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

Alpena Township’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Alpena township's limits (Charter Township of Alpena, Alpena County) is governed by the township's own Zoning Ordinance No. 142, with its own zoning map and districts.

  • Zoning Ordinance No. 142 was adopted May 26, 2020 and effective June 5, 2020, per the township zoning map title block.
  • Ordinance No. 159 (board action October 27, 2025) rezoned one parcel from R-1 to the Agricultural District (A) subject to conditional rezoning under Section 1003 of the township zoning ordinance.
  • The full ordinance text (PDF over the 10 MB reader limit) was not read; dimensional and use standards are recorded as unknown below.

  “ordinance no. 142 - zoning ordinance no. 142 - zoning map ordinance no. 143 - amended zoning ordinance”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts of Alpena township, including the one-family residential (R-1) and agricultural (A) districts.

  • The township zoning map lists districts including R-1 one-family residential, R-2 rural residential, R-3 mixed residential, WR waterfront residential, A agricultural, C conservation, FR forest recreation, B-1 through B-3 business, OS office service, M-1 and M-2 manufacturing.
  • Map text is the Ordinance 142 map; amendments such as Ordinance 159 change individual parcels.

  “r-1: one-family residential district h rt 26 27 28 villenueve rd sr rd wr: waterfront residential district”

• Permit feesPublished

  Building permit fees for work inside Alpena township's limits.

  • The building department page links a building permit fee document and a septic and well fee document; the fee amounts were not opened and are not recorded here.

  “build permit application building permit fees electrical permit application”

• Permit processPublished

  Building permit application process inside Alpena township's limits.

  • Process is published as application forms, an online payment service and a plan review application; the step-by-step review timeline was not opened.

  “permit applications building department online payment service build permit application building permit fees electrical permit application mechanical permit application plumbing permit application building plan review application”

Rules another office applies inside Alpena Township

Alpena 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 septicLocal

  Septic systems for land inside Alpena township's limits are administered by Alpena County District Health Department #4, not the township building department.

  • The township building page directs septic and well permits to the district health department.
  • Health district service area beyond the township was not checked.

  “septic and well permits: alpena county district health department #4 kevin prevost - (989) 356-4507”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit exemption for a home inside Alpena township.
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for a new home inside Alpena township.
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum dwelling size in the R-1 One-Family Residential district of Alpena township.
• Minimum lot size — Minimum lot size in the R-1 One-Family Residential district of Alpena township.
• Setbacks — Yard setbacks in the R-1 One-Family Residential district of Alpena 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.