Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Dawson, Iowa

Rules another office applies inside Dawson

Dawson does not set these itself; the county, a health district or the state does, and they apply to every address inside its limits.

• Who permits septicMixed (with conditions)

  Private sewage disposal systems (septic) on land inside Dawson city, which lies in Dallas County, Iowa

  • The state rule (Iowa Administrative Code 567 Chapter 69) sets the standards; the administrative authority that issues permits is the department or the local county board of health.
  • Dawson city's own septic rule was not located.
  • Dallas County's role as the local county board of health is shown by a third-party directory listing (NE211) that describes its Adel office as handling septic permits; that listing is not an official page and was not used as evidence.

  ““administrative authority” means the department or the local county board of health as authorized by iowa code section 455b.172 and chapter 137.”

• Septic permitRequired

  Private sewage disposal systems installed or altered on land inside Dawson city, Dallas County, Iowa

  • Applies to installation, or alteration as described in 69.1(3) b, of a psds.
  • Permit is issued by the administrative authority, which under Chapter 69 is the local county board of health for the county (see septic_authority claim).
  • Dawson city's own septic permit rule was not located.

  “no psds shall be installed or altered as described in 69.1(3) “b” unless a construction permit issued by the administrative authority is obtained prior to construction.”

• Mandatory utility hookupConditional

  Existing buildings served by a private sewage disposal system inside Dawson city, when a publicly owned treatment works (sewer) becomes available nearby

  • Under the state rule, a potw is treated as unavailable when it, or any building or exterior drainage facility connected to it, is more than 200 feet from any proposed building or exterior drainage facility on a lot that abuts and is served by a potw.
  • When a potw is not available, each building generating domestic sewage must have an approved psds.
  • Whether Dawson city has public sewer, and whether a new home must connect to it, was not established; the opening paragraph of the connection rule was not fully read.

  potw availability distance: 200 feet

  “(2) when a potw becomes available within 200 feet, any building then served by a psds shall be connected to said potw within a time frame and under conditions set by the administrative authority.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Dawson or Dallas County directly.

• Building permit — Building permits for residential construction inside Dawson city
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption from permits inside Dawson city
• Building code adopted — Building code adoption for construction inside Dawson city
• Inspections — Building inspections for construction inside Dawson city
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new buildings inside Dawson city

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.