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

Richwood’s own rules

• Building permitLimited

  Location of mobile homes or house trailers within Richwood city limits.

  • This finding is limited to mobile homes and house trailers; the posted code was not sufficient to establish a general residential-building permit rule.

  “In order to aid the enforcement of this ordinance, a building permit must be obtained and approved by the City Council prior to location in any area of the municipality.”

• Building code adoptedAdopted (with conditions)

  Buildings and structures within Richwood corporate limits.

  • The posted code incorporates the West Virginia Building Code and lists adopted standards and local modifications.

  “There is hereby adopted and incorporated by reference, to safeguard life and property and to ensure the quality of construction, the West Virginia Building Code, as promulgated by the State Fire Commission under West Virginia Code section 29-3-5B and WV COR Title 87 Series 4.”

• Certificate of occupancyLimited

  Buildings or premises in flood-hazard areas subject to the City floodplain ordinance.

  • The required document is a certificate of compliance from the Floodplain Administrator, rather than a generally applicable certificate of occupancy.

  “In areas of flood hazard it shall be unlawful to occupy, or to permit the use or occupancy, of any building or premises. or both, or part thereof hereafter created, erected, installed, changed. converted or wholly or partly altered or enlarged in its use or structure until a certificate of compliance has been issued by the Floodplain Administrator stating that the building or land conforms to the requirements of this local law.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Development adjacent to watercourses inside Richwood's floodplain-ordinance area.

  • Necessary public works and temporary construction may be exempted.
  • The Floodplain Administrator may consider an appeal when the applicant demonstrates development without encroachment is impossible.

  flood protection setback: twice watercourse-channel width or 50 feet, whichever is less (Measured from the top of the banks of all watercourses.)

  “A Flood Protection Setback equal to twice the width of the watercourse channel measuring from the top of one bank to the top of the opposite bank or 50 feet, whichever is less, shall be maintained from the top of the banks of all watercourses.”

• Living in an RVLimited

  Recreational vehicles placed in any special flood-hazard area inside Richwood.

  • The vehicle must be on site fewer than 180 consecutive days, fully licensed and ready for highway use, or installed under the manufactured-home placement and flood-reduction requirements.

  maximum continuous on-site duration: < 180 days (Alternative compliance is full highway readiness or installation under manufactured-home placement and flood-reduction requirements.)

  “Recreational vehicles to be placed within any special flood hazard area shall either: i. Be on site for fewer than 180 consecutive days. Or, ii. Be fully licensed and ready for highway use.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Mobile homes entering and locating within Richwood corporate limits.

  • A City-recorder permit is required before location.
  • The permit registration fee is $5 and the permit period is one year; renewal without additional charge is available if the occupant is not violating the chapter.
  • Additional location, lot-size, utility, City Council, and floodplain conditions occur elsewhere in Chapter 10 and Chapter 19.

  mobile-home permit registration fee: 5 USD · permit period: 1 year (Renewal permit without additional charge may be issued if occupant is not violating Chapter 10.)

  “All mobile homes coming into the city must first obtain a permit from the city recorder before locating such mobile home in the corporate limits. The occupant of a mobile home shall pay to the city recorder, for such permit the sum of five dollars ($5) as a registration fee, and such permit shall be issued for a period of one year.”

• Off-grid sanitationProhibited

  Premises inside Richwood that meet the City sewer-line frontage/abutting and usability conditions in Code § 18-1.

  • The prohibition applies where the premises front or abut a street, alley, or easement with a usable City sewer line.

  “No other means and methods for the collection and disposal of sewage and Waste material from such dwellings, buildings or premises shall hereafter be permitted or allowed.”

• Mandatory utility hookupSewer (with conditions)

  A dwelling, building, or premises inside Richwood that fronts or abuts a street, alley, or easement containing a usable City combined waterworks and sewerage-system sewer line.

  • The owner must connect to and use the City sewer system when the stated frontage/abutting and usability conditions are met.
  • No other means or methods of sewage and waste-material collection and disposal are allowed for those premises.

  “Every owner of a dwelling, building or premises within the city fronting or abutting upon any street, alley or easement in which there is installed a sewer line which is apart of the combined waterworks and sewerage system of the city, and which can use the sewage services and facilities of such system, shall connect, or cause to be connected, the plumbing and sewer lines of such dwelling, building or premises to the sewer system of the city and shall use such services and facilities.”

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Development in Richwood flood-hazard areas governed by the City floodplain ordinance.

  • Application is in writing on City forms.
  • Work must begin within 180 days and be completed within 18 months unless a written extension is granted.

  start-work deadline: <= 180 days (Unless a written time extension is granted by the Floodplain Administrator.) · completion deadline: <= 18 months (Unless a written time extension is granted by the Floodplain Administrator.)

  “The Floodplain Administrator shall immediately issue, or cause to be issued, a “Stop-Work Order” for any development found ongoing without having obtained a floodplain determination or a permit.”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  Private connections to a City municipal sewer main.

  • The fee is paid before the permit is granted.
  • This finding concerns private sewer-connection permits, not every City permit type.

  private sewer connection permit fee: 10 USD

  “No person shall make any private sewer connection with any municipal sewer main without first applying for and obtaining a permit therefor from the water board. No such permit shall be granted until a fee of ten dollars ($10) shall have been paid into the city treasury therefore, which fee is hereby levied.”

• Permit processPartial

  Floodplain development requiring a City floodplain permit or site-plan approval.

  • Application must be in writing on City forms and include information required by Article V.
  • The code establishes a process for floodplain approvals but this research did not establish one complete generalized permit process for all construction.

  “Application for a permit and/or site plan approvals shall be made, in writing, on the forms supplied by the City of Richwood, and shall include all information stipulated under Article V of this ordinance.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-built residential construction inside Richwood city limits.
• Local zoning — Land inside Richwood city limits.
• Zoning districts — Land inside Richwood city limits.
• Minimum dwelling size — Single-family dwellings inside Richwood city limits.
• Lot coverage — Residential lots inside Richwood city limits.

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.