Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Town of Georgetown, Indiana

Town of Georgetown’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Construction, structure changes and changes in land use on land inside Georgetown town: an improvement location permit (issued by the town's plan commission administrator)

  • Structures of 100 square feet or less are exempt, except in a flood plain (fp) district.
  • Section 14.1 opens with the phrase 'within a fringe area of georgetown, indiana'; read this together with section 1.6 before relying on it for in-town land.
  • Issuance requires prior written health-department approval for septic where the dwelling is not served by sewer (see septic_authority claim).

  structure size exempt from improvement location permit (outside FP districts): <= 100 square feet or less (not exempt in flood plain (fp) districts)

  “except in a fp district, this requirement shall not apply to structures of one hundred (100) square feet or less.”

• InspectionsRequired

  Construction done under an improvement location permit inside Georgetown town

  • Inspections are called in by the applicant; list includes footers, temporary electrical poles, rough electrical, rough HVAC, rough plumbing, rough framing and any other element requiring inspection under the building code.
  • Utility hookups (including electrical service) require prior approval, inspection and an inspection tag from the town building commissioner or building inspector.

  “once construction has begun pursuant to the issuance of an improvement location permit under section 14.1, the applicant must call the town building commissioner for inspections of footers”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  All land inside Georgetown town limits (the Floyd County town of Georgetown, Indiana), under the Town's Land Use Ordinance

  • Section 1.6 applies the ordinance to all land within Georgetown and any fringe areas the town chooses to regulate under I.C. 36-7-4-205.
  • The ordinance was posted by the Town on its ordinances page as the zoning ordinance; the Town also posted a draft 2020 Unified Development Ordinance (Georgetown-UDO-Draft-Review.pdf) whose adoption status was not verified.
  • Identification of the county: the ordinance repeatedly refers to the Floyd County health department, Floyd County flood plain ordinance and Floyd County roads, which places this Georgetown in Floyd County.

  “this ordinance shall apply to all land within georgetown and any fringe areas over which municipalities may choose to exercise extraterritorial jurisdiction under provisions of i.c. 36-74-205.”

• Zoning districtsPartial

  Zoning districts inside Georgetown town's limits (district list in section 3.1; the zoning map is section 17)

  • Districts named in section 3.1 include fp (flood plain overlay), a (agricultural), r-r (rural residential, maximum 0.2 units per acre), r-1 (low-density single-family, 2 or fewer units per gross acre), and r-2 and r-3 and business and industrial districts (b, m) not all described in the opened text.
  • The zoning map (section 17) was not opened, so district boundaries are not verified.

  R-1 maximum density: <= 2 dwelling units per gross acre · R-R maximum density: <= 0.2 units per acre

  “residence districts, designated "r-1" are established to include areas for low-density single-family residences with a density of 2 dwelling units or less per gross acre”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  A lot on which a dwelling is erected or changed inside Georgetown town (the table gives a minimum area per district, by dwelling type)

  • The minimum-area table in section 5.3 is by district and dwelling type; its numeric entries were not captured in the opened text, so this claim does not state a number.
  • Applies to lots where a dwelling is erected or its number of dwelling units is increased (not just refurbished).

  “a lot on which a dwelling is erected or changed may not be smaller in area, in square feet per dwelling unit, than that prescribed”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Front yard of a lot abutting a street, in any district inside Georgetown town

  • Front yard depth depends on the street classification (local or place, rural minor collector, arterial, expressway, and others); the claim records the local or place figure.
  • Exception: on a local street in a residence or business district where 50 percent of the lots on the block face have principal buildings, the front yard is the average depth of those buildings, but not less than 10 feet; buildings being removed for a new building are excluded from the average.
  • Side and rear setbacks and accessory-building setbacks (section 5.6) were not captured.

  minimum front yard, local street or place (street type local or place): 25 feet from right of way (block-face averaging applies on residence and business local streets; minimum 10 feet)

  “in any district, minimum depth of front yard for a lot abutting a street shall be as follows”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  Residential buildings on a lot in the R-1 low-density single-family district inside Georgetown town

  • The source table header reads 'r-l'; this is read as R-1 (the low-density single-family district in section 3.1(d)). Confirm on the PDF.
  • Coverage is a percentage of total lot area; lot coverage definition covers roofed areas excluding allowed projecting eaves, balconies and similar features.

