H. B. 2232
(By Delegate Doyle)
[Introduced January 12, 2011; referred to the
Committee on Energy, Industry and Labor, Economic
Development and Small Business then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §8A-7-10 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to planning and zoning; removing
exemption from certain provisions for mining and manufacturing
activities and uses.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §8A-7-10 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. ZONING ORDINANCE.
§8A-7-10. Effect of enacted zoning ordinance.
(a) After enactment of a zoning ordinance by a municipality or
county, all subsequent land development must be done in accordance
with the provisions of the zoning ordinance.
(b) All zoning ordinances, and all amendments, supplements and
changes thereto, legally adopted under any prior enabling acts, and all actions taken under the authority of any such ordinances, are
hereby validated and continued in effect until amended or repealed
by action of the governing body of the municipality or the county
taken under authority of this article. These ordinances shall have
the same effect as though previously adopted as a comprehensive
plan of land use or parts thereof.
(c) Land, buildings or structures in use when a zoning
ordinance is enacted can continue the same use and such use cannot
be prohibited by the zoning ordinance so long as the use of the
land, buildings or structures is maintained, and no zoning
ordinance may prohibit alterations or additions to or replacement
of buildings or structures owned by any farm, industry or
manufacturer, or the use of land presently owned by any farm,
industry or manufacturer but not used for agricultural, industrial
or manufacturing purposes, or the use or acquisition of additional
land which may be required for the protection, continuing
development or expansion of any agricultural, industrial or
manufacturing operation of any present or future satellite
agricultural, industrial or manufacturing use. A zoning ordinance
may provide for the enlargement or extension of a nonconforming
use, or the change from one nonconforming use to another.
(d) If a use of a property that does not conform to the zoning
ordinance has ceased and the property has been vacant for one year,
abandonment will be presumed unless the owner of the property can show that the property has not been abandoned: Provided, That
neither the absence of natural resources extraction or harvesting
nor the absence of any particular agricultural, industrial or
manufacturing process may be construed as abandonment of the use.
If the property is shown to be abandoned, then any future use of
the land, buildings or structures must conform with the provisions
of the zoning ordinance regulating the use where the land,
buildings or structures are located, unless the property is a duly
designated historic landmark, historic site or historic district.
(e) Nothing in this chapter authorizes an ordinance, rule or
regulation preventing, outside of urban areas, the complete use of
natural resources by the owner.
(f) The exemption from any zoning ordinance or ordinances does
not apply to a nonenergy producing mining operation in any county
which, upon the effective date of this section, is a growth county,
as defined by section three, article twenty, chapter seven of this
code and where the county commission of that county has adopted a
zoning ordinance regardless of whether the zoning ordinance remains
in effect.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to remove the zoning
exemption regarding existing uses for mining and manufacturing
activities.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.