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

Rules another office applies inside Fremont Township

Fremont 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 zoningVaries (with conditions)

  Land inside Fremont township that is not inside the Town of Fremont's zoning jurisdiction. The Steuben County zoning ordinance is the zoning that applies there, since no Fremont Township zoning ordinance was located.

  • This is a county ordinance, not a Fremont Township ordinance.
  • Aggregates: the county ordinance applies only where no incorporated municipality has its own local zoning ordinance and extraterritorial area.
  • The county plan commission page states that angola, fremont, orland, hamilton, ashley-hudson, and clear lake have their own plan commissions, so Town of Fremont land is governed by the town, not the county.
  • The ordinance copy is the Purdue Extension PDF, effective 8/1/2008 per the county plan commission page. It may have been amended; check the current ordinance on the county site before relying on it.

  “(f) this ordinance shall apply to all areas of steuben county, except incorporated municipalities with local zoning ordinances and associated extraterritorial jurisdiction areas.”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts of the county ordinance that governs unincorporated land inside Fremont township

  • District list from the 2008 ordinance copy: A, EC, R-1, R-2, R-3, LR, MH, AB, LB, GB, I-1, I-2, WO (Agriculture, Environmental Control, Residence-1, Residence-2, Residence-3, Lake Residence, Manufactured Home Residence, Accommodation Business, Local Business, General Business, Light Industry, General Industry, Wind Energy Conversion System overlay).
  • The copy is the 2008 text, so the district list may have changed.

  “section 02.01 zoning districts the county is divided into the following districts: symbol a ec r-1 r-2 r-3 lr mh ab lb gb i-1 i-2 wo”

• Minimum dwelling sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  R-1 Residence district dwellings in unincorporated Steuben County, including R-1 land inside Fremont township outside the Town of Fremont

  • The minimum ground-floor area per dwelling is read from the R-1 row of table 04.04; one-story dwellings and two-or-more-story dwellings take different minimums. The column mapping is inferred from the garbled extracted text.
  • Not a whole-dwelling minimum; this is the ground-floor area column only.
  • Source is the 2008 ordinance copy.

  minimum ground-floor area, one-story dwelling (R-1): >= 960 sq ft · minimum ground-floor area, two or more story dwelling (R-1): >= 840 sq ft

  “2 st. 3 st. 50 30 40 960 840 27 ft. 35 ft.”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  R-1 Residence district (low-density single-family) in unincorporated Steuben County, including R-1 land inside Fremont township outside the Town of Fremont

  • Table 04.03 lot-area mapping: the first row lists R-1 with on-site well and septic, and R-1 with offsite water and/or offsite sewerage. The values 1 acre / 120 ft and 1/2 acre / 100 ft are read from column order in the extracted text, which is garbled. Check against the current table before relying on it.
  • Lots of record that existed before the ordinance may be used under the nonconforming lot provisions.
  • Source is the 2008 ordinance copy.

  minimum lot area, R-1 with on-site well and septic: >= 1 acre · minimum lot area, R-1 with offsite water and/or offsite sewerage: >= 0.5 acre · minimum lot width, R-1 with on-site well and septic: >= 120 ft · minimum lot width, R-1 with offsite water and/or offsite sewerage: >= 100 ft

  “min. lot area (acre/sq. ft.)(a)(b) min. lot width (ft.) 1 acre ½ acre 120 ft. 100 ft.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  R-1 Residence district in unincorporated Steuben County, including R-1 land inside Fremont township outside the Town of Fremont

  • Table 04.04 setback columns are read from garbled extracted text: front or road yard 25 ft, smallest side yard 7 ft, total of both side yards 15 ft, rear yard 20 ft. Confirm against the current table.
  • Projections into required yards are governed by table 10.05 and are not included here.
  • Source is the 2008 ordinance copy.

  front or road yard setback: >= 25 ft · smallest side yard setback: >= 7 ft · total of both side yards: >= 15 ft · rear yard setback: >= 20 ft

  “side yards (i) front or smallest total of both road yard side (ft.) (g) (ft.) (ft.) rear yard (ft.) 25 7 15 20”

• Who permits septicCounty (with conditions)

  Onsite sewage systems on land inside Fremont township, administered by the Steuben County Health Department (SCHD) under the Steuben County sewage permit process

  • The SCHD sewage permit process is published by the county health department for its service area; the page does not name Fremont township specifically, so applying it to Fremont township rests on the countywide service area.
  • Soil evaluation must be done by a registered soil scientist, and the SCHD must approve the construction plan before a permit is issued.
  • Source is dated 05/2023.

  “2. the residential onsite sewage system application and the steuben county government permit application form must be filled out and returned to the schd.”

• Septic permitRequired

  New onsite sewage systems on land inside Fremont township under the Steuben County Health Department

  • Construction may proceed only after the SCHD approves the construction plan and the sewage permit is purchased.
  • Owner is responsible for obtaining the onsite system permit before any work on the system.

  “an appointment must be scheduled in advance with the department to purchase an onsite sewage system permit.”

• Septic inspectionRequired

  Onsite sewage systems on land inside Fremont township under the Steuben County Health Department

  • The system must be inspected and given final approval by the SCHD before it is used.

  “to see that the onsite system is inspected and given final approval from the schd before it is utilized.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Division of land in unincorporated Steuben County, including land inside Fremont township outside the Town of Fremont

  • The county subdivision control ordinance applies; it was not opened, and its requirements are not summarized here.
  • No new lots may be created or altered in a way that fails the ordinance's minimum area and width requirements.

  “(e) subdivision of land: all divisions to land shall be subject to the requirements set forth in the steuben county subdivision control ordinance.”

• Permit processPartial

  Septic (onsite sewage) permit process only, for land inside Fremont township

  • Covers septic only; building permit process was not found.

  “the residential onsite sewage system application and the steuben county government permit application form must be filled out and returned to the schd.”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — Building permits for new homes inside Fremont township
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption from permits or inspections for a home inside Fremont township
• Building code adopted — Building code applicable to new homes inside Fremont township
• Inspections — Building inspections for new homes inside Fremont township
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for a new home inside Fremont 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.