ADU rules in Huntington

Yes, by right. Ordinance No. 2026-O-58 (adopted June 8, 2026; approved by the mayor June 9, 2026) added an "Accessory Dwelling Unit" row to the Table 1320.A use chart, marked permitted by right in every zoning district column (R-1 & R-2, R-4, R-5, C-1, C-2, C-3, I-1 and I-2), and enacted §1341.01, which lets an ADU be attached, detached or internal on a parcel with a single-family house that already exists or is built at the same time. Before this, the code defined an ADU only as a "carriage house or garage apartment", gave it no use-table row, and allowed only one principal residential building per lot (§1341.04). The Municode text (Supplement 8, codified through Ord. No. 2025-O-31) still shows the old rules. The ordinance bank copy of 2026-O-58 is the operative text.

Yes, by right, in the same districts as detached units. §1341.01 says an ADU "may be attached, detached, or internal to the single-family dwelling", so additions, basement units and internal conversions all qualify. The amended §1315.02 definition requires the ADU to be a self-contained, independently accessed unit with its own cooking, sleeping and sanitation facilities on a parcel with a larger single-family house. In the R-4 and R-5 districts a separate route also exists: a single-family house may be converted to two units under §1323.03.A.

§1341.01 caps a detached or attached ADU at the lesser of 75 percent of the single-family house's gross floor area or 1,000 square feet, with gross floor area meaning interior habitable area. It sets no cap for internal units, but the definition requires the house to have the greater square footage. ADUs follow the same height, setback, lot-size, lot-coverage and frontage standards as the house and are exempt from accessory-building restrictions. That means a detached ADU can go up to the principal-building height (2½ stories/35 ft in R-1, R-2 and R-4) instead of the 15-ft accessory-building limit, and must meet principal-building setbacks. These terms match W. Va. Code §8-42-2(c) and (d)(6) word for word.

No. Neither the amended ADU definition nor §1341.01 requires the owner to live in the house or the ADU, either when applying or afterward. No deed restriction or covenant is required either. A full-text search of the codified code finds "owner-occupied" only in the homeowner-permit sections of the electrical and plumbing articles. West Virginia's ADU statute does not itself bar owner-occupancy rules (the clause was struck from SB 659 before passage). From January 1, 2027, however, §8-42-2(d)(8) bars enforcing such a rule through a required restrictive covenant. Huntington has no such rule to begin with.

None. Exemption (2) of §1341.01 provides that ADUs "shall not be used when calculating the minimum parking requirements for a parcel", so the house's own requirement (1 space per 2 bedrooms for a single-family dwelling under Table 1343.A) is not increased. This matches W. Va. Code §8-42-2(d)(1), which bars municipalities from requiring extra parking or fees in lieu for an ADU. Ord. No. 2026-O-75, a broader parking rewrite of Articles 1315, 1320, 1321, 1323, 1325 and 1343, had its first reading September 28, 2026 and was set for second reading October 13, 2026. Its text was not available.

By right, with administrative review. The 2026-O-58 use chart marks ADUs as a permitted use in every district, and §1320.02.A.2 provides that permitted uses "are approved administratively by the planner through the site plan review". No Board of Zoning Appeals conditional-use hearing applies. The usual building permit and zoning permit application go through the Planning & Zoning office. In the H-1 Historic Preservation District Overlay, a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission is required before any building permit (§1339.02), and matching exterior design may be required there.

Neither Ord. No. 2026-O-58 nor the rest of the zoning code limits renting an ADU, requires the occupants to be related, or regulates separate sale. Any rented unit needs a residential rental unit license under Article 1737: there is no fee, it runs July 1 to June 30, and the unit can be inspected up to once every 12 months. Article 1737 excludes "short term rental lodging". The zoning code does not define or list short-term rentals, and its "bed and breakfast or tourist house" use (operator lives on or next to the premises) has no row in Table 1320.A. Unlisted uses are decided by the planner under §1320.03, so confirm with Planning & Zoning before renting an ADU nightly. Each dwelling unit is limited to a family or no more than five unrelated people (§1315.02).