Zoning, building permits and septic rules in St. John, Kansas

St. John’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent

  Land inside St. John city limits. The city administers its own zoning regulations (official copy incorporated by Ordinance No. 1007).

  • The copy on the city website states an edition of effective date September 26, 2011 and December 14, 2011; amendments adopted after that edition were not verified in this pass.
  • Zoning does not override the floodplain, sewer and water connection, and other city rules listed in other claims.

  “zoning regulations of the city of st. john, kansas official copy as incorporated by ordinance no. 1007”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Land inside St. John city limits. The zoning regulations establish the districts R-1 single-family residential, R-2 multiple-family residential, C-1 central business, C-2 general business, I-1 light industrial and P-O protective overlay (Article 4 table of contents).

  • No agricultural or rural-residential district appears in the Article 4 table of contents of this copy.
  • District boundaries are on the zoning map filed with the Zoning Administrator, which was not opened in this pass.

  “101r-1 single-family residential district. this district is established for the purpose of medium density single-family dwelling use”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific

  Single-family detached dwellings in the R-1 single-family residential district inside St. John city limits (Article 4, section 4-101 d.1.a)

  • Two-family dwellings listed as R-1 conditional uses require 8,000 square feet under the same section (quoted text: b.two-family and earth sheltered dwellings: feet. 8,000 square).
  • The copy's table layout is garbled; the minimum lot depth figure shown as 100 feet could not be reliably mapped to the single-family row and is not recorded here.
  • Minimum lot size does not apply to individual condominium units; it is applied to the common open space (section 3-103d.2).
  • Lot-size rules do not apply to a nonconforming lot of record meeting the conditions in section 8-101a.

  minimum lot area, single-family detached dwellings (R-1): >= 7500 square feet (two-family and earth sheltered dwellings require 8,000 square feet; all other uses 10,000 square feet) · minimum lot width, dwellings permitted by section 4-101a1 (R-1): >= 70 feet (two-family dwellings and other uses have separate widths in the garbled table)

  “d.lot size requirements. 1.minimum lot area: a.dwellings permitted by section 4-101a1: feet. 7,500 square b.two-family and earth sheltered dwellings: feet. 8,000 square c.all other uses: 10,000 square feet.”

• SetbacksDistrict specific

  R-1 single-family residential district inside St. John city limits (Article 4, section 4-101 e.2)

  • Front yard is 25 feet on all sides abutting a street; on corner lots one of the yards may be reduced to 15 feet, but 20 feet is still required for yards with driveway access to a permanent parking space such as a garage.
  • Permitted obstructions in required yards and fence rules are in section 3-103f and were not opened in this pass.

  minimum front yard: >= 25 feet (corner lot one yard may be reduced to 15 feet; 20 feet where driveway access to a parking space) · minimum side yard: >= 8 feet · minimum rear yard: >= 25 feet

  “b.minimum side yard: 8 feet. c.minimum rear yard: 25 feet.”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  R-1 single-family residential district inside St. John city limits (Article 4, section 4-101 e.3)

  • Maximum lot coverage stated for the R-1 district only; other districts (C-2, I-1) use different coverage rules.

  maximum lot coverage: <= 30 percent

  “c.minimum rear yard: 25 feet. 3.maximum lot coverage: 30%”

• Building heightSpecified

  R-1 single-family residential district inside St. John city limits (Article 4, section 4-101 e.1)

  • Height is stated for the R-1 district; the copy's definition of height and any exceptions were not opened in this pass.

  maximum structure height: <= 35 feet

  “e.bulk regulations. 1.maximum structure height: 35 feet.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Residence in a manufactured home inside St. John city limits, R-1 single-family residential district (permitted uses, Article 4 section 4-101 a.1)

  • Only residential-design manufactured homes are listed as permitted uses in R-1; other manufactured or mobile homes are governed by the moving-structure and nonconforming provisions and were not opened in this pass.
  • Must meet the R-1 lot, setback, height and coverage limits.

  “1.single-family detached dwellings, residential-design manufactured homes and group homes as defined in section 2-101.”

• Mandatory utility hookupWater and sewer (with conditions)

  New principal structures inside St. John city limits (Article 3, section 103 j)

  • Applies only if the city's sewer and water facilities can be feasibly provided, as determined by the governing body.
  • Where facilities are not feasibly provided, this rule does not require connection; the alternative sanitation rules were not verified in this pass.

  “all principal structures built hereafter shall be served by and connected to the city's sewer and water system, if such facilities can be feasibly provided as may be determined by the governing body.”

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Land inside St. John city limits that is within a floodplain area designated by FEMA

  • Use or construction must comply with the floodplain regulations in the appendix to the zoning regulations; the appendix was not opened in this pass.
  • Moving a structure into or within the city must conform to the zoning regulations and city building codes.

  “within any floodplain area as designated by the federal emergency management agency, no use of land shall commence or no structure shall hereafter be constructed”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask St. John or Stafford County directly.

• Building permit — Building permits for new construction inside St. John city limits
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder construction inside St. John city limits
• Building code adopted — Building codes for construction inside St. John city limits
• Inspections — Building inspections inside St. John city limits
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new homes inside St. John 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.