Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Stonewood, West Virginia

Stonewood’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Constructing, erecting, tearing down or altering a building inside Stonewood city

  • Permit is issued by the city council
  • No permit shall be issued for a building that would be a hazard or nuisance or would interfere with the rights of adjacent property owners

  “shall secure a building permit from the city council before commencing such work.”

• Building code adoptedAdopted

  Construction inside Stonewood city

  • Adopts the WV State Building Code (Title 87, Series 4) with the 2018 ICC codes, 2018 IRC, NFPA Life Safety Code 2021 and 2015 IECC for residential, each 'as excepted, modified or amended'
  • Stated effective date of the adopted codes: August 1, 2022

  “the state building code be and is hereby reenacted and adopted as promulgated by the west virginia state fire commission, title no. 87, series 4”

• Living in an RVLimited

  Occupancy of recreational vehicles and auto trailers on property inside Stonewood city

  • Sec. 20-3 states recreational vehicles shall not be located for occupancy on any property within the city, and recreational vehicle parks are prohibited
  • Sec. 8-77 separately provides city permits for auto trailers (a term that includes recreational vehicles), which are permitted only in a designated area on the north side of Plainwood Avenue to the corporate boundary at Indiana Avenue
  • A temporary permit for a single auto trailer expires 30 days after issue, with no other temporary permit for the same lot for 11 months
  • An auto trailer camp permit requires a minimum of 14,400 square feet and 15 feet between trailers
  • The two chapters conflict on their face and the code was not reconciled

  temporary auto trailer permit duration: <= 30 days (no other temporary permit for the same lot for 11 months)

  “recreational vehicles, as defined in section 20-4, shall not be located for occupancy on any property within the city. recreational vehicle parks are prohibited within the city.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Mobile and manufactured homes inside Stonewood city

  • Mobile homes are allowed only in licensed mobile home parks established by the city council, and only as single-family dwellings
  • The 'mobile home' definition in Sec. 20-4 excludes Type I manufactured homes and Type II homes that meet all of these: no horizontal dimension under 22 feet, permanent foundation, main roof at least 4:12 pitch, wood or masonry-appearance siding, and a lot that is not rented or leased
  • New parks require at least 5 acres and lots of at least 3,000 square feet (Sec. 20-5)
  • Placement of manufactured homes in floodplain areas requires a floodplain permit (Ch. 16)

  minimum new mobile home park area: >= 5 acres · minimum mobile home lot: >= 3000 square feet

  “no mobile home, as defined in section 20-4, shall be located, occupied, placed, stored, erected, or otherwise situated within the city except in licensed mobile home parks as established by the city council.”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Privies, septic tanks and cesspools inside Stonewood city

  • Prohibited only where public sanitary sewer service is available, as defined in Sec. 23-4
  • Where connection to sewer is required, any septic tank effluent system is prohibited
  • Rules for private systems where sewer is not available were not found

  “where connection to sanitary sewer service is required, the use of any type of septic tank effluent system is hereby prohibited.”

• Mandatory utility hookupSewer (with conditions)

  Buildings or habitable structures inside Stonewood city sanitary board service area

  • Applies to property that abuts a public sewer line, street or alley containing sewer service, or is within 300 feet of sanitary sewer service, with a residential, commercial or industrial building or habitable structure
  • Where sewer is not available by gravity because of terrain, the owner may connect by an individual pump station at the owner's expense, approved by the WV Department of Health and Human Services and the sanitary board
  • Anyone proposing construction in the service area must contact the sanitary board first, whether or not within 300 feet of a sewer line
  • No public water connection requirement was found in the fetched sections

  sewer connection distance: <= 300 feet (individual pump stations where gravity service is unavailable)

  “or which is located within 300 feet of sanitary sewer service”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Major subdivisions inside Stonewood city

  • Application for a preliminary plat to the planning commission with a fee of $2.00 per lot, minimum $25.00 for any major subdivision
  • Public hearing within 45 days of a conforming application
  • Where septic systems are proposed, health department permits for each individual lot must accompany the application

  preliminary plat fee: per 2 USD per lot (minimum $25.00)

  “the fee for an application for approval of a preliminary plat shall be $2.00 per lot, but not less than $25.00 for any major subdivision.”

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Development, new construction, substantial improvement and placement of structures (including manufactured homes) inside Stonewood city

  • Permit or certificate of compliance from the floodplain administrator
  • Land in the special flood hazard area that is subdivided or used for a manufactured home park or subdivision needs an approved site plan with elevation data
  • Ord. of 6-5-2012

  “unless a permit application has been completed and a permit or certificate of compliance has been obtained from the floodplain administrator.”

• Permit feesPublished

  Building, demolition and inspection fees inside Stonewood city

  • Building permit: $15.00 per thousand of probable cost, minimum $30.00; demolition permit $50.00; inspections $50.00
  • Work started before obtaining a permit triples the fee
  • Maximum permit fee is $100,000.00
  • Violation of Sec. 8-19(a) and (b) is punishable by a fine of $1.00 to $500.00

  building permit fee: per 15 USD per $1,000 of cost (minimum $30.00)

  “building permits $15.00 per thousand with a minimum of $30.00 demolition permit $50.00 inspections $50.00”

• Permit processPublished

  Building permit applications inside Stonewood city

  • Written application to the city council giving property location, dimensions, number of rooms, materials, purpose of use and probable cost

  “shall make an application in writing to said council, setting forth the location of the property on which the work is to be done, the dimensions, number of rooms, and kind of material used, or to be used, in the construction, destruction, or alteration of the building”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Stonewood or Harrison County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit exemption inside Stonewood city
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Stonewood city
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy inside Stonewood city
• Local zoning — Zoning inside Stonewood city
• Zoning districts — Zoning districts inside Stonewood city

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.