A carport is a structure in unincorporated Kanawha County, so building one requires a county building permit, prefabricated kits included. The adopted West Virginia State Building Code sets the wind- and snow-load standards.
A carport is an accessory structure under Kanawha County's permit guidelines, so building or placing one in the unincorporated area requires a county building permit, prefabricated metal kits included. It must be anchored and framed to the West Virginia State Building Code's wind and snow loads — real considerations in the steep, weather-exposed Kanawha Valley. There is no county zoning setback schedule, but a carport near a stream must respect the floodplain setback of twice the channel width or 50 feet, whichever is less, and earth-disturbing work needs review. Charleston and other cities apply their own zoning setbacks to carports.
Erecting a carport without a county permit doubles the fee for a first or second offense and triples it after. An under-anchored carport or one blocking flood flow must be corrected or removed.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Kanawha County, WV
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See how Kanawha County's carport rules rules stack up against other locations.
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