Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Westmoreland, Kansas

Westmoreland’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Construction, extension, or modification of any building, accessory use building, or fence inside Westmoreland city limits.

  • Application is filed with the city clerk and reviewed by the zoning administrator.
  • Permit must be approved within twenty-one days after the application is filed.
  • Permits are valid for 180 days from issue; a new permit and fee are needed after expiration unless the building is complete.
  • Building permit fee is set from time to time by governing body resolution (not in the ordinance text).

  permit validity: 180 days · zoning administrator decision deadline: 21 days (after application filed)

  “a building permit shall be required before any building, accessory use building, or fence is:”

• InspectionsLimited

  Permitted construction inside Westmoreland city limits.

  • Inspection is by the zoning administrator as the administrator deems necessary, to check zoning conformity; no mandatory inspection schedule was found in the text read.
  • Building code inspections were not located.

  “the zoning administrator shall make such inspection as he/she deems necessary to determine if the building or extension thereof”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Westmoreland city limits. The city's own Zoning Ordinance No. 489 (passed September 13, 2007; amended January 7, 2021) governs use, building location and permits there.

  • Zoning ordinance reads 'the zoning ordinance for the city of westmoreland, kansas'.
  • Districts in the ordinance are R (residential), C (commercial), M (manufacturing) and MMH (manufactured and mobile home).

  “this ordinance shall be known and may be cited as the zoning ordinance for the city of westmoreland, kansas”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Single-family residential (R district) lots inside Westmoreland city limits.

  • Applies to residential lots in the R district; the agricultural or rural-residential district was not present in the ordinance.
  • Minimum size stated as 6,000 square feet.

  minimum residential lot size: >= 6000 square feet

  “residential lots shall have a minimum size of six thousand (6,000) square feet.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Buildings in the R (single-family residential) district inside Westmoreland city limits. Setbacks are measured from the eave line.

  • Corner lots: setback on the side adjacent to any street is 25 feet.
  • A greater setback set out in the plat controls.
  • Original-plat lots that cannot meet current setbacks may be allowed to build to the existing setbacks at the zoning administrator's discretion; vacant lots in the original plat must follow current setbacks.

  front setback: 25 feet (from eave line to street right-of-way/property line) · rear setback: 10 feet (from eave line to rear property line) · other property line setback: 8 feet (from eave line)

  “all building structures shall maintain a minimum setback distance of ten feet (10') from the eave line to the rear property line unless a greater setback distance is set out in the plat.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — Independently placed manufactured or mobile homes in the MMH (manufactured and mobile home) district inside Westmoreland city limits.

    “such space shall be of sufficient size so that there is a clearance of no less than twenty fee (20') between lot lines and any part of the unit or accessory use building.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Manufactured and mobile homes inside Westmoreland city limits.

  • In the R district, a manufactured home of residential design is a listed permitted use.
  • In the MMH district, manufactured or mobile homes may sit independently or in a park, on a permanent foundation or on piers with tie-downs, and must be skirted.
  • A replacement manufactured or mobile home in the MMH district must be less than 10 years old at installation.
  • When independent of a park, only one unit per space is allowed.

  replacement home maximum age: < 10 years (MMH district replacement homes)

  “manufactured homes and mobile homes may be located in the mmh district provided under this article ix manufactured and mobile home district, either independently or within a manufactured and mobile home park (hereinafter park).”

• Mandatory utility hookupWater and sewer

  Homes inside Westmoreland city limits: the city provides water and sewer service to residences.

  • Mandatory-connection rule for a new home when sewer is available is NOT verified: ordinances 515 (sewer reconnection), 547 (sewer rates) and 573 (water/wastewater supplying) were listed on the city ordinances index but could not be read within the research budget.
  • Water hookup requires a $100 non-refundable hookup fee.

  water hookup fee: 100 USD (non-refundable) · water base charge: 26.75 USD per month · sewer residential charge: 27 USD per month (no deposit)

  “water: $100 non-refundable hookup fee, $26.75 base charge, $10.65 for each 1,000 gallons (or fraction thereof) of usage.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Platting and subdivision of land inside Westmoreland city limits.

  • Governed by Ordinance #591, Subdivision Regulations, listed on the city ordinances index; the ordinance text was not opened.

  “ordinance #591-subdivision regulations vehicles: ordinance #338- regulating solid waste management”

• Short-term rentalsLimited

  Bed-and-breakfast style short-term lodging in an owner-occupied dwelling inside Westmoreland city limits; other short-term rental types were not addressed.

  • Bed and breakfast establishments are a conditional use in the R district, permitted on review by the planning commission and subject to the conditional-use process.
  • No general short-term rental ordinance was located.

  “the following uses may be permitted on review by the planning commission: 6.1 non-municipal governmental public buildings and public utilities.”

• Permit processPublished

  Building and fence permits for land inside Westmoreland city limits.

  • Zoning administrator approves or rejects within twenty-one days after filing.
  • Denials may be appealed to the Board of Zoning Appeals.
  • Fee set by governing body resolution (not opened).

  “the zoning administrator or his/her deputy shall approve or reject all applications for building permits within twenty-one days after such an application is filled.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Westmoreland or Pottawatomie County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit exemption inside Westmoreland city limits.
• Building code adopted — Building construction standards inside Westmoreland city limits.
• Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy approval for new homes inside Westmoreland city limits.
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum floor area for a new dwelling inside Westmoreland city limits.
• Lot coverage — Maximum lot coverage inside Westmoreland city 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.