WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2022 REGULAR SESSION
Introduced
Senate Bill 242
By Senator Sypolt
[Introduced January 12, 2022;
referred
to the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development]
A BILL to amend and reenact §8A-7-10 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to limiting the authority to prevent or limit an owner’s complete use of natural resources or real property for farm or agricultural operations.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
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
shall 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actions taken under the authority of any such ordinances, are hereby validated and continued in effect until amended or repealed by action of the governing body of the municipality or the county taken under authority of this article.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 may continue
the same use and such that use cannot may not 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
shall 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 or limiting, outside of municipalities or urban areas, the complete use (i) of natural resources by the owner; or (ii) of a tract or contiguous tracts of land of any size for a farm or agricultural operation by the owner.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to limit the authority of counties and municipalities to prevent or limit an owner’s complete use of natural resources or real property for farm or agricultural operations.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.