West Virginia Code 8A-4-1 – Subdivision and land development ordinances authorized
(a) The governing body of a municipality or a county may regulate subdivisions and land development within its jurisdiction by:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 8A-4-1
- Governing body: means the body that governs a municipality or county. See West Virginia Code 8A-1-2
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Land development: means the development of one or more lots, tracts or parcels of land by any means and for any purpose, but does not include easements, rights-of-way or construction of private roads for extraction, harvesting or transporting of natural resources. See West Virginia Code 8A-1-2
- Plan: means a written description for the development of land. See West Virginia Code 8A-1-2
- Planning commission: means a municipal planning commission, a county planning commission, a multicounty planning commission, a regional planning commission or a joint planning commission. See West Virginia Code 8A-1-2
(1) Adopting a comprehensive plan and enacting a subdivision and land development ordinance; or
(2) Establishing a planning commission, enacting a subdivision and land development ordinance, and adopting a comprehensive plan for the area included in the subdivision and land development ordinance within three years of the enactment of the subdivision and land development ordinance.
(b) A municipality may adopt, by reference, the subdivision and land development ordinance of the county in which it is located.
(c) With the prior approval of the county planning commission, a municipality may, by ordinance, designate the county planning commission as the planning commission for the municipality to review and approve subdivision or land development plans and plats.