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

Rules another office applies inside Harrison Township

Harrison 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)

  Unincorporated land inside Harrison township, Kosciusko County, Indiana. This is the county zoning ordinance, not a township ordinance; no township-adopted zoning was found.

  • The ordinance is adopted under Indiana Code 36-7-4; zone maps for each township are incorporated by reference and kept at the Area Plan Commission office.
  • Land inside incorporated cities or towns is governed by those places' own rules unless they participate in the county ordinance (the ordinance lists Etna Green, Burket, Syracuse and others as joined).
  • The copy reviewed is a PDF at kosciusko.in.gov with no visible adoption date; a 2025 revision was referenced in search results but its URL returned HTTP 404, so this copy may not be current.

  “the jurisdiction of this ordinance shall include all lands and waters within the territorial jurisdiction of the county.”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts applying to unincorporated land inside Harrison township under the Kosciusko County zoning ordinance

  • Districts are shown on the zone map, which is incorporated by reference; the zone map is kept for public inspection at the Area Plan Commission office rather than in the reviewed text.
  • Districts named in the ordinance are e (environmental), pu (public use), a (agriculture), aii (agriculture II), r (residential), c (commercial), i-1, i-2, i-3, plus an overlay district.

  “2.2 zoning districts: the county is divided into the districts stated in this ordinance as shown by the district boundaries on the zone map.”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Agricultural (a) district on unincorporated land inside Harrison township under the Kosciusko County zoning ordinance

  • Figures are for lots without public sewer (Table B). With public sewer, Table C gives 10,000 sq ft plus 2,500 sq ft per family and 70 ft lot width.
  • Read from a flattened table row; the a column is the third district in the order e, pu, a, aii, r, c, i-1, i-2, i-3.

  minimum lot area without public sewer: >= 20000 sq ft · additional lot area per family without public sewer: per 10000 sq ft (per family) · minimum lot width without public sewer: >= 100 ft

  “table b: required setbacks on lots without public sewer district minimum minimum minimum minimum minimum lot area add. lot area lot width depth width side sq. ft. per family feet front yard yard feet sq. ft. feet e 1 acre n/a 100 50 20 pu 1 acre n/a 100 50 20 a 20,000 10,000 100 50 20 aii 1 acre n/a 100 50 20 r 20,000 10,000 100 35 10”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — Residential (r) district on unincorporated land inside Harrison township under the Kosciusko County zoning ordinance

    “table b: required setbacks on lots without public sewer district minimum minimum minimum minimum minimum lot area add. lot area lot width depth width side sq. ft. per family feet front yard yard feet sq. ft. feet e 1 acre n/a 100 50 20 pu 1 acre n/a 100 50 20 a 20,000 10,000 100 50 20 aii 1 acre n/a 100 50 20 r 20,000 10,000 100 35 10”

• SetbacksDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Agricultural (a) district on unincorporated land inside Harrison township under the Kosciusko County zoning ordinance; lots without public sewer

  • With public sewer (Table C) the a district setbacks are front 50 ft, side 20 ft, rear 20 ft (footnote *), lot width 70 ft.
  • Footnote marked * in the table: thirty-five feet where the yard adjoins, abuts, faces, or is in close proximity to a lake or waterway; the 35 ft requirement does not apply when the body of water is owned by the property owner and is wholly within the lot.

  front yard depth without public sewer: >= 50 ft · side yard width without public sewer: >= 20 ft · rear yard depth without public sewer: >= 20 ft (footnote * applies: 35 ft where the yard adjoins a lake or waterway)

  “minimum depth rear yard feet 20* 20* 20* 20* 15* 20* 20* 20* 50*”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — Residential (r) district on unincorporated land inside Harrison township under the Kosciusko County zoning ordinance; lots without public sewer

    “minimum depth rear yard feet 20* 20* 20* 20* 15* 20* 20* 20* 50*”

• Living in an RVLimited

  Recreational vehicles used as a place of abode on unincorporated land inside Harrison township, outside a mobile home park or designated campground

  • RV use as a residence must meet all federal, state and county laws applicable to dwellings.
  • Skirting of durable material is required on any mobile home or recreational vehicle so used (the sentence after the quoted passage in section 3.3 continues on this point, not verified).

  “mobile homes and recreational vehicles not located in a mobile home park or designated campground, and used as temporary or permanent place of abode shall be subject to the requirements of all federal, state and county laws applicable to dwellings.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Mobile homes used as a place of abode on unincorporated land inside Harrison township, outside a mobile home park

  • Mobile homes used as a dwelling must meet all federal, state and county laws applicable to dwellings.
  • Mobile home parks are a listed permitted use in several districts (permitted-use lists were seen, not checked against Table A).

  “mobile homes and recreational vehicles not located in a mobile home park or designated campground, and used as temporary or permanent place of abode shall be subject to the requirements of all federal, state and county laws applicable to dwellings.”

• Who permits septicCounty (with conditions)

  Onsite septic systems for land inside Harrison township, Kosciusko County, Indiana (the county rule covers the whole county, including Harrison township)

  • County ordinances administered by the county health department require permits for new septic systems in Kosciusko County, which covers land inside Harrison township.
  • State onsite-sewage rules were referenced in search results but not verified on an opened official page.

  “county ordinances require property owners to obtain permits for any new septic or well installed in kosciusko county.”

• Septic permitRequired

  New septic system installed on land inside Harrison township, Kosciusko County, Indiana

  • The page also says the permit is needed for repairs to an existing septic system.
  • Construction may proceed only after the county septic permit is issued.

  “county ordinances require property owners to obtain permits for any new septic or well installed in kosciusko county. this includes any work done for repairing an existing septic system or replacing an existing well.”

• Well permitRequired

  New private water well drilled on land inside Harrison township, Kosciusko County, Indiana

  • The same county page says permits are also needed for replacing an existing well.
  • Construction may proceed only after the county well permit is issued.

  “county ordinances require property owners to obtain permits for any new septic or well installed in kosciusko county. this includes any work done for repairing an existing septic system or replacing an existing well.”

• Permit processPartial

  Septic and well permit application process for land inside Harrison township

  • Applications are fillable PDF forms emailed to county health staff with the permit name in the subject line.
  • Zoning permits, building permits and fee schedules are not covered by this excerpt.

  “septic's septic permit application: fillable pdf printable completed forms should be emailed to:”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — Building permit for a new home inside Harrison township
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption for building a home inside Harrison township
• Building code adopted — Which building code applies to new homes inside Harrison township
• Inspections — Building inspections for a new home inside Harrison township
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for a new home inside Harrison 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.