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

Rules another office applies inside Lafayette Township

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

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Lafayette township that is unincorporated Floyd County. Zoning here is administered by Floyd County under its county zoning ordinance; no Lafayette township zoning ordinance was located.

  • Section 1.07 excludes land within the planning jurisdiction of the city of New Albany and the incorporated towns of Georgetown and Greenville, and state or federal land; confirm a parcel is outside those areas.
  • No township-adopted zoning ordinance for Lafayette township was found; the rule that applies is the county ordinance.

  “this ordinance shall apply to all land within the floyd county, indiana except that which lies within the planning jurisdiction”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts applying to unincorporated land inside Lafayette township, including the residential suburban (RS), agricultural-residential (AR) and rural residential (RR) districts with development standards tables.

  • Full district list and overlay districts (including ED Edwardsville Gateway and SD Steep Slope) are in the ordinance; the zoning map is not verified for individual parcels.

  “section 4.09 agricultural-residential district (ar) development standards agricultural/residential district (ar) development standards type of standard development standards minimum lot area 87,120 square feet (2 acres)”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Residential Suburban (RS) district, unincorporated Lafayette township; measured as minimum ground floor area

  • Table value is 950 square feet (amended 5); the table does not state whether this applies per dwelling or per ground floor.

  minimum ground floor area: >= 950 square feet

  “minimum ground floor area maximum lot coverage”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Agricultural-Residential (AR) district, unincorporated Lafayette township; measured as minimum ground floor area

    “1 950 square feet (amended 5) 35 percent”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Agricultural-Residential (AR) district, unincorporated Lafayette township

  • Minimum lot width and frontage are 100 feet.

  minimum lot area: >= 87120 square feet (two acres)

  “minimum lot area 87,120 square feet (2 acres) minimum lot width 100 feet minimum lot frontage 100 feet”

  2 more reviewed findings on this topic

  • Specified — Residential Suburban (RS) district, unincorporated Lafayette township

    “minimum lot area 12,000 square feet minimum lot width (see 5.02 for additional standards) 80 feet – subdivision street”

  • Specified — Rural Residential (RR) district, unincorporated Lafayette township

    “minimum lot area 37,000 square feet minimum lot width 100 feet minimum lot frontage 100 feet”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Residential Suburban (RS) district, unincorporated Lafayette township

  • Front setback is 60 feet on arterial, collector or local roads and 20 feet on a subdivision street; side yard 8 feet; primary rear 20 feet; accessory rear 10 feet (table columns read in order; confirm against the printed table).

  front yard setback (arterial, collector, local roads): >= 60 feet · front yard setback (subdivision street): >= 20 feet · side yard setback: >= 8 feet · primary rear yard setback: >= 20 feet · accessory rear yard setback: >= 10 feet

  “60 feet – arterial, collector, local roads 20 feet – subdivision street (amended 10) 8 feet 20 feet 10 feet 1 950 square feet (amended 5)”

  2 more reviewed findings on this topic

  • Specified — Agricultural-Residential (AR) district, unincorporated Lafayette township

    “60 feet (amended 8) 10 feet 20 feet 10 feet 1 950 square feet (amended 5) 35 percent”

  • Specified — Rural Residential (RR) district, unincorporated Lafayette township

    “60 feet – arterial, collector or local street 40 feet – subdivision street 10 feet each side 20 feet 10 feet 1 950 square feet (amended 5) 35 percent”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  Agricultural-Residential (AR) district, unincorporated Lafayette township

  • Coverage counts all primary structures, accessory structures and impervious surface.

  maximum lot coverage: <= 35 percent

  “60 feet (amended 8) 10 feet 20 feet 10 feet 1 950 square feet (amended 5) 35 percent”

  2 more reviewed findings on this topic

  • Specified — Residential Suburban (RS) district, unincorporated Lafayette township

    “maximum lot coverage (square footage of all primary structures, accessory structures and impervious surface shall not exceed:) 50 percent”

