Unincorporated Kanawha County sets no zoning lot-coverage percentage, since it is unzoned. Impervious limits there come from stormwater and floodplain rules. The City of Charleston Zoning Ordinance caps coverage and yard area by district, and its steep terrain adds stormwater review.
Lot coverage, the share of a parcel covered by buildings and paving, is a zoning concept, and unincorporated Kanawha County has no zoning to impose it. What does limit hard surface on county land is stormwater and erosion control, floodplain regulations in the river valleys, and the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department's lot-area minimums for septic systems. The City of Charleston is where a true coverage or open-space standard applies: its Zoning Ordinance sets maximum building coverage and minimum yard area by district. On Charleston's steep slopes, large impervious additions can also trigger stormwater management review regardless of the coverage figure. Other Kanawha cities set their own coverage rules.
In Charleston, exceeding a district's coverage or yard standard blocks approval until corrected or varied. Countywide, over-paving is reached mainly through stormwater, erosion, and floodplain enforcement rather than a coverage ordinance.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Charleston's lot coverage limits rules stack up against other locations.
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