Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Brandenburg, Kentucky

Brandenburg’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent

  All land inside Brandenburg city limits. The city adopts and administers its own zoning ordinance (Ordinance #393).

  • The ordinance states it applies within the corporate limits of Brandenburg; land outside city limits is not covered by this claim.
  • The PDF carries a revision stamp of 9-25-2023 in its filename; the source does not state an adoption or effective date, so effective_at is null.

  “the rules and regulation contained herein shall apply within the corporate limits of brandenburg.”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts inside Brandenburg city

  • The zoning map is posted separately on the city site (brandenburg.ky.gov/zoning-map/), not opened in this research.

  “single family r-1 two-family r-2 multi-family r-3 commercial districts central commercial c-1 highway commercial c-2 industrial districts light industry i-1 heavy industry i-2 agriculture”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Main single-family district R-1 inside Brandenburg city

  • Lot area depends on whether public sanitary sewer serves the lot.
  • The R-1 lot must be at least 100 feet wide at the front lot line.
  • The lot must provide at least 65 percent of its area as unobstructed open space.

  minimum lot area when served by public sanitary sewer: >= 15000 square feet (R-1 district) · minimum lot area when not served by public sanitary sewer: >= 20000 square feet (R-1 district) · minimum lot width at front lot line: >= 100 feet (R-1 district)

  “a. lot area - the lot area shall be not less than 15,000 square feet when served by public sanitary sewer, and not less than 20,000 square feet when not served by a public sanitary sewer;”

• SetbacksDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Main single-family district R-1 inside Brandenburg city

  • Side yard abutting a street must be at least 25 feet.
  • Fences and accessory buildings have separate limits: no accessory building may be located on any required front or side yard or within 10 feet of the rear lot line.

  minimum front yard: >= 25 feet (or as required in other ordinances, whichever is greater) · minimum side yard: >= 10 feet (or 10% of lot width, whichever is less; 25 feet where abutting a street) · minimum rear yard: >= 35 feet

  “e. minimum rear yard requirements - there shall be a rear yard having a depth of not less than thirty-five (35) feet.”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  Main single-family district R-1 inside Brandenburg city

  • This is an open-space minimum, not a stated building-coverage percentage. The ordinance does not state a separate maximum lot coverage in the text read.

  minimum unobstructed open space: >= 65 percent of lot area (R-1 district)

  “and shall provide not less than sixty-five (65) percent of the lot area as unobstructed open space.”

• Building heightSpecified

  Main single-family district R-1 inside Brandenburg city

  • Height excludes basements.

  maximum building height: <= 30 feet (excluding basements) · maximum building stories: <= 2.5 stories (excluding basements)

  “f. maximum height - no building hereinafter erected or structurally altered shall exceed two and one-half (2-1/2) stories or thirty feet (30') in height, excluding basements.”

• Living in an RVLimited

  RV parks inside Brandenburg city. Individual RV occupancy on private lots is not addressed in the sections opened.

  • RV parks are not a permitted use under the ordinance and are reviewed case by case through conditional use permits approved by the Board of Adjustments.

  “rv parks are specifically not included as permissible use in the sections of this ordinance. rv parks will be evaluated on a case-bycase basis with conditional use permits being approved by the board of adjustments as provided for under section 8.3.”

• Manufactured homesAllowed

  Manufactured housing (as defined in the ordinance) on a lot in any residential zone inside Brandenburg city

  • Placement is based on compatibility with surrounding structures.
  • The ordinance defines manufactured housing as sloped roof, shingles, permanent foundation, multi sectional manufactured house that is compatible with surrounding homes.

  “manufactured housing as defined in section ii can be placed in all residential zones (based on compatibility with surrounding structures).”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Limited — Mobile homes (as the ordinance defines the term) on individual lots inside Brandenburg city

    “henceforth no mobile home will be allowed on individual lots in any zone or be allowed anywhere outside of an approved mobile home park.”

• Accessory dwellingsProhibited

  Accessory buildings on a lot in the R-1 single-family district inside Brandenburg city

  • The ordinance says the accessory building may be used for the owner's incidental purposes but 'shall not be a residence'.
  • The R-2 district also says an accessory building shall not be used as a residence, except in a planned unit development.

  “such accessory buildings as are clearly incidental and normal and are operated and maintained by the owner of the lot; provided, however, that it shall not be a residence.”

• Agricultural exemptionConditional

  Division of land inside Brandenburg city for agricultural purposes

  • Parcels must be five acres or more and must not involve a new street to avoid being a subdivision.
  • The exemption is only from the subdivision definition; agricultural district uses are limited to agriculture uses in section XVIII.

  minimum parcel size for agricultural division: >= 5 acres (no new street involved)

  “providing that a subdivision of land for agricultural purposes into lots of parcels of five (5) acres, or more and not involving a new street shall not be deemed a subdivision.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Division of land inside Brandenburg city into three or more lots for sale, lease or building development

  • Subdivision regulations are administered by the Planning and Zoning Commission; the agricultural carve-out is a separate claim.

  “21.1 definition of subdivision the division of a parcel of land into three (3) or more lots or parcels, for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of sale, lease or building development, or if a new street is involved, any division of a parcel of land:”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit exemption inside Brandenburg city
• Building code adopted — Building code adopted for construction inside Brandenburg city
• Inspections — Building inspections for new homes inside Brandenburg city
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new homes inside Brandenburg city
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum dwelling floor area inside Brandenburg 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.