Zoning, building permits and septic rules in La Crosse, Kansas

Rules another office applies inside La Crosse

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

• Building permitLimited

  Construction inside La Crosse city on land that has been subdivided; the sentence names the City of La Crosse as a permitting authority.

  • Building permits may not issue for land not subdivided in compliance with the subdivision regulations.
  • Whether a building permit is generally required for a new home inside the city was not verified.

  “no building permit shall hereafter be issued by rush county or the cities of bison, lacrosse, liebenthal, mccracken and rush center, kansas, or other permitting authorities, for construction on any land that has not been subdivided in compliance with these regulations”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  All land inside La Crosse city limits: the Rush County joint zoning regulations state they apply to all lands within the cities of Bison, LaCrosse, Liebenthal, McCracken and Rush Center. Zoning inside La Crosse city is a joint county-city regulation, not a stand-alone city ordinance verified here.

  • Regulations are the July 2011 edition as posted; no later amendment was located.
  • Whether La Crosse city separately adopted these regulations by its own ordinance was not verified; the cover page lists City of La Crosse officials as participating.

  “these regulations shall apply to all lands within the unincorporated portion of rush county, kansas, and to all lands within the cities of bison, lacrosse, liebenthal, mccracken and rush center.”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Land inside La Crosse city zoned R-1A single-family residential district under the joint Rush County zoning regulations.

  • Applies to every dwelling hereafter erected, constructed, reconstructed, moved or altered in the district.
  • Parcels in other districts (R-1, R-1B, R-1C) have different minimums; see other claims.

  minimum lot area per family: >= 10000 square feet (per family) · minimum lot width: >= 80 feet · minimum lot depth: >= 100 feet

  “every dwelling hereafter erected, constructed, reconstructed, moved or altered, shall provide a minimum lot area of 10,000 square feet per family.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Land inside La Crosse city zoned R-1B single-family residential district under the joint Rush County zoning regulations.

    “every dwelling hereafter erected, constructed, reconstructed, moved or altered, shall provide a minimum lot area of 7,000 square feet per family.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Land inside La Crosse city zoned R-1A single-family residential district under the joint Rush County zoning regulations.

  • Corner lots: one front yard may be reduced to 15 feet.
  • Side yard requirement is per side of the dwelling.

  front yard minimum: >= 25 feet (corner lots: one yard may be reduced to 15 feet) · side yard minimum: >= 10 feet (per side) · rear yard minimum: >= 20 feet

  “the depth of the front yard shall be at least 25 feet, except that on corner lots one of the yards may be reduced to 15 feet. 3. side yard: there shall be a side yard on each side of a dwelling. no side yard shall be less than 10 feet. 4. rear yard: the depth of the rear yard shall be at least 20 feet.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Land inside La Crosse city zoned R-1B single-family residential district under the joint Rush County zoning regulations.

    “the depth of the front yard shall be at least 25 feet, except that on corner lots one of the yards may be reduced to 15 feet. 3. side yard: there shall be a side yard on each side of a dwelling. no side yard shall be less than 5 feet.”

• Building heightSpecified

  Buildings and structures in the R-1A single-family residential district inside La Crosse city.

  • Also stated as 2-1/2 stories.

  maximum building height: <= 35 feet (and/or 2-1/2 stories)

  “buildings or structures shall not exceed 35 feet and/or 2-1/2 stories in height.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Buildings and structures in the R-1B single-family residential district inside La Crosse city.

    “buildings or structures shall not exceed 35 feet and/or 2-1/2 stories in height.”

• Mandatory utility hookupConditional

  Subdivisions located within La Crosse city limits (or in areas to be annexed). This is a subdivision standard, not a rule on hooking up an individual existing lot.

  • Water and sanitary sewer systems must be designed to City of La Crosse engineering standards for subdivisions inside the city.
  • Connection requirement for a single new home on an existing lot inside the city was not located.

  “all subdivisions located either within the city limits of the cities of bison, lacrosse, liebenthal, mccracken and rush center or in areas to be annexed by such city, shall have water and sanitary sewer systems designed to the standards of the appropriate city engineering department.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Subdivision of land inside La Crosse city limits under the Rush County subdivision regulations (July 2011), which cover the cities of Bison, LaCrosse, Liebenthal, McCracken and Rush Center.

  • Pre-platting conference is required for subdivisions of five or more lots; a preliminary plat and final plat must be approved by the Joint Planning Commission and the governing body.
  • Section 1-104 bars building permits for construction on land not subdivided in compliance with these regulations.

  pre-platting conference threshold: >= 5 lots (smaller subdivisions are encouraged but not required to hold a conference)

  “any person desiring to subdivide land into five (5) or more lots shall be required to attend a pre-platting conference with the zoning administrator as a first step to filing an application for a preliminary plat.”

• Building in a floodplainLimited

  Land in the mapped floodplain (floodway and floodway fringe overlay districts) inside La Crosse city under the joint Rush County zoning regulations, article 18.

  • Uses must meet article 18 standards and the underlying district standards; uses that do not meet them are prohibited in the floodplain overlay.
  • The building or land use permit under section 18-104 and the floodplain standards in 18-106 were not read in full.

  “within these districts all uses not meeting the standards of this article and those standards of underlying zoning districts shall be prohibited.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask La Crosse or Rush County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption inside La Crosse city
• Building code adopted — Building code adoption by La Crosse city
• Inspections — Building inspections for construction inside La Crosse city
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new homes inside La Crosse city
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum dwelling size inside La Crosse city

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.