ADU rules in Parkersburg

One accessory dwelling is an 'accessory permitted use' in every R and B district, and the definition expressly includes a fully detached unit or a unit inside a larger accessory structure such as a detached garage. It may also sit on an abutting parcel that was previously used only as yard for the owner's house, as long as it cannot be sold or transferred apart from the house lot. Lot size is no bar: detached units may go on conforming or nonconforming lots in the allowed districts. The unit must be accessory to the property owner's principal residence (see owner occupancy), and a second ADU on the same property needs Board of Zoning Appeals approval as an accessory conditional use.

The same 'accessory permitted use' covers a unit that is part of an expanded or remodeled principal dwelling, so additions and internal conversions (basement, upper floor, part of the house) qualify. Attached and internal units may be built on any lot with an existing single-family dwelling, including nonconforming lots, provided the ADU does not increase the nonconformity in height, bulk or lot coverage. Converting part of an existing structure triggers the same building permit and zoning application as new construction.

Parkersburg caps ADUs by lot coverage rather than floor area: a detached, attached or footprint-expanding ADU on a lot of 4,000 sq ft or larger may not occupy more than 15 percent of the total lot area (900 sq ft of footprint on a 6,000 sq ft lot), while on single-family lots under 4,000 sq ft the house and ADU together may cover up to 60 percent. In every case the ADU's total square footage must be less than the principal dwelling's, and its height may not exceed 25 feet or the height of the house, whichever is less. W. Va. Code §8-42-2(c) caps a protected attached or detached ADU at 75 percent of the house's gross floor area or 1,000 sq ft, whichever is less, and §8-42-2(d)(6) bars ADU height and lot-coverage limits stricter than the house's (R-1 and R-2 houses may reach two stories or 30 feet and the R districts set no house lot-coverage maximum), so the 15 percent coverage cap and the lower height cap are likely invalid from 1-1-2027 under §8-42-3(c). The city's pending amendment (first reading 10-13-2026) would replace these rules with the state's 75 percent or 1,000 sq ft cap and a height limit tied to the house.

Ongoing requirement: an ADU 'is permitted only when such dwelling is serving as an accessory structure to the principal residence of the property owner', so the owner must live in the main house as a principal residence, defined as the dwelling the owner occupies a majority of the year (the code lists employment, family members' abode, tax-return, ID, vehicle and voter-registration addresses, mailing address and bank location as tests). The code does not require a recorded deed restriction to enforce it. West Virginia's 2026 ADU law (SB 659, W. Va. Code §8-42) does not preempt owner occupancy; the clause that would have barred it was struck before passage. Parkersburg's pending amendment (first reading 10-13-2026) would nevertheless delete the owner-occupancy standards and the principal-residence definition entirely.

No additional off-street parking is required for building or adding an ADU, which overrides the general rule of two spaces per dwelling unit in §1363.02(h). If construction of the ADU removes an existing off-street space, it must be replaced on site where the zoning district requires that space. This matches W. Va. Code §8-42-2(d)(1), which bars requiring additional parking or fees in lieu; the pending amendment only narrows the replacement duty to spaces required for the house.

The first ADU is an accessory permitted use: the owner files a building permit and zoning application, reviewed by staff against Chapter 1369 and the building code, with appeals to the Board of Zoning Appeals under §1329.03. Any additional ADU on the property is an 'accessory conditional use' that needs Board of Zoning Appeals authorization after a noticed public hearing under §1329.05(b). In the three Residential Historic Districts (Julia-Ann Square, Parkersburg High School/Washington Avenue, Avery), exterior construction also needs Architectural Review Board approval before a building permit issues.

Nothing in Chapter 1369 bars renting the ADU, and its purpose statement cites extra income for homeowners, but the owner must occupy the principal dwelling. Since 4-15-2026 Article 1764 (Ord. 0-1772, adopted 12-16-2025) requires every residential rental unit to hold a residential rental unit license ($25 per unit per year, capped at $500 per owner) and pass inspections at most every 24 months; owner-occupied houses are exempt only until a portion is rented, so a rented ADU appears to need a license. Short-term rentals must 'comply with all short-term rental regulations established for the Zoning District', but the zoning code read for this entry contains no STR-specific rules; Article 1764 excludes short-term rental lodging, and nightly rentals may owe the Article 787 hotel occupancy tax, whose 'hotel' definition covers any building where the public obtains sleeping accommodations for consideration, including tourist homes. An ADU may not be sold or transferred separately from the principal dwelling.