  maximum lot coverage, residential buildings, R-1: 30 percent of total lot area

  “maximum lot coverage 5.3 district r-l r-2 r-3 b-1 b-2 b-3 a-1 percentage of coverage 30% 30% 40% 30% 30% 30% 20%”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Residential buildings on a lot in the A-1 agricultural district inside Georgetown town

    “maximum lot coverage 5.3 district r-l r-2 r-3 b-1 b-2 b-3 a-1 percentage of coverage 30% 30% 40% 30% 30% 30% 20%”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Mobile homes (the ordinance's term; it defines 'mobile home' as a dwelling unit built as a transportable structure, larger than 320 square feet) placed on individual lots inside Georgetown town

  • Permitted in A-1, R-1, R-2, R-3, B-2 and B-3 zones, subject to conditions.
  • In R-1 districts only if wheels, axles and tongue are removed and the unit is set on a permanent masonry foundation.
  • One mobile home per lot.
  • Lot must conform to all requirements of other residential lots; sanitary facilities approved by the Floyd County health department before installation; improvement location permit and final inspection required unless in a licensed mobile home park.
  • Underpinning must be completed within 60 days of placement for units not on a permanent foundation; anchoring to manufacturer specifications; the board of zoning appeals cannot grant a permit in violation of subdivision restrictions.

  “mobile homes shall be allowed in r-1 districts only if wheels, axles, and tongue are removed and the mobile home is set on a permanent masonry foundation”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Division of land inside Georgetown town into lots for sale, transfer or lease

  • Metes-and-bounds divisions that create new building sites are not permitted; such divisions must go through the subdivision procedures.
  • Subdivision regulation is in sections 6 to 11 of the Land Use Ordinance.

  “the division of any lot or any parcel of land into a subdivision, as defined in this ordinance, by the use of metes and bounds description for the purpose of sale, or transfer, or lease resulting in the creation of one or more new building sites shall not be permitted”

• Permit feesVariable (with conditions)

  Improvement location permit fees for land inside Georgetown town

  • Fees are set by the Town board on the plan commission's recommendation; no fee applies to government agencies.
  • The section 18 fee schedule was not opened; amounts are unknown.

  “the town board, upon recommendation of the plan commission, shall have the power to set improvement location fees.”

Rules another office applies inside Town of Georgetown

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

• Building code adoptedAdopted (with conditions)

  Construction inside Georgetown town that needs an improvement location permit

  • The town's ordinance requires compliance with applicable Indiana building codes (the state codes); it does not describe a separate town building code in the opened text.
  • Enforcement is by the town building commissioner (section 14.2).

  “all construction pursuant to issuance of an improvement location permit shall comply with all applicable indiana building codes and the georgetown comprehensive plan”

• Who permits septicCounty (with conditions)

  Septic (individual sewage disposal) approvals for dwellings inside Georgetown town that are not served by sewer; the county health department reviews them and the Town withholds its improvement location permit until it has responded

  • Applies to dwellings not served by sanitary sewer; the exception covers dwellings served by sewers and structures not requiring plumbing.
  • Scope is recorded as countywide because the Floyd County health department is the rule-maker; the rule applies inside Georgetown town through the Town's own permit ordinance (schema does not allow a county-authority claim to carry geography municipality-specific).

  “no improvement location permit shall be issued until written approval and/or recommendations have been received from the floyd county health department, except in the case of dwellings served by sewers or structures not requiring plumbing, in regards to the advisability and conditions required for septic systems”

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Land in Georgetown town's flood plain (fp) overlay districts (the county flood plain ordinance applies through the Town ordinance)

  • Flood plain districts are overlay districts over the other zoning districts; boundaries are on FEMA flood insurance rate maps.
  • Floodway: no residential building site may be located within the floodway (subdivision rules, section 6/7).
  • Scope recorded as countywide because the Floyd County flood plain ordinance is the rule; it applies in Georgetown town through the Town ordinance.

  “land use in fp districts is subject to provisions of the floyd county flood plain ordinance as well as this ordinance”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit exemption inside Georgetown town
• Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy approval for new dwellings inside Georgetown town
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum floor area of a dwelling inside Georgetown town
• Living in an RV — Occupancy of recreational vehicles on private land inside Georgetown town
• Camping on your land — Temporary camping on private land inside Georgetown 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.