Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Village of Homer, Michigan

Village of Homer’s own rules

• Building code adoptedAdopted (with conditions)

  Buildings and structures inside Homer village limits: the village adopts the Michigan Building and Residential codes as its building code.

  • Section 150.02 lists the village's additions and changes to the adopted code (for example section 101.1 insert 'the village of homer').
  • Section 150.03 adopts the Michigan Mechanical Code and section 150.05 the Michigan Electrical Code, each with village additions.
  • The adopting ordinance is Ord. 2011-2; the page does not state which edition of the state code is current.

  “being marked and designated as the most recent michigan building and residential codes, is/are hereby adopted as the building code of the village;”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Homer village limits: the village's own zoning ordinance (Code of Ordinances Chapter 152: Zoning) with its own zoning districts, map, zoning inspector and zoning board of appeals.

  • The code page captured is the 2023 supplement (S-9, marked current) of the village code hosted by American Legal Publishing; the village's own copy was not opened.
  • Dimensional, use and occupancy limits were not all captured; see the unknown claims for those topics.

  “the village is hereby divided into the following zoning districts as shown on the official zoning map, which together with all explanatory matter shown thereon, is hereby adopted by reference and declared to be a part of this chapter:”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Land inside Homer village limits: the zoning districts listed in Chapter 152 section 152.020.

  • Map adopted by reference as the 'Zoning District Map of Homer Village' (§ 152.021); the map image itself was not opened.
  • District dimensional tables were not captured in the text read.

  “(a) r1 low density residential district; (b) r2 medium density residential district; (c) r3 multiple-family residential district; (d) r4 mixed residential district; (e) mhp mobile home park district; (f) b business district;”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Detached accessory buildings inside Homer village (accessory building provisions immediately before § 152.072). Principal-building setbacks by district are NOT covered by this claim.

  • A garage entered at right angles to an alley must be no nearer than 12 feet to the rear lot line.
  • Where a corner lot adjoins a side boundary of a lot in any residential district, no accessory building may be nearer to the side street lot line than the side yard setback of the principal building.
  • The captured text does not show whether these accessory rules apply in every district; the section number was not shown in the captured text.

  detached accessory building minimum distance from rear lot line: >= 5 feet (garage entered at right angles to an alley: 12 feet) · accessory building maximum share of rear yard area: <= 30 percent

  “(c) no detached accessory building shall be located nearer than five feet to any rear lot line, except that when the accessory building shall be a garage which is entered at right angles to an alley, it shall be located no nearer than 12 feet to the rear lot line.”

• Tiny homesLimited

  Dwelling units inside Homer village, which would include a tiny home used as a dwelling

  • The definition requires a dwelling unit to sit on a permanent masonry foundation; read as applying to tiny homes, this would exclude units on wheels or without such a foundation.
  • This is an inference from a definition; the use tables for dwellings in each district were not opened.

  “the dwelling unit shall be attached to and located upon a permanent masonry foundation.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Village of Homer or Calhoun County directly.

• Building permit — Building permits for construction inside Homer village
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit exemption inside Homer village
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Homer village
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificates of occupancy inside Homer village
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum dwelling size inside Homer village

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.