Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Jefferson Township, Indiana

Rules another office applies inside Jefferson Township

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

• Building permitRequired

  Permanent placement of a manufactured home on a lot inside Jefferson township (unincorporated Boone County). Applies to manufactured homes only.

  • The manufactured home must also meet the zoning site requirements, the permanent foundation requirement and the other conditions of the manufactured home section.

  “the structure shall possess all necessary building, water, and sewage disposal permits prior to placement of the structure upon the lot”

• Local zoningVaries (with conditions)

  Unincorporated Boone County, including land inside Jefferson township. County-level aggregate only; it does not establish that Jefferson township itself adopts zoning.

  • The Area Plan Commission serves the incorporated Town of Advance and the unincorporated areas of Boone County; land in other incorporated municipalities is outside this claim.
  • No Jefferson township zoning ordinance was located, so the county ordinance is the zoning answer for land inside the township unless the township adopts its own.

  “the boone county area plan serves the incorporated town of advance and the unincorporated areas of boone county. area plan administers and enforces the zoning, floodplain, building, and unsafe structures through adopted ordinances.”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts in unincorporated Boone County, including land inside Jefferson township

  • Districts include AP, AG, RE, R1 through R4, MF, LB, GB, UB, PB, AB, I1 and I2, plus overlay districts.

  “i. multi-family district includes mf. ii. commercial districts include lb, gb, ub, pb, and ab. ii. industrial districts include i1 and i2.”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  RE (residential estate) district lots inside Jefferson township

  minimum lot area without public sewers: >= 3 acres

  “minimum lot area: 5,000 square feet in all districts with public sewers. 2 acres in all districts without public sewers, and 3 acres in the re district,”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Front and rear yards for all districts inside Jefferson township (unincorporated area)

  • The front yard rule does not apply to flag lots.
  • The side yard figure differs for the agricultural district (see separate side-yard claim).

  minimum front yard: >= 20 feet (or 70 feet from the center of the road, whichever is greater, from the right-of-way) · minimum rear yard, primary structure: >= 20 feet · minimum rear yard, accessory structure: >= 5 feet

  “minimum front yard (unincorporated areas): in all districts, 20 feet from the right of way or 70 feet from the center of the road, whichever is greater (not applicable to flag lots) minimum rear yard for primary structures: 20 feet in all districts minimum rear yard for accessory structures: 5 feet in all districts”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Side yard in the R1 single-family residential district inside Jefferson township

    “minimum side yard: 5 feet in all districts except the agricultural district.”

• Lot coverageDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Maximum lot coverage by district for lots inside Jefferson township

  • The column-to-district mapping was not legible; the values run from 50% to 70%.

  maximum lot coverage: 50-70 percent (district-by-district mapping not confirmed)

  “maximum lot coverage 50% 50% 60% 60% 70% 70% 70% 70% 70% 70% 70%”

• Living in an RVLimited

  Occupying a recreational vehicle or camper inside an accessory structure in Jefferson township

  • A Board of Zoning Appeals variance is needed to allow living quarters in an accessory structure.
  • Living in an RV on private land outside an accessory structure was not addressed in the opened text and is not answered here.

  “this definition also includes a camper or recreational vehicle being occupied inside of an accessory structure.”

• Manufactured homesAllowed (with conditions)

  Permanent placement of a manufactured home on a lot inside Jefferson township, outside a mobile home park

  • The structure must be attached and anchored to a permanent foundation and meet the building code and manufacturer installation specifications.
  • The entire area between the floor joists and the underfloor grade must be enclosed with a permanent perimeter enclosure.
  • Wheels, axles and hitches must be removed; exterior material must be customary for site-built homes; roof must be shingled and pitched.
  • All necessary building, water and sewage disposal permits must be held before placement.

  minimum width outside a mobile home park: >= 18 feet (outside a mobile home park)

  “in areas outside of a mobile home park, manufactured homes shall have a width no less than 18 feet to be considered compatible with surrounding conventional construction.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Limited — Temporary occupancy of a manufactured or mobile home during construction of a permanent home inside Jefferson township

    “the temporary permit is for a period of two years and may be renewed for an additional one-year period if construction of the dwelling has started but has not been completed.”

