Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Collins, Iowa

Collins’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Collins city limits; the city's own zoning regulations (Code of Ordinances Chapter 165) apply there.

  • Chapter 160.08(1) says minimum lot dimensions and lot size conform to the city or county zoning regulations for the applicable district; the county reference was not analyzed further.
  • Zoning chapter text read was limited to the table of contents, definitions, RS, AG and AC district schedules and the nonconformity/bulk windows; the full zoning text was not read.

  “chapter 165 zoning regulations general provisions and definitions 165.01 purpose 165.02 application of district regulations”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts of Collins city, with the official zoning map adopted by ordinance

  • Districts identified in the text read: AG (agricultural), RS (single-family residential), RM (multi-family residential), AC, BC (central business commercial), LI (light industrial), HI (heavy industrial). The AC district's full name was not read.
  • The official zoning map itself was not opened; the editor's note says map amendments are saved from repeal and are not part of the code.

  “ordinance 98-3 (official zoning map) adopted february 2, 1998”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Single-family residential (RS) districts inside Collins city limits: the RS district has three lot classes (6 RS, 9 RS and 40 RS).

  • In the 6 RS classification, no new lots may be created unless they are at least 9,000 square feet (source footnote).
  • Corner lots have two front and two side yards.
  • Lot dimensions and lot size conform to the city or county zoning regulations for the applicable district (Chapter 160.08(1)).
  • The bulk table is flattened in the source text; the class-to-value pairing was reconstructed from row order and should be checked against the PDF table.

  minimum lot area, 6 RS: >= 6000 sq ft (6 RS classification: no new lots below 9,000 sq ft) · minimum lot width, 6 RS: >= 50 ft · minimum lot area, 9 RS: >= 9000 sq ft · minimum lot width, 9 RS: >= 75 ft · minimum lot area, 40 RS: >= 40000 sq ft · minimum lot width, 40 RS: >= 100 ft

  “6,000 50 25 7 20 9 rs 9,000 75 25 8 25 40 rs 40,000 100 50 20 50”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Agricultural (AG) district inside Collins city limits

    “min. lot area 2 acres min. lot width (feet) 125 min. front yard (feet) 35 min. side yard (feet) 10 min. rear yard (feet) 35”

• SetbacksDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Single-family residential (RS) districts inside Collins city limits; front, side and rear yards by lot class

  • Corner lots have two front and two side yards.
  • Values are reconstructed from a flattened table; verify against the PDF before relying on them.

  front yard, 6 RS: >= 25 ft · side yard, 6 RS: >= 7 ft · rear yard, 6 RS: >= 20 ft · front yard, 9 RS: >= 25 ft · side yard, 9 RS: >= 8 ft · rear yard, 9 RS: >= 25 ft · front yard, 40 RS: >= 50 ft · side yard, 40 RS: >= 20 ft · rear yard, 40 RS: >= 50 ft

  “6,000 50 25 7 20 9 rs 9,000 75 25 8 25 40 rs 40,000 100 50 20 50”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Agricultural (AG) district inside Collins city limits

    “min. front yard (feet) 35 min. side yard (feet) 10 min. rear yard (feet) 35”

• Building heightSpecified

  Agricultural (AG) district inside Collins city limits

  • Agricultural accessory buildings are exempt from these requirements.

  maximum building height: <= 2.5 stories or 35 feet, whichever is lesser (agricultural accessory buildings exempt)

  “max. height: the lesser of 2½ stories or 35 feet”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Single-family residential (RS) districts inside Collins city limits (all three RS lot classes)

    “2½ stories or 35 feet 2½ stories or 35 feet 2½ stories or 35 feet”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Privies, septic tanks and cesspools inside Collins city limits

  • The city code restricts these facilities 'except as provided in these chapters'; the exceptions were not located in the text read.
  • The verb of the item 5 prohibition was cut off in the extract; the rule is stated as a limit, not a full ban, until the full 95.04 text is confirmed.
  • Once sewer is available and abutting, Chapter 95.05 requires connection (see utility_connection claim).

  “construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool, or other facility intended or used for the disposal of sewage except as provided in these chapters.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Platting of new subdivisions inside Collins city limits under Chapter 160 (subdivision regulations)

  • Lots must conform to the minimum lot dimensions and size required by the city or county zoning regulations for the applicable zoning district (section 160.08(1)).

  “standards for the design and development of all new subdivisions so that existing developments will be protected”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — New construction inside Collins city limits
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder construction inside Collins city limits
• Building code adopted — Construction inside Collins city limits
• Inspections — Construction inside Collins city limits
• Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy of new buildings inside Collins city limits

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.