Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Holland, Michigan

Holland’s own rules

• InspectionsLimited

  Fire alarm installation work under a City of Holland fire alarm permit. General building inspection rules were not found.

  • Inspections require at least 24 hours' notice per the third-party summary; not verified on the official form.

  “inspections: no work shall be concealed until it has been inspected.”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Holland city limits (City of Holland, Ottawa County, MI), administered under the city's Unified Development Ordinance (Chapter 39 of its code). Not Holland Charter Township.

  • Zone district standards in Article 39-2 control each parcel; uses and dimensions vary by zone district.
  • Form-based code subdistricts in Article 39-3 have separate standards.

  “the city is divided into 16 zone districts and nine form-based code subdistricts”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zone districts inside Holland city, MI

  • Regulatory zoning map is in Sec. 39-1.05 per the article; maps in Sec. 39-2.05 to 39-2.18 are illustrative only.

  “the city of holland's zone districts and subdistricts are: conventional and mixed use zone districts”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Single detached dwelling lot in the LDR Low Density Residential zone district inside Holland city, MI

  • Other residential districts have different minimums (CNR 5,000 sq ft; MDR 5,000 sq ft; TNR and HDR use the stated area/width figures in Sec. 39-2.04).

  minimum lot area: 7000 square feet · minimum lot width: 50 feet

  “lot area and width use minimum area (square feet) minimum width (feet) 1 single detached dwelling 7,000 50”

• SetbacksDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Principal buildings in the LDR Low Density Residential zone district inside Holland city, MI

  • Front yard exception: the front yard setback may be reduced if the adjacent house(s) were built with a lesser front yard setback; it is set by averaging the setback of the 2 adjacent houses, and no setback shall be less than 10 feet.
  • Secondary street frontage setback is 20 feet in LDR.
  • Setbacks in other districts differ (see Sec. 39-2.04 summary table).

  front yard setback minimum: 30 feet (may be reduced under the adjacent-house averaging rule; no less than 10 feet) · side yard setback minimum: 7 feet · rear yard setback minimum: 25 feet · secondary street yard setback minimum: 20 feet

  “ldr dimensional standards table. setbacks and building height dimension minimum (feet) maximum (feet) setbacks front yard 1 30 - side yard 7 - rear yard 25 - secondary street yard 20 - building height - 35”

• Building heightDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Buildings in the LDR Low Density Residential zone district inside Holland city, MI

  • Height limits for other districts are in the Sec. 39-2.04 summary table and their own district sections.

  maximum building height: <= 35 feet

  “ldr dimensional standards table. setbacks and building height dimension minimum (feet) maximum (feet) setbacks front yard 1 30 - side yard 7 - rear yard 25 - secondary street yard 20 - building height - 35”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Manufactured housing communities inside Holland city, MI; single manufactured homes on individual lots not checked

  • Manufactured housing communities are permitted only in the MHR manufactured housing community district per the summary use table.
  • Whether a manufactured home on an individual lot is allowed in LDR and other districts was not established.

  “manufactured housing communities - - - - - p - - - - - - - - -”

• Accessory dwellingsAllowed (with conditions)

  Detached accessory dwelling unit on an LDR-zoned lot inside Holland city, MI

  • Lot minimum for an ADU in LDR is 7,000 sq ft and 50 ft width (Sec. 39-2.05).
  • ADU standards are in Sec. 39-9.07, which was not opened and must be checked before relying on this claim.
  • Parking: one space per dwelling unit under Sec. 39-9.07 reference in the parking table.

  “1 accessory dwelling unit (adu) permitted 1 per dwelling unit - section 39-9.07”

• Short-term rentalsLimited

  Short-term rentals in residential zone districts inside Holland city, MI

  • Permitted with restrictions; the restrictions are in Sec. 39-4.02q, which was not opened. Read that section before relying on this claim.
  • Parking: one space per dwelling unit (section 39-4.02q).

  “short-term rentals permitted with restrictions (see section 39-4.02q)”

• Permit processPartial

  Fire alarm permits only, administered by the City of Holland Community & Neighborhood Services department (270 S River Ave). General building permit process was not found.

  • Plan review takes 10-14 business days per the form; plans must be prepared by a licensed fire alarm contractor, specialty technician or electrical contractor.

  “to apply for a permit, please complete the following: • application form • one pdf copy of the plans (no paper)”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — New residential construction inside Holland city, MI
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder construction of a home inside Holland city, MI
• Building code adopted — Building codes enforced inside Holland city, MI
• Certificate of occupancy — New or altered buildings inside Holland city, MI
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum dwelling floor area inside Holland city, MI

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.