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

Rules another office applies inside Springfield Township

Springfield 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

  Erecting, altering or placing a structure, or changing land use, on unincorporated land inside Springfield township. This is the county improvement location permit (a zoning permit), not a building permit; whether a separate building permit is required was not established.

  • Issued by the county executive director of the Area Plan Commission.
  • Agricultural buildings still require an improvement location permit (ordinance 2023-1).

  “no structure may be erected, altered or placed, or no use of land may be changed, unless an improvement location permit has been obtained from the executive director by the owner(s) of the property or by his agent.”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zone districts of the county zoning code as they apply to unincorporated land inside Springfield township (Franklin County, Indiana)

  • Applies to territory within the jurisdiction of the Franklin County Area Plan Commission; the code lists fifteen districts (A-1, A-2, R-E, R-1, R-2, R-3, L-B, P-B, G-B, I-1, I-2, F-P, H-D, W-D, U-D).
  • The code's incorporated-towns section lets town boards waive or add rules inside their own towns; Springfield township is a township, not an incorporated town, so this does not change the county districts for its land, but that has not been confirmed on an official township page.

  “for zoning purposes, the territory within the jurisdiction of the franklin county plan commission is hereby classified and divided into fifteen (15) districts”

• Minimum dwelling sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Single-family homes on A-1 prime agriculture land inside Springfield township (unincorporated Franklin County)

  • Minimum ground floor area for single-family homes in A-1: one story 900 sq. ft.; two story 800 sq. ft. with 1440 sq. ft. total.
  • Brookville's separate one-story minimum does not apply outside Brookville.

  minimum ground floor area, one story: >= 900 sq. ft. · minimum ground floor area, two story: >= 800 sq. ft. (1440 sq. ft. total)

  “single-family homes: ​ one story:​ 900 sq. ft. (ordinance # 2014-19, passed on 11/24/2014).​ two story:​ 800 sq. ft. (1440 total)”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — Single-family homes on R-1 single-family residence land inside Springfield township (unincorporated Franklin County)

    “single-family homes: ​ one story:​ 1440 sq. ft.​ two story:​800 sq. ft.”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  R-1 single-family residence district land inside Springfield township (unincorporated Franklin County under the county zoning code)

  • Without sewer: 1 acre, or larger if needed for two septic fields.
  • Where sewer is utilized the minimum lot area is 10,000 sq. ft. (see parameters).
  • The code's Brookville exception for minimum ground floor area does not apply outside Brookville.

  minimum lot area (no sewer): >= 1 acre (or larger if needed for two septic fields) · minimum lot area (sewer utilized): >= 10000 sq. ft.

  “minimum lot area: where no sewer is utilized: ​1 acre, or larger if needed for 1 2 septic fields (ordinance #2023-21 passed 11/1/2023) where sewer is utilized: ​ 10,000 sq. ft.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — A-1 prime agriculture district land inside Springfield township (unincorporated Franklin County under the county zoning code)

    “minimum lot area: ​1 acre, or larger if needed for 1 2 septic fields where no sewer is utilized.”

• SetbacksDistrict specific (with conditions)

  A-1 prime agriculture land inside Springfield township (unincorporated Franklin County)

  • Additional yard and setback specifications and exceptions are in section 80.08.03, which was not opened for this record.
  • The code states that all requirements for A-1, A-2 and R-E are the same.

  minimum front yard depth: >= 50 feet · minimum side yard width: >= 10 % of minimum lot width · minimum rear yard depth: >= 15 feet

  “5. minimum depth of front yard: ​ 50 feet 11 section 80.01.01 a-i agriculture district 6. minimum width of side yard:​ 10% of minimum lot width 7. minimum depth of rear yard:​ 15 feet”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — R-1 single-family residence land inside Springfield township (unincorporated Franklin County)

    “minimum depth of front yard: ​ 35 feet minimum width of side yard:​ 10% of minimum lot width minimum depth of rear yard:​ 15 feet see section 80.08.03 for additional yard specifications and exceptions.”

• Lot coverageDistrict specific (with conditions)

  A-1 prime agriculture land inside Springfield township (unincorporated Franklin County)

  • The code states that all requirements for A-1, A-2 and R-E are the same.

  maximum lot coverage: <= 20 % of lot

  “4. maximum lot coverage: ​ 20% of lot 5. minimum depth of front yard: ​ 50 feet”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — R-1 single-family residence land inside Springfield township (unincorporated Franklin County)

    “4. maximum lot coverage: ​ 25% of lot 5. required yards: minimum depth of front yard: ​ 35 feet”

• Building heightDistrict specific (with conditions)

  A-1 prime agriculture land inside Springfield township (unincorporated Franklin County)

  • Additional height restrictions are in section 80.08.04, which was not opened for this record.

  maximum building height: <= 35 feet

  “7. minimum depth of rear yard:​ 15 feet 8. maximum building height:​ 35 feet”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — R-1 single-family residence land inside Springfield township (unincorporated Franklin County)

    “6. maximum building height:​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 35 feet”

• Manufactured homesAllowed

  Manufactured or mobile home as a permitted use on A-1 land inside Springfield township (unincorporated Franklin County)

  • Subject to the general standards of the code, including section 80.08.07 (mobile homes, manufactured homes and RVs), which was not opened for this record.
  • Requires an improvement location permit before a structure is erected or placed.

  “a. permitted uses. 1. agricultural use 2. single-family dwelling 3. manufactured or mobile home”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Allowed — Manufactured home as a permitted use on R-1 land inside Springfield township (unincorporated Franklin County)

    “(a) permitted uses. 1. agricultural use. 2. single family dwelling. 3. manufactured home.”

• Agricultural exemptionConditional

  Farming operations on land inside Springfield township (unincorporated Franklin County)

  • Exemption applies only where agriculture is pursued for commercial gain.
  • Does not apply to farm houses and farm dwellings (the farm owner, operator or farm assistants).
  • Barns and agricultural buildings remain subject to zoning and flood plain requirements and still require an improvement location permit (ordinance 2023-1).

  “farm exemption where agriculture is pursued for commercial gain, farming operations are exempt from the restrictions and regulations of the building code. this exemption for farms does not apply to farm houses and farm dwellings which include dwelling for the farm owner, operator or farm assistants.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Division of land into subdivisions on unincorporated land inside Springfield township

  • Subdivision approval is by the Area Plan Commission (table of contents of section 80.10); the procedure and standards in sections 80.09 and 80.10 were not opened.

  “80.10.02: subdivisions must have approval by the apc a. no plat or replat of a division of land resulting in a subdivision shall be filed with the county auditor and recorded by the county recorder unless it has first been granted final approval by the franklin county area plan commission”

• Permit processPartial

  Improvement location permit process for unincorporated land inside Springfield township

  • The citizens' guide points to section 80.11.04 for the detailed improvement location permit process, which was not opened; fees and steps are not established here.

  “improvement location permits can be found in section 80.11.04..”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Whether an owner-builder exemption applies to a home built by the owner inside Springfield township
• Building code adopted — Which building code is adopted and enforced for new construction inside Springfield township
• Inspections — Whether building inspections are required for construction inside Springfield township
• Certificate of occupancy — Whether a certificate of occupancy is required for a new home inside Springfield township
• Local zoning — Whether Springfield township itself adopts and administers a zoning ordinance for land inside its 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.