Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Wayland Township, Michigan

Wayland Township’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  New structures inside Wayland township limits

  • Construction may proceed only after the permit is issued.
  • The township page does not say which building official issues the permit. The state page says the enforcing agency may be the state, a county, or a local unit of government.

  “wayland township is a planned and zoned community. permits are required on all new structures.”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Wayland township limits (Allegan County, MI): zoning districts, uses and dimensional standards in the township zoning ordinance

  • The township's own site states it is a planned and zoned community and lists a zoning administrator (contracted to Professional Code Inspections).
  • The ordinance text reviewed is a copy hosted on energyzoning.org; the township's own download link was not opened. Amendments after the copy's stated last amendment (August 2020) were not checked.
  • Use or structure approval still depends on the district rules, special land use and site plan procedures in the ordinance.

  “wayland township is a planned and zoned community. planning commission meetings are held the second wednesday of every month at 6:30 p.m.”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts inside Wayland township limits

  • Chapters opened include the A (Agricultural) district, R1 low density residential district, and R2 and R3 districts referenced in the same text. The zoning map is linked from the township zoning page but was not opened.

  “chapter 6 – r1, low density residential district wayland township zoning ordinance chapter 6 r1 low density residential district section 6.01 description and purpose”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Dwellings in the R1 low density residential district inside Wayland township

  • Figure shown is for a one-story two-bedroom dwelling; the start of clause a) is cut off in the copy.
  • One-and-a-half-story dwellings with two bedrooms need 1,260 sq ft (840 on the first floor); more-than-1.5-story dwellings need 1,400 sq ft (700 on the first floor). Those figures appear in the text but are not quoted here.
  • Agricultural (A) district dwelling minimum is cross-referenced to section 5.07 and was not opened.

  minimum floor area, one-story dwelling with two bedrooms, R1: >= 1040 sq ft (plus 150 sq ft for each bedroom over two)

  “each dwelling unit shall have the following minimum floor areas: a) one (1) story dwellings with two (2) bedrooms or less shall have not less than one-thousand forty (1040) square feet of floor area.”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  A (Agricultural) district lots inside Wayland township

  • Table is flattened in the copy; values mapped in printed column order: lot area, frontage, front, rear, side, corner, height.
  • Open space table gives 1.5 acres and 200 ft width for the agricultural zone under the open-space option, not applied here.

  minimum lot area: >= 160000 sq ft (approximately 3.67 acres) · minimum frontage: >= 500 ft

  “160,000 sq. ft. (approx. 3.67 acres) 500 ft.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — R1 low density residential district lots inside Wayland township

    “section 6.04 development standards minimum lot area 67,500 sq. ft. (approx. 1.54 acres) minimum frontage 250 ft.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  A (Agricultural) district lots inside Wayland township

  • Table is flattened in the copy; values mapped in printed column order.
  • Footnote (1) road setbacks apply (75 ft from state highways; county primary road setback not quoted here).

  front yard setback: >= 50 ft · rear yard setback: >= 50 ft · side yard setback, each side: >= 20 ft · corner lot setback from each abutting street: >= 50 ft

  “160,000 sq. ft. (approx. 3.67 acres) 500 ft. 50 ft. 50 ft. 20 ft. 50 ft. 35 ft. or 2.5 stories”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — R1 low density residential district lots inside Wayland township

    “minimum front yard (1) 50 ft. minimum rear yard 25 ft. minimum side yard each side 20 ft. corner lot setback from each street abutting the lot (1) 50 ft.”

• Building heightSpecified

  Buildings in the A (Agricultural) district inside Wayland township

  • Maximum is 35 ft or 2.5 stories, whichever the copy's table lists; height exceptions in section 3.07 not opened.

  maximum building height: <= 35 ft (or 2.5 stories)

  “section 5.06 developmental standards minimum lot area minimum frontage minimum front yard (1) minimum rear yard minimum side yard corner lot setback from each street abutting the lot (1) maximum building height (2) 160,000 sq. ft. (approx. 3.67 acres) 500 ft. 50 ft. 50 ft. 20 ft. 50 ft. 35 ft. or 2.5 stories minimum floor area see sec. 5.07”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Buildings in the R1 low density residential district inside Wayland township

    “section 6.04 development standards minimum lot area 67,500 sq. ft. (approx. 1.54 acres) minimum frontage 250 ft. minimum front yard (1) 50 ft. minimum rear yard 25 ft. minimum side yard each side 20 ft. corner lot setback from each street abutting the lot (1) 50 ft. maximum building height (2) 35 ft.”

