Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Town of Ashland, Alabama

Town of Ashland’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Construction, moving, extension or structural alteration of buildings/structures inside Ashland town

  • Permit issued by the code enforcement officer only if plans, specifications and intended use conform to the zoning ordinance
  • A validly issued building permit generally serves as both building and zoning permit

  “no building or other structure shall be constructed, erected, moved, extended, enlarged, or otherwise structurally altered, whether in whole or in part, unless and until the code enforcement officer has issued a building permit for such work.”

• Local zoningPresent

  Land inside Ashland town limits (Clay County, AL)

  • Ordinance numbered 2022-05-02-01, prepared by the East Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission; adopted under Code of Alabama Title 11, Chapter 52, Article 4

  “this ordinance shall be known and may be cited as the "ashland zoning ordinance."”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts inside Ashland town

  • Boundaries shown on zoning map on file with the city clerk
  • Special districts: FH flood hazard and ACZ airport clear zone

  “the city of ashland is hereby divided into the type of districts designated as follows: 1.1 regular districts ag: agricultural district r-1: single family residential district r-2: multi-family residential district r-mh: manufactured home district”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Dwellings in the R-1 single family residential district inside Ashland town

  • Minimum exterior width of dwelling 20 feet

  minimum dwelling unit gross floor area: >= 960 square feet · minimum exterior width: >= 20 feet

  “minimum standards for all dwellings. a. minimum dwelling unit gross floor area: nine hundred-sixty (960) square feet. b. minimum exterior width of dwelling: twenty (20) feet.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Dwellings in the AG agricultural district (standard appears at end of AG section) inside Ashland town

    “minimum standards for all dwellings. a. minimum dwelling unit gross floor area: eight hundred (800) square”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  R-1 single family residential district inside Ashland town

  • Lots not served by municipal sewer must contain at least 15,000 square feet plus any additional area deemed necessary by the Clay County Health Department

  minimum lot size with public sewer: >= 7200 square feet · minimum lot size without municipal sewer: >= 15000 square feet (plus area required by county health department) · minimum lot width with public sewer: >= 60 feet (column layout garbled in source)

  “served by municipal sewer. lots not served by municipal sewer shall contain at least fifteen thousand (15,000) square feet, plus any additional area deemed necessary by the clay county health department”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — AG agricultural district inside Ashland town

    “minimum lot size: 5 acres for all lots. lots not served by municipal sewer b. minimum lot width: three hundred (300) feet.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  R-1 single family residential district inside Ashland town

  • Additional setback may be required under Art. III s.7 and Art. V s.6.2
  • Rear setback figure of 45 feet taken from the same list; text layout garbled

  front yard setback: >= 40 feet · side yard setback: >= 15 feet · rear yard setback: >= 45 feet

  “d. minimum side yard setbacks: fifteen (15) feet. an additional setback e. minimum rear yard setback: forty-five (45) feet.”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  Maximum impervious surface in the AG district inside Ashland town (R-1 not read)

  • Limit varies by lot size

  max impervious surface, lots under 3 acres: <= 8 percent of lot area · max impervious surface, lots 3 to 5 acres: <= 7 percent of lot area · max impervious surface, lots over 5 acres: <= 6 percent of lot area

  “maximum impervious surface area: 1. for all lots under three (3) acres in size, not more than eight percent (8%) of the total lot area. 2. for all lots between three (3) and five (5) acres in size, not more than seven percent (7%) of the total lot area. 3. for all lots greater than five (5) acres in size, not more than six percent (6%) of the total lot area.”

• Building heightSpecified

  R-1 single family residential district inside Ashland town

  • Certain rooftop structures exempt; see Art. III s.3.1

  maximum structure height: <= 35 feet (or 2.5 stories)

  “f. maximum structure height: thirty-five (35) feet or two and one half (2.5)”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Manufactured homes on individual lots in the AG district inside Ashland town

  • Residential use only
  • Each manufactured home must bear a HUD seal before installation and be installed and anchored per Alabama Manufactured Housing Commission requirements (Art. IV s.3)

  “aa. manufactured homes, used only for residential purposes, occupying individual lots.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Prohibited — Manufactured homes in the R-1 single family residential district inside Ashland town

    “a. single-family dwellings, excluding manufactured homes, which shall be prohibited in the r-1: single family residential district.”

• Accessory dwellingsLimited

  Accessory residential units inside Ashland town

  • Purpose limited to care of elderly and handicapped family members; detailed standards in Art. IV s.6 not fully read

  “accessory residential units shall be allowed only for single family dwellings, and manufactured homes shall not be permitted as accessory residential units.”

• Driveway accessRequired

  Buildings for human occupancy inside Ashland town

  • R-1 lots limited to one curb cut under 75 feet of frontage, two at 75 feet or more

  “h. curb cut access: access to single-family residential lots shall allow for the placement of one (1) curb cut for lots with less than seventy-five (75) feet of street frontages. lots with seventy-five feet of street frontage or more are permitted a total of two (2) curb cuts.”

• Permit processPartial

  Building/zoning permit applications inside Ashland town

  • Process published in the zoning ordinance only; forms page not opened; conditional use approval requires planning commission public hearing

  “application for a building permit shall be made to the code enforcement officer on forms provided for that purpose”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Town of Ashland or Clay County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption inside Ashland town
• Building code adopted — Building code inside Ashland town
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Ashland town
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificates of occupancy inside Ashland town
• Camping on your land — Temporary camping inside Ashland town

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.