  • Specified — Rural Residential (RR) district, unincorporated Lafayette township

    “10 feet each side 20 feet 10 feet 1 950 square feet (amended 5) 35 percent”

• Building heightSpecified

  Agricultural-Residential (AR) district, unincorporated Lafayette township

  primary structure maximum height: <= 35 feet · accessory structure maximum height: <= 18 feet

  “primary structure maximum height restriction 35 feet accessory structure maximum height restriction water 18 feet”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Residential Suburban (RS) district, unincorporated Lafayette township

    “primary maximum structure height 35 feet accessory maximum structure height water sanitary sewer 18 feet”

• Living in an RVProhibited

  Occupancy of recreational vehicles for living, sleeping or housekeeping on land in unincorporated Lafayette township

  • Stated in the county temporary use/structure standards (Section 5.38), which list the AR, RR and RS districts among those it applies to; not confirmed as a general rule outside those standards.

  “at no time may anyone occupy a recreational vehicle or use a parked or stored recreational vehicle for living, sleeping or housekeeping purposes”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Placement of a mobile or manufactured home for care of a family member on unincorporated Lafayette township land

  • Only by temporary use permit for a lifetime care situation, renewable every two years with staff or board consent; permanent placement is not covered by this excerpt.

  “the permit would be for the lifetime of the person needing care and may be renewable every two years from the date of issuance with staff or board consent.”

• Who permits septicMixed (with conditions)

  Onsite sewage systems on land inside Lafayette township (unincorporated Floyd County), administered by the Floyd County Health Department

  • The state rule 410 IAC 6-8.3 applies together with local ordinances; the health department page says its program is governed by both.

  “the floyd county health department's onsite sewage system program is governed by rule 410 iac 6-8.3 and local ordinances”

• Septic inspectionRequired

  Residential onsite sewage systems (new construction and repair) in Lafayette township, unincorporated Floyd County

  • Inspections are conducted by the Floyd County Health Department.

  “our department issues permit and conducts inspections for: residential and commercial onsite sewage systems (new construction and repair)”

• Mandatory utility hookupWater (with conditions)

  New home on an Agricultural-Residential (AR) lot in unincorporated Lafayette township

  • Water connection is required by the district table; no distance or availability test is stated.
  • Sewer: the table says the primary and accessory structures 'may use either septic or sanitary sewer system'.

  “18 feet requires connection to public water”

  2 more reviewed findings on this topic

  • Water (with conditions) — New home on a Residential Suburban (RS) lot in unincorporated Lafayette township

    “18 feet requires connection to public water may require connection to sanitary sewer system (amended 1)”

  • Water (with conditions) — New home on a Rural Residential (RR) lot in unincorporated Lafayette township

    “18 feet requires connection to public water may use either septic or sanitary sewer system”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  Septic permits for repairs and replacements in Floyd County, including Lafayette township

  • Fee applies to most repairs and replacements, including pump replacements; new-construction permit fees were not confirmed on the opened page (search snippet listed $150 and $250 for mounds, not verified).

  repair permit fee: 75 USD · replacement permit fee: 100 USD

  “floyd county health department requires permits (repair $75.00 fee/ replacement $100.00 fee) for most repairs to your septic system and/or replacement septic system, including pump replacements”

• Permit processPartial

  Permit process for unincorporated Lafayette township, administered by Floyd County Building & Development Services

  • The building page describes online applications and scheduled inspections; step-by-step process and fees are on linked subpages not opened.

  “permit application and required documents applications and inspection requests can be submitted online”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit exemption for unincorporated Lafayette township
• Building code adopted — Building code adopted for new construction in unincorporated Lafayette township
• Camping on your land — Temporary camping on private land in unincorporated Lafayette township
• Tiny homes — Tiny home occupancy in unincorporated Lafayette township
• Accessory dwellings — Accessory dwelling units in unincorporated Lafayette 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.