Buying Land in Upshur County, West Virginia

Buckhannon's own zoning ordinance -- confirmed and active

Within Buckhannon's city limits, land use is governed by the city's own, actively-maintained Zoning Ordinance (codified as Ordinance #244), complete with its own zoning map and a history of amendments establishing specific districts -- including, per Buckhannon's own past ordinances, a Military District ("MIL") created by a separate amendment. This isn't a dormant, decades-old code: recent city council activity includes a 2025 proposal (Ordinance No. 473) to rezone several single-family residential lots to highway commercial, with a third reading scheduled for July 3, 2025 at Buckhannon City Hall. If you're buying property inside city limits, Buckhannon's zoning ordinance and map -- available through City Hall and the city's own website -- are the documents that govern what you can build and how the parcel is currently classified.

Unincorporated Upshur County: no zoning, but building permits are required

West Virginia's Land Use Planning Act leaves county-level zoning optional, and Upshur County is on the unzoned side of that split for its unincorporated land: multiple independent sources confirm the county has not adopted a countywide zoning ordinance, consistent with the pattern common across many rural West Virginia counties. That said, "no zoning" does not mean "no regulation." Upshur County requires a building permit for essentially any site preparation, construction, renovation, or relocation of a building or structure -- including manufactured housing -- anywhere in the unincorporated county, administered through the county's Addressing & Mapping, Building Permits and Floodplain Management department. Permit fees start as low as $15, with a fee waiver (though the permit itself is still required) for very-low-value work under a specific dollar threshold.

If your target parcel sits outside Buckhannon's city limits, plan for a building-permit step even though no zoning district applies -- contact the Upshur County Permit Office at (304) 472-1673 or visit the courthouse in Buckhannon before starting site work, construction, or placing a manufactured home. The same department also handles floodplain management, so ask specifically whether your parcel falls within a mapped flood zone while you're in contact with them.

Septic and what to confirm before you buy

As throughout West Virginia, septic systems in Upshur County are permitted locally by the county health department under the statewide 64CSR9 standard, separate from the building-permit process described above. This research pass did not independently confirm current Upshur County Health Department contact details, fees, or scheduling -- confirm those directly as part of your due-diligence timeline, alongside the building-permit and floodplain questions above.