ADU rules in Fairmont

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)).

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.

§4.25.2 caps ADU square footage at 'No more than 50% of the gross floor area of the principal dwelling unit', not counting area used as a garage; for an ADU over or beside a detached garage the garage does not count (§4.25.3.C), and an enclosed ground-level stair landing under 64 sq ft is exempt (§4.25.3.I). Height is 2 stories / 25 feet but not more stories than the principal structure, with a 4/12 minimum roof slope; lot coverage follows the district standards. Separately, §5.10.5 limits the combined floor area of all accessory structures to one-half of the principal structure's floor area, which can squeeze a detached ADU on a lot that already has a garage or shed. From 1-1-2027 §8-42-2(c) sets the protected size at 75 percent of the house or 1,000 sq ft, whichever is less, and (d)(7) bars 'more onerous development standards', so the 50 percent cap (tighter than the state figure for any house under 2,000 sq ft) is likely invalid; §8-42-2(d)(6) also bars ADU height limits stricter than the house's (3 stories / 40 feet in GR and NR), which likely reaches the 25-foot cap.

Nothing in §4.25, the definitions or the other use standards requires the owner to live on the lot or in either unit; the zoning code's only owner-residency rule applies to Bed and Breakfast Inns ('The homeowner shall reside on site'). Owner occupancy matters only for rental registration: Codified Ordinances Article 1767 regulates units 'for which remuneration is received', so an ADU occupied by the owner or relatives without rent is not a rental dwelling unit. W. Va. Code §8-42 does not preempt owner-occupancy rules, but Fairmont has none to preempt.

Table 5.4.E (Parking Requirements by Use) has no ADU row; detached, duplex and townhouse dwellings need 1 space per 2 bedrooms, §5.4.9.A.i says the Planner categorizes any use not specifically listed, and §5.4.9.A.ii sums the requirements of combined uses on one lot. Fractions of one-half or more round up (§5.4.9.A.iii), so if staff applies the dwelling rate a 1- or 2-bedroom ADU would add one space. Garage conversions must still meet 'All off-street parking requirements' for the property (§4.25.3.H.i). Uses in the City Center (CC) district are exempt from minimum off-street parking (§3.6.3.G.iii). From 1-1-2027 §8-42-2(d)(1) bars requiring additional parking or fees in lieu for an ADU.

In the seven districts where ADUs are allowed, Table 3.A marks them with a solid dot, which §3.2.6.A.i defines as 'permitted by right in the district', so an ADU needs only the consolidated Building and Zoning Permit reviewed by Planning and Development and the Building Inspector; one- and two-family dwellings and their accessory structures are excluded from Development Review Committee site plan review (§6.1.5.C.i). The exception is a garage conversion: if the existing structure does not meet the ADU setbacks, the applicant must obtain a Conditional Use Permit from the Board of Zoning Appeals (a public hearing; $85 application fee) before a building permit issues (§4.25.3.H.iii). In GR, MHP, T, E and R there is no ADU route at all today short of a rezoning. From 1-1-2027 the statute's 'by right' definition (§8-42-1) excludes conditional use permits, which likely reaches the garage-conversion hearing.

The zoning code places no rental limit on ADUs: no owner-occupancy, family-only or rental ban. A rented ADU is a 'rental dwelling unit' (any dwelling unit for which remuneration is received) under Codified Ordinances Article 1767 (Ord. 2058, passed 12-10-2024), which requires an inspected certificate of use and occupancy, valid two years, with a $30 per-unit compliance inspection fee. Fairmont has no short-term rental license or STR use category: Article 1767 excludes 'hotels, motels, dormitories, lodging and boarding houses and other transient residential occupancies', the zoning definition of dwelling 'shall not apply to a hotel, motel, or other structures designed for transient residence', and the hotel occupancy tax (Art. 762) skips facilities with fewer than three rooms, so how a nightly-rented ADU is classified is a Planner use determination (§3.2.2, §3.2.3); confirm before listing one. §8-42-3(a) preserves municipal STR regulation. By definition the ADU is on the same parcel as the principal dwelling it accompanies, and only one ADU is allowed per parcel.