. Everywhere else a detached backyard unit is not possible: Table 1331.05.01 has no accessory dwelling row, Sec. 1331.08(a)(11) bars sleeping quarters and cooking fixtures in accessory structures, and Sec. 1363.04(a) allows only one principal building per parcel. The city's own October 2026 staff report confirms the code 'does not contain provisions allowing for the use of ADUs, except for within ‘Block A’ of the Wiles Hill Gateway Overlay District, per Article 1358.' From 1-1-2027, W. Va. Code §8-42-2(a) and (b) (2026 SB 659) require one attached, detached or internal ADU by right on every lot with a single-family dwelling, and §8-42-3(c) invalidates conflicting local rules; an ordinance implementing that passed first reading on 9-15-2026 but is not yet adopted.

Ordinance read October 2026

Within WHOD Block A an attached accessory dwelling is allowed only in one form: 'An attached accessory dwelling shall only be permitted above a single-family dwelling's attached garage' (Sec. 1358.03(b)(3)f.). Outside Block A there is no ADU use at all; the only route to a second unit inside or added onto a house is converting it into a two-family dwelling, which Table 1331.05.01 permits by right in R-2, R-3 and PRO (conditional use in B-4) but not in the R-1 and R-1A single-family districts. That duplex route is not an ADU: both units count as principal dwelling units and the two-family parking rate of 1.5 spaces per unit applies. State law (W. Va. Code §8-42-2(b)) protects attached, detached and internal ADUs alike from 1-1-2027, so the garage-only and Block-A-only limits are likely invalid from that date.

Ordinance read October 2026

Weirton's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) defines an accessory dwelling unit as a smaller, independent unit on the same lot as a detached single-family dwelling that may be attached or detached. Table 1 lists it as an accessory use (A) in R-3, MU and the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Overlay District (PADOD) but as a conditional use (C) in R-1 and R-2, which hold about 73 percent of the city's zoned parcels (8,882 of 12,145 in the city's zoning GIS layer), so most homeowners need a Board of Zoning Appeals Conditional Use permit after a public hearing. A detached ADU is also barred on a lot that has a separate detached garage, although an ADU may be built as a second story over a detached garage if it is no taller than the house (§10.01(B)). ADUs are not listed in C-1, C-2, M-1 or M-2. From January 1, 2027, W. Va. Code §8-42-2(a) and (b) require one attached, detached or internal ADU by right on every lot with a single-family dwelling, which invalidates the R-1 and R-2 hearing requirement to the extent of the conflict.

Ordinance read October 2026

The same Table 1 row governs attached units: an ADU attached to the house is an accessory use in R-3, MU and the PADOD overlay and needs a Board of Zoning Appeals Conditional Use permit in R-1 and R-2. The UDO definition names attached and detached units; it does not separately mention internal conversions such as a basement apartment, which staff would presumably treat as attached. The same §10.01 limits (one ADU per lot, two bedrooms, size ratios) apply. From January 1, 2027, W. Va. Code §8-42-2(a) and (b) make an attached, detached or internal ADU a by-right use on every lot with a single-family dwelling.

Ordinance read October 2026

In R-3, MU and the PADOD overlay an ADU is an accessory use that needs only a zoning and building permit with a Type I administrative site plan review by the Planning Director (§4.02(D)(1), (E)). In R-1 and R-2 it is a conditional use: the applicant files a Conditional Use application with a surveyed site plan, the city publishes a Class I legal notice at least 15 days ahead, and the Board of Zoning Appeals decides after a public hearing and may impose conditions (§3.06, §4.02(F), §6.01, §6.02(B)). The process is live: the February 3, 2026 Board of Zoning Appeals agenda carried a Conditional Use request for an ADU at 324 Sunrise Drive, an R-1 parcel. From January 1, 2027, W. Va. Code §8-42-1 and §8-42-2(a) require approval by right without a public hearing or conditional use permit, so the R-1 and R-2 hearing route becomes invalid to that extent; the state also caps the ADU application fee at $250 plus usual building fees (§8-42-3(b)).

Ordinance read October 2026

One accessory apartment is an accessory use inside an owner-occupied single-family dwelling in R-1B, R-1C, R-2 and R-3 (§§1335.06 to 1335.09), in R-4 and R-5 by reference to those lists (§1335.10, §1347.01(d)), and in the C-1 and C-2 commercial districts (§1339.03(b)(5), §1339.04(b)(5)). It is not listed in R-1A, whose accessory uses are only customary accessory buildings, garages, playhouses and similar structures, and home occupations, nor in the NWSD and EWSD special districts or the downtown D districts. The unit must be a complete housekeeping unit with its own entrance carved out of the existing house: §1335.11(p)(3) allows no exterior alteration other than entranceways and building-code work, (p)(4) bars any new entrance or alteration on the front, and (p)(5) requires public water and sewer, so an addition built to hold the unit does not qualify. From January 1, 2027, §8-42-2 requires an attached or internal ADU by right on every lot with a single-family dwelling, R-1A included, and the no-addition rule likely conflicts with §8-42-2(b) and (d)(7).

Ordinance read October 2026