Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Essexville, Michigan

Essexville’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Essexville city limits: the City of Essexville adopts and administers its own zoning ordinance (Zoning Ordinance, reprint revised November 2017).

  • Use is governed by the zoning district in which the parcel lies (see R-1 and other district claims).
  • The reprint was checked only for the sections quoted; later amendments were not verified against it.

  “an ordinance to establish zoning in the city of essexville, pursuant to 110, of the michigan public acts of 2006, as amended”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts inside Essexville city limits. The table of contents of the zoning ordinance lists the R-1 single-family residential district (article 7), the O office district (article 8) and the R-O residential-office district (article 9); the district map was not opened.

  • Other business or industrial districts may exist in later articles of the ordinance but were not opened.
  • No agricultural or rural-residential district was identified in the table of contents.

  “article 9 29 r-o residential-office district schedule of regulations”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  R-1 single-family residential district in Essexville city: minimum lot area per lot

  • Previously platted lots that lack the required square footage: requirement is waived unless the owner possesses sufficient adjacent land to permit compliance, which land must then be retained by the owner to create the minimum area.
  • Planned unit developments may reduce individual lot areas under separate PUD standards (article on planned unit developments).

  minimum lot area: >= 7200 square feet (previously platted lots: waived unless owner holds adjacent land (see conditions))

  “section 7.13 minimum lot size minimum lot size area (in square feet) - seven thousand two hundred (7,200). in the event that a previously platted lot does not contain the required square footage, such requirement shall be waived unless the owner possesses sufficient adjacent land to permit compliance with this section”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — R-1 single-family residential district in Essexville city: minimum lot width

    “section 7.14 minimum lot width minimum lot size width - sixty (60) feet. in the event that a previously platted lot does not contain the required width, such requirement shall be waived unless the owner possesses a”

• Building heightSpecified

  Principal building in the R-1 single-family residential district in Essexville city (the captured sentence is the 7.12 height rule; its opening words were cut off in extraction, so the subject should be confirmed against the ordinance)

  • Height limit includes an attached garage on the principal building.
  • Attached garage may be two and one-half stories to a maximum of 30 feet; the captured text does not state the principal-building cap in full.

  principal building height maximum: <= 30 feet (two and one-half (2 1/2) stories)

  “a principal building, including its attached garage, may be two and one-half (2 1/2) stories to a maximum of 30 feet”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Accessory buildings in the R-1 single-family residential district in Essexville city

    “an unattached garage may be only one story to a maximum of 16 feet, and all other accessory buildings may be only of one story to a maximum of 16 feet.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Single-family mobile, modular or pre-manufactured dwelling placed on a residential lot in Essexville city (outside a licensed mobile home park)

  • Must meet all standards required within the individual residential districts in article 2 of the zoning ordinance (the definition's standards list).
  • Must have a minimum floor-to-ceiling height of 7.5 feet and a minimum exterior width of 24 feet for any side elevation.
  • Mobile homes inside a licensed mobile home park follow state law and park rules rather than these standards.
  • Travel trailers are not considered mobile homes.

  minimum floor-to-ceiling height: >= 7.5 feet · minimum exterior width of any side elevation: >= 24 feet

  “a detached, residential dwelling unit designed for and occupied by one (1) family on a residential lot in compliance with the following standards: 1. all standards required within individual residential districts in article 2 of this ordinance. 2. a minimum floor-to-ceiling height of seven and one-half (7½) feet. 3. a minimum exterior width for any side elevation of twenty-four (24) feet.”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — Building permit requirement for new homes in Essexville city
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption in Essexville city
• Building code adopted — Building code adopted for construction inside Essexville city
• Inspections — Building inspection requirement in Essexville city
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new dwellings in Essexville 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.