• Who permits septicMixed (with conditions)

  On-site sewage (septic) systems on land inside Jefferson township, administered by the Boone County Health Department

  • The health department enforces Indiana rule 410 IAC 6-8.3 (a state rule) together with Boone County ordinance 2012-04.
  • The health department procedures page does not list township boundaries separately.

  “the boone county health department reserves the legal authority to reject any site or proposed system that does not meet the requirements of the indiana state department of health rule 410 iac 6-8.3 and/or boone county ordinance 2012-04.”

• Septic permitRequired

  New on-site sewage system on a lot inside Jefferson township

  • Permit issued only after a soil report, application, plot plan and review by the health department.

  plan review fee: 150 USD (charged with the soil report and application, per the health department procedure)

  “step 1: submit a soil report, completed application, floor plan (maximum 11” x 17” – minimum 8 ½” x 11”) and $150.00 plan review fee to this office.”

• Septic inspectionLimited

  Septic systems on lots where a field tile is used as the outlet for a perimeter drain, inside Jefferson township

  • The inspection applies only to the perimeter-drain outlet tile; no general septic inspection stage was found in the opened procedures.

  “a portion of this tile will need to be uncovered for an inspection prior to permit approval”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Lots without public sewers inside Jefferson township

  • Lots without public sewers need at least 2 acres in all districts (3 acres in the RE district).
  • An on-site sewage permit from the Boone County Health Department is required before installation (see septic_permit).

  “minimum lot area: 5,000 square feet in all districts with public sewers. 2 acres in all districts without public sewers, and 3 acres in the re district,”

• Mandatory utility hookupConditional

  New residential development inside Jefferson township

  • Public water and public sewer connection is required for major residential subdivisions with 15 lots or more.
  • Lots under one acre must have public water and public sewer connection, per the lot-size note (the extracted text is garbled, so confirm).
  • No distance-to-sewer availability rule was found for an individual new home on a lot of one acre or more.

  “public water & public sewer connection: required in all districts for lots that are less than one acre in size. utility connection: required for major residential subdivisions with 15 lots or more.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Subdivision of land inside Jefferson township (unincorporated Boone County)

  • Major subdivisions require Area Plan Commission approval; minor subdivisions in the agricultural district have separate rules.

  “the area plan commission has public hearings on text amendments to the subdivision control and the zoning ordinance, map amendments (rezones), development plan reviews and major subdivision approvals.”

• Driveway accessLimited

  Private access driveways serving lots inside Jefferson township

  • A private driveway may not extend more than 1,320 feet from the public right-of-way, measured along the centerline.
  • The driveway area must have a minimum cleared width of 36 feet.
  • Residential lots using a private access driveway must have at least 100 feet of frontage on a public road.

  maximum private driveway length: <= 1320 feet

  “the area in which the private access driveway is to be located shall have a minimum cleared width of thirty-six (36) feet.”

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Construction in mapped flood hazard areas inside Jefferson township

  • Applies only in flood hazard areas.
  • The county floodplain ordinance itself was not opened; the requirement is cited from the zoning ordinance.

  “structures shall be permitted in accordance with federal and state requirements and the flood hazard management ordinance of boone county, indiana pertaining to construction in flood hazard areas.”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  On-site sewage permit fees only, for land inside Jefferson township

  • General building and zoning permit fees are on the Area Plan fee schedule, which was not opened.
  • Permits are paid for when picked up.

  plan review fee: 150 USD (on-site sewage only)

  “and $150.00 plan review fee to this office”

• Permit processPublished (with conditions)

  On-site sewage (septic) permit process inside Jefferson township only; general building permit process not covered

  • The permit issues only after the certified plot plan is reviewed, and the health department may require revisions or reject the site.

  “once the plot plan has been obtained it is ready for review. during this review, it may be determined that the plot plan needs revisions.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Jefferson Township or Boone County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption from licensing or permits inside Jefferson township
• Building code adopted — Building code applicable to new construction inside Jefferson township
• Inspections — Building inspection for new homes inside Jefferson township
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for a new home inside Jefferson township
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum floor area for a single-family home inside Jefferson township

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.