Morgantown
City of Morgantown, Planning Division (Development Services)
In short
City of Morgantown, Planning Division (Development Services) issues 3 permits we publish for Morgantown, last verified 2026-09-11. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Occupation Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Morgantown, Planning Division (Development Services) | No fee | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-09-11 |
| Conditional Use Permit (Board of Zoning Appeals)only if it applies to you | City of Morgantown, Planning Division (Development Services) | $150 one-time, per application | one-time, per application | 2026-09-11 |
| Zoning Verification Letteronly if it applies to you | City of Morgantown, Planning Division (Development Services) | $60.00 per hour of Planning Division staff research time, billed in 15-minute increments, with a $15.00 minimum due at the time of application and the remaining time-based balance due before the written letter is delivered. | one-time, per written verification request | 2026-09-11 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
Home Occupation Permit
The Planning Division's own current Application Packet states that a Class 1 Home Occupation 'may be granted administratively' and states no fee for it, so no fee applies to a Class 1 Home Occupation. A Class 2 Home Occupation (any home-based business that does not clearly qualify as Class 1) is itself a Conditional Use requiring Board of Zoning Appeals approval, folding into the Conditional Use Application fee recorded separately rather than carrying a fee of its own. Unlike Huntington's own ordinance, which names specific trades in and out by type, Morgantown's own packet draws its Class 1/Class 2 line purely by transaction style — whether the business involves on-premise customer visitation, product display to visitors, or delivery volume beyond two stops per day — rather than by the type of trade itself, so in principle other home-based service businesses could also qualify depending on how they actually operate. The permit is recorded here against childcare (family day care, expressly cross-referenced as a home occupation at Section 1331.06(19)) and salon (a plausible low-customer-contact personal service), the two industries most likely to fit Morgantown's own transaction-style test, without asserting the ordinance itself names or excludes either by trade.
Conditional Use Permit (Board of Zoning Appeals)
Section 1379.02, read directly, requires the application to include 'a letter of approval from the property owner...and filing fee,' but states no dollar amount in the article itself — Section 1315.03 explains why, deferring filing fees generally to a separately-maintained 'Plan Review and Permitting Fee Schedule.' The City's own current Plan Review and Permitting Fee Schedule, effective September 16, 2026, prices the line item 'Conditional Use Application' at a flat $150.00, satisfying that deferral. Separately, Section 1331.06(19) sets a specific zoning trigger: a Day Care Facility, Class 2 or Class 3 (West Virginia's own state-licensed classes) operated as a home occupation is 'permitted as a home occupation with a conditional use permit,' subject to specific conditions — no on-site swimming pool, any outdoor recreation area enclosed by a minimum three-foot solid wall or fence with a self-latching gate, and no structural additions beyond what State Child Care, Building Code, or Fire Code regulations require. The Zoning Code's own use table separately shows Veterinary Clinic, Automotive Repair Shop, Recreation Facility (Commercial, Indoor — the closest analog to a fitness studio), and general retail uses each carrying conditional-use status in at least one zoning district; check the ordinance's use table (Table 1331.05.01) or ask the Planning Division for the status in a specific district.
Zoning Verification Letter
Often requested for site environmental assessments, real estate transfers, or financing rather than as a mandatory step to open every business, this letter confirms a property's zoning classification, permitted/conditional/nonconforming use status, and any known unresolved zoning violations. The City's own current [Z-VL] form prices it directly at '$60 per hour ($15.00 minimum)': the $15.00 minimum is charged at submission and the letter itself will not be transmitted until any additional time-based balance, calculated in 15-minute increments, is paid.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Morgantown
- Phone
- (304) 284-7431
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- 2019 Planning and Zoning Code, City of Morgantown (current through Ordinance 2025-21) — the City's own complete current zoning text, including Section 1315.03 (subdivision filing fees, referencing the City's own Plan Review and Permitting Fee Schedule), Section 1331.06(19) (Day Care Facility Class 2/3 as a home-occupation conditional use), Table 1369.06.01 (sign permits, the $250 building-permit threshold), Section 1379.02 (Conditional Use filing fee), Section 1381.02 (variance fee), and the Definitions article (Automotive Repair Shop, Veterinary Clinic, Barber Shop/Beauty Salon, Personal Services Establishment, Recreation Facility Commercial Indoor, Kennel Commercial, Home Occupation)City of Morgantown, Planning Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
- Application for Written Zoning Verification [Z-VL] — the Planning Division's own current form, pricing the letter at $60.00 per hour with a $15.00 minimum due at applicationCity of Morgantown, Development Services Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
- City of Morgantown Plan Review and Permitting Fee Schedule, effective September 16, 2026 — the City's own current omnibus Development Services/Fire/Engineering fee schedule, pricing a Zoning Review of Sign Permit Application at $20.00, a Conditional Use Application at $150.00, a Variance Application Fee at $150.00, and independently confirming the Zoning Verification Letter at $60.00/hour ($15.00 minimum) recorded separately for Morgantown; linked directly from the City's own Building Permits pageCity of Morgantown, Development Services Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Home Occupation Application Packet — the Planning Department's own current packet, describing Class 1 (administrative, no on-premise customer contact) and Class 2 (conditional use) Home Occupations, with no fee stated anywhere in the packetCity of Morgantown, Planning Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
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