Zoning, building permits and septic rules in New Haven, Kentucky

New Haven’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside New Haven city limits, under the joint zoning regulations for Bardstown, Bloomfield, Fairfield, New Haven and Nelson County, administered by the Joint City-County Planning Commission of Nelson County. The cover page lists New Haven among the bodies that amended the regulations.

  • The regulations are a joint city-county text; New Haven's zoning is administered through the Joint City-County Planning Commission and the New Haven board of adjustment under an interlocal agreement (New Haven minutes, January 16, 2025, record a proposed amendment to the interlocal board arrangement).
  • Each city's zoning map is adopted separately (the text names a 'zoning map, new haven'); the district map for New Haven was not opened.
  • The text's stated effective date (May 1, 2022, as amended) is not used as the New Haven effective date because the cover page lists several amendment dates.

  “the cities of bardstown, bloomfield, fairfield, new haven and nelson county, kentucky, have been engaged in a joint planning effort to provide for the orderly development”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Land inside New Haven city limits, under the joint zoning regulations

  • Zones are set by the joint regulations and the zoning map named 'zoning map, new haven'; the district list and map were not opened, so the individual districts are not named here.

  “the cities of bardstown, bloomfield, fairfield and new haven, and the unincorporated area of nelson county are hereby divided into zones or districts as provided and described herein”

• Driveway accessLimited

  Zoning compliance applications for land inside New Haven city limits

  • Requires an approved entrance or encroachment permit 'if applicable'; the issuing agency is not named in the excerpt.

  “d. an approved entrance/encroachment permit from the appropriate agency, if applicable;”

• Short-term rentalsLimited

  Bed and breakfast establishments or short-term rentals inside New Haven city limits

  • Allowed only with a conditional use permit from the board of adjustment, after the board considers impact on surrounding properties.
  • Must meet the mandatory requirements of section 4.3(c) and the listed criteria.
  • A dwelling rented to and occupied by the same occupant for 31 consecutive days or more is not a bed and breakfast or short-term rental.
  • Only detached single-family dwellings or an approved detached accessory dwelling; not two-family, multi-family, townhouse, condominium or single-wide manufactured home.

  maximum guest stay: 30 consecutive days

  “bed and breakfast establishments or short-term rentals (only in effect in cities of bloomfield, fairfield, new haven, and unincorporated nelson county).”

Rules another office applies inside New Haven

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

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Land divisions inside New Haven city limits under the subdivision regulations for Bardstown, Bloomfield, New Haven, Fairfield and Nelson County

  • Adopted by 1974 Ordinance 101 (Bardstown code); a copy is filed with the New Haven city clerk.
  • The subdivision regulations text itself was not opened.

  “the subdivision regulations for the cities of bardstown, bloomfield, new haven and fairfield and nelson county, kentucky, are codified and adopted in their entirety”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask New Haven or Nelson County directly.

• Building permit — New construction inside New Haven city limits
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builders in New Haven city limits
• Building code adopted — Construction inside New Haven city limits
• Inspections — Inspections of new construction inside New Haven city limits
• Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy of new homes inside New Haven 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.