West Virginia Code 8A-7-3 – Zoning — Generally
(a) A zoning ordinance may cover a county's entire jurisdiction or parts of its jurisdiction.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 8A-7-3
- Conditional use: means a use which because of special requirements or characteristics may be permitted in a particular zoning district only after review by the board of zoning appeals and upon issuance of a conditional use permit, and subject to the limitations and conditions specified in the zoning ordinance. See West Virginia Code 8A-1-2
- Contiguous: means lots, parcels, municipal boundaries or county boundaries that are next to, abutting and having a boundary, or portion thereof, that is coterminous. See West Virginia Code 8A-1-2
- Essential utilities and equipment: means underground or overhead electrical, gas, communications not regulated by the federal communications commission, water and sewage systems, including pole structures, towers, wires, lines, mains, drains, sewers, conduits, cables, fire alarm boxes, public telephone structures, police call boxes, traffic signals, hydrants, regulating and measuring devices and the structures in which they are housed, and other similar equipment accessories in connection therewith. See West Virginia Code 8A-1-2
- 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.
- Permitted use: means any use allowed within a zoning district, subject to the restrictions applicable to that zoning district and is not a conditional use. 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
- Zoning: means the division of a municipality or county into districts or zones which specify permitted and conditional uses and development standards for real property within the districts or zones. See West Virginia Code 8A-1-2
(b) The different zones created in a zoning ordinance by a governing body do not have to cover or include the same territory, and may overlap.
(c) Overlay districts and special design districts may have specific additional development standards for each permitted, accessory and conditional use.
(d) Each zone will be subject to the same rules, regulations, standards and designations throughout the zone, unless specific provisions are made by the governing body in the zoning ordinance. (e) Essential utilities and equipment are a permitted use in any zoning district.
(f) Several areas of a municipality or county may be classified in a zone even though the areas are not contiguous.
(g) The boundaries of each zone and the designated classifications must be shown on a zoning district map. The boundaries may only be changed after appropriate public hearing and zoning district map changes are adopted by the governing body.
(h) A governing body shall certify the original zoning district map. Subsequent versions of the zoning district map shall be certified and clearly identified with an effective date.
(i) All certified zoning district maps must be filed with the clerk of the applicable governing body, the applicable planning commission and the office of the clerk of the applicable county commission.