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

Town of Modoc’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  New construction, placement, or enlargement of buildings and structures on land inside Modoc town under the joint Randolph County UZO; the improvement location permit is issued by the Area Planning Commission of Randolph County

  • Construction may proceed after the improvement location permit is approved.
  • Other approvals (septic approval under section 10.04) are preconditions for the permit.

  “no land, building, structure, swimming pool, lake or pond, premises or use shall be hereafter located, erected, moved, reconstructed, extended, enlarged or altered unless and until an improvement location permit has been approved”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside the limits of Modoc town, Indiana, under the joint Unified Zoning Ordinance of Randolph County, Indiana, which names the Town of Modoc as a covered jurisdiction and is administered by the Area Planning Commission of Randolph County. Not unincorporated county land.

  • This is a joint county and town ordinance, not a standalone Modoc town code.
  • Section 14.06 repeals the prior zoning ordinance of the Town of Modoc, so the joint ordinance replaces any separate Modoc zoning ordinance.
  • The Town of Modoc's own legislative adoption of the joint ordinance was not found in a town source.
  • The text opened is the 2018 revision; no post-2018 amendment was located.

  “the zoning ordinances of the cities of winchester and union city, of the towns of farmland, losantville, lynn, modoc, parker city, ridgeville, and saratoga, and of the county of randolph, indiana, are hereby repealed.”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts that apply inside Modoc town under the joint Randolph County Unified Zoning Ordinance

  • The ordinance states that district references are shown on the official zoning map for Randolph County and its towns, including Modoc; that map was not opened.
  • District symbols for the residential districts are A-R, R-1, R-2 and R-3 (Article IV).

  “zoning district classifications and symbols agricultural, intensive agricultural, limited residential, low density residential, medium density residential”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Residential lots in the R-1 low density residential district inside Modoc town under the joint Randolph County UZO (main single-family district)

  • Column pairing (sanitary sewer versus septic) was inferred from a garbled PDF text extraction of Table 4.03.1; verify against the table before relying on exact numbers.
  • Footnote 2 of Table 4.03.1 is referenced; its text was not cleanly extracted.
  • Lot width is measured at the building setback line.

  minimum lot area, lot served by sanitary sewers: >= 10000 square feet · minimum lot area, lot on septic system: >= 12000 square feet (per table 4.03.1 footnote 2, as read from the garbled extraction) · minimum street frontage: >= 35 feet · minimum lot width: >= 75 feet (measured at the building setback line)

  “table 4.03.1 minimum lot area and dimensions lot area lot area sanitary sewers septic system 2 acres 2 acres 2 10,000 square feet 12,000 square feet2 2 6,000 square feet 7,000 square feet2 5,000 square feet2 6,000 square feet2 street frontage 40 feet 35 feet 35 feet 30 feet lot width1 100 feet 75 feet 50 feet 40 feet”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — Residential lots in the A-R limited residential district inside Modoc town under the joint Randolph County UZO (agricultural or rural-residential district)

    “table 4.03.1 minimum lot area and dimensions lot area lot area sanitary sewers septic system 2 acres 2 acres 2 10,000 square feet 12,000 square feet2 2 6,000 square feet 7,000 square feet2 5,000 square feet2 6,000 square feet2 street frontage 40 feet 35 feet 35 feet 30 feet lot width1 100 feet 75 feet 50 feet 40 feet”

• Permit processPartial

  Improvement location permits for land inside Modoc town under the joint Randolph County UZO

  • The process is described only in the zoning ordinance; the forms, fees and timelines are not in the opened text.
  • Permit issuance is conditioned on sewage/septic approval from the municipal clerk's office and/or the Randolph County Health Department.

  “no improvement location permit or approval shall be granted by the area planning commission until approval of the installation of the sewage/septic system is given by the municipal clerk's office and/or the randolph county health department on the proper form provided by said office.”

Rules another office applies inside Town of Modoc

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

• Who permits septicMixed (with conditions)

  Sewage/septic system approval for buildings inside Modoc town, shared between the municipal clerk's office and the Randolph County Health Department

  • The UZO names both the municipal clerk's office and the health department; which of them handles Modoc's approvals in practice was not confirmed.
  • The health department's service area was not separately opened.

  “approval of the installation of the sewage/septic system is given by the municipal clerk's office and/or the randolph county health department”

• Septic permitRequired

  Primary buildings and structures inside Modoc town that will have sewage or septic installed

  • Approval is required for accessory buildings with sanitation facilities as well.
  • Approval is given by the municipal clerk's office and/or the Randolph County Health Department.

  “this approval is required for all primary buildings and structures. accessory buildings and structures also shall be required to show approval if such building or structure will have sanitation facilities installed.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit exemption for work inside Modoc town
• Inspections — Building inspections for construction inside Modoc town
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificates of occupancy for buildings inside Modoc town
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum floor area for dwellings inside Modoc town
• Lot coverage — Lot coverage limits for residential lots inside Modoc 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.