• Living in an RVTemporary only (with conditions)

  Recreational vehicles on vacant parcels and on parcels with a single-family dwelling inside Wayland township

  • Vacant parcels: 14 days per calendar year if one acre or less; 90 days per calendar year if over one acre; a zoning administrator permit is required beyond 14 consecutive days.
  • Occupied parcels: 14 days per calendar year if one acre or less; 30 days per calendar year if over one acre; not in the required front yard.
  • Vehicle must not be rented to occupants, must carry current state plates, must meet district setbacks, and needs two off-street parking spaces; section 3.20 says campgrounds are exempt from that section.
  • Permanent RV residence is not allowed under these sections.

  recreational vehicle occupancy, vacant parcel, parcel one acre or less: <= 14 days per calendar year (permit required beyond 14 consecutive days) · recreational vehicle occupancy, vacant parcel, parcel over one acre: <= 90 days per calendar year · recreational vehicle occupancy, occupied parcel over one acre: <= 30 days per calendar year (not in the required front yard)

  “a) the placement of the recreational vehicle on the vacant parcel shall be limited to a maximum of 90 days per calendar year if the parcel is over one acre in size. for parcels which contain one acre or less the placement of a recreational vehicle shall be limited to a maximum of 14 days in a calendar year.”

• Accessory dwellingsProhibited

  Living quarters inside accessory buildings or structures on any parcel inside Wayland township (not attached second dwellings)

  • A separate second dwelling in the R1 district is not evident: R1 is described as for single-family detached dwellings only.
  • Accessory-dwelling rules in other districts and in principal buildings were not checked.

  “no accessory building or structure shall contain living or dwelling quarters for a person(s).”

• Mandatory utility hookupConditional

  New homes inside Wayland township

  • The opened ordinance text requires a safe water supply and a means of waste disposal approved by the county; it does not require connection to public water or sewer.
  • Public sewer or water connection rules and any distance or availability requirement were not located in the opened sections.

  “shall be provided with a safe and sanitary water supply and with means of collecting and disposing of all human execute and all water-carried domestic commercial, industrial and other wastes.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Platted subdivisions, land divisions and site condominiums inside Wayland township

  • The township lists a subdivision ordinance (O-08-2022) and a land division ordinance; neither ordinance text was opened.
  • Open space preservation projects that are platted or condominiums must follow the township land division or site condominium procedures.

  “wayland township subdivision ordinance – o-08-2022, sub division”

• Permit processPartial

  Permit procedures for zoning and building permits inside Wayland township

  • Procedures are published for special use permits, site plan review, rezoning and the zoning board of appeals; a general building-permit procedure page was not located.
  • Zoning administration is contracted to Professional Code Inspections.

  “procedures can be found on the zoning page”

Rules another office applies inside Wayland Township

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

• Who permits septicCounty (with conditions)

  Onsite sewage disposal for buildings on land inside Wayland township (Allegan County Health Department / Allegan County Environmental Health)

  • Scope is countywide because the health department serves the whole county; the rule applies inside Wayland township because the township ordinance defers to it.
  • The township will not issue a construction permit until the county has approved the water and sewage facilities.

  “the written approval for such facilities by the allegan county environmental health department shall be obtained prior to issuance of a building permit.”

• Septic permitRequired

  New buildings served by onsite septic on land inside Wayland township

  • This is written county approval of the system that must be in hand before the township building permit, not a separate county permit form.
  • Application form and fee were not located.

  “the written approval for such facilities by the allegan county environmental health department shall be obtained prior to issuance of a building permit.”

• Well permitRequired

  Private wells serving buildings on land inside Wayland township

  • Written county approval of the water supply must be obtained before the township issues a building permit.
  • Separate well-permit form and fee were not located.

  “the written approval for such facilities by the allegan county environmental health department shall be obtained prior to issuance of a building permit.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder construction of a home inside Wayland township
• Inspections — Building inspections for construction inside Wayland township
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificates of occupancy for new buildings inside Wayland township
• Lot coverage — Lot coverage for dwellings inside Wayland township
• Camping on your land — Tent or campground camping on land inside Wayland township

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.