Zoning in Berkeley County, West Virginia: What's Actually Zoned, and What Isn't

The assumption, and the verified reality

Berkeley County, anchored by Martinsburg and swept up in Eastern Panhandle growth spilling out of the Washington-Baltimore metro area, is West Virginia's fastest-growing county -- roughly 17% population growth during the 2010s and about 8% more from 2020 to 2024. Fast, sustained growth like that often comes with comprehensive zoning to manage where new development goes, and some general references to West Virginia land use describe Berkeley County as one of the state's zoned counties. Berkeley County's own government pages tell a more specific story: its Planning Department FAQ states directly that the majority of Berkeley County is not zoned, and its Board of Zoning Appeals page identifies exactly two zoned areas -- the Tuscarora Community and the Windewald Neighborhood -- both zoned since the early 1970s and neither expanded since.

This is corroborated independently: countyzoning.org's own listing of West Virginia counties with zoning includes Fayette, Jefferson, Kanawha, and Monongalia counties, but not Berkeley. Jefferson County, Berkeley's neighbor in the Eastern Panhandle, is the county genuinely worth comparing to a fully zoned jurisdiction -- Berkeley is not that, despite carrying similar growth pressure.

What the two zoned districts actually cover

The Tuscarora Community and Windewald Neighborhood zoning districts are small, specific, legacy areas dating to the early 1970s, each with its own zoning ordinance, maps (including separate Windewald East and West maps), and use districts. A property inside either district is subject to zoning-based use restrictions the way a parcel in a fully zoned county would be, and disputes or variance requests there go to Berkeley County's Board of Zoning Appeals. If your target parcel sits inside Tuscarora or Windewald, treat it like ordinary zoned land: confirm the applicable district and its permitted, conditional, and prohibited uses with the Planning Department before you buy.

Outside the two districts: the subdivision ordinance does the real work

For the large majority of Berkeley County that falls outside Tuscarora and Windewald, there is no general use-zoning at all -- but that does not mean no land-use control exists. Berkeley County administers a countywide Subdivision & Land Development Ordinance, most recently amended in January 2025, through an eight-member Planning Commission that meets twice a month. That ordinance is what actually regulates how raw land in the growth corridor gets divided into buildable lots, sets road and infrastructure standards for new subdivisions, and requires Planning Commission review before a large tract can be split and sold off in pieces. Given how much of Berkeley County's growth arrives as new subdivisions rather than infill in already-zoned areas, this ordinance -- not zoning -- is the practical control that shapes what your neighborhood will look like in five or ten years.

The Planning Commission is also working from a draft 2026 Comprehensive Plan, meaning the policy framework here is actively being revised, not settled. A buyer evaluating raw acreage with subdivision potential, or a lot recently carved out of a larger tract, should ask the Planning Department specifically whether the parcel's plat was approved under the current Subdivision & Land Development Ordinance and whether any conditions attached to that approval (road dedication, stormwater, utility easements) run with the land.

How to check your specific parcel

Two separate questions matter for any Berkeley County parcel: (1) is it inside the Tuscarora or Windewald zoning district, and if so what does that district's ordinance permit; and (2) regardless of zoning status, was it created through the county's subdivision process, and does that approval carry any conditions? The Berkeley County Planning & Zoning Department can answer both from the parcel's address or tax map/parcel number. Because growth pressure here is real and ongoing, don't assume a neighboring parcel's zoning or subdivision status applies to yours -- confirm it directly, and budget time for that confirmation given how much volume the Planning Department is likely processing in the state's fastest-growing county.