Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
State law forces Morgantown to allow accessory dwelling units; council plans code updates
Summary
City Attorney Simonson told the March 31 council workshop that West Virginia's Senate Bill 659 requires municipalities to permit ADUs by right; Morgantown staff said code changes and public outreach will be needed to implement the law before the Jan. 1, 2027 compliance deadline.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — City staff and council members spent the workshop's opening hour reviewing accessory dwelling units and the impact of a new state law that will require ADUs in residential areas.
Attorney Simonson told the council that Senate Bill 659, which passed March 6, "becomes effective June 4th" and includes a compliance date of Jan. 1, 2027. Under the law, municipalities must allow one ADU by right on any lot with a single-family dwelling; detached ADUs are limited to the lesser of 1,000 square feet or 75% of the principal dwelling, and ADUs must be self-contained living units with cooking, sleeping and sanitation facilities,…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
