Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Village of Fife Lake, Michigan

Village of Fife Lake’s own rules

• Building permitLimited

  Zoning land use permit for construction inside Fife Lake village; building code permits not covered

  • Only the village zoning land use permit is verified. Who issues building code permits inside the village is not verified.

  “land use permit: a document signed by the zoning administrator, as required in the zoning ordinance, as a condition prior to the commencement of a use, or the erection, or change of use, construction, reconstruction, restoration, alteration, conversion, or installation of a structure or building.”

• Local zoningPresent

  All land inside Fife Lake village limits (Grand Traverse County, Michigan). Fife Lake Township's separate zoning ordinance does not apply inside the village.

  • Ordinance is adopted under Act 207 of 1921, as amended, per its preamble.
  • Cover page says the certified copy kept by the Village clerk is the official copy; this record cites the village-hosted PDF.
  • Cover page shows amendment on July 12, 2025; the effective date of that amendment is not stated in the text reviewed.

  “village of fife lake grand traverse county, michigan zoning ordinance village ordinance #9 adopted: august 2, 2004 effective date: september 2, 2004”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Village of Fife Lake zoning districts: R-1 residential, R-2 resort residential, C-1 village commercial, C-2 highway commercial, and the manufactured housing community district (article 16). The ordinance says no land is designated for industrial use in the village.

  • Zoning maps are posted as color and black-and-white sheets A-1 to A-4, B-1, B-2 and C-2 on the village page.

  “ordinances and zoning information zoning maps zoning map a-1 color zoning map a-2 color zoning map a-3 color zoning map a-4 color zoning map b-1 color zoning map b-2 color zoning map c-2 color”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Dwellings in the R-1 Residential district inside Fife Lake village

  • The 900 sq ft figure comes from the minimum dwelling unit column of the section 9.1 table; the R-1 article text cut off before its minimum floor area sentence.

  minimum dwelling unit size: >= 900 sq ft

  “r-1 residential * 900 ft. 15,000 sq. ft. 24 100 30 20 10 10 60”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Dwellings in the R-2 Resort Residential district (article 6) inside Fife Lake village

    “e. minimum floor area: every dwelling hereafter erected shall provide not less than nine hundred (900) square feet of floor area per dwelling unit.”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Single-family dwellings in the R-1 Residential district inside Fife Lake village

  • Section 9.1 footnote: when sewer is available, lot size can be reduced by 50% (all lots of record are buildable, provided they meet set backs).

  minimum lot area: 15000 sq ft (sewer footnote in section 9.1 allows 50% reduction when sewer is available)

  “a. minimum lot areas: every single family dwelling hereafter erected shall be located on a lot containing not less than fifteen thousand (15,000) square feet area.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Uses in the R-2 Resort Residential district (article 6) inside Fife Lake village

    “a. minimum lot areas: not less than ten thousand (10,000) square feet.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Single-family dwellings in the R-1 Residential district inside Fife Lake village

  front yard minimum: >= 20 feet · side yard minimum: >= 10 feet · rear yard minimum: >= 10 feet

  “front yards: every building hereafter erected shall have a front yard not less than twenty (20) feet in depth. side yards: every one family dwelling hereafter erected shall provide side yards not less than ten (10) feet. rear yards: every building hereafter shall provide a rear yard not less than ten (10) feet in depth.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Uses in the R-2 Resort Residential district (article 6) inside Fife Lake village

    “front yards: every building hereafter erected shall have a front yard not less than twenty (20) feet in depth measured from right-of-way.”

• Building heightSpecified

  Single-family dwellings in the R-1 Residential district inside Fife Lake village

  maximum building height: <= 30 feet

  “building height: maximum height shall be thirty (30) feet.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Uses in the R-2 Resort Residential district (article 6) inside Fife Lake village

    “d. building height: maximum height shall be thirty (30) feet.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Manufactured housing communities in the village's manufactured housing community district (article 16)

  • Communities must be at least five acres and follow Act 96 of 1987 and Michigan Manufactured Housing Commission rules.
  • Community district is a rezoning requiring consistency with the village master plan and public or permitted private water and wastewater service.

  minimum community size: >= 5 acres

  “2) site location. the proposed site location shall be governed by the requirements of section 11 pf mobile home commission act and rule 920(1)(b) of the manufactured housing commission rules. 3) side yard dimensions.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Limited — A mobile home used as a single-family dwelling on a lot in Fife Lake village, under the single-family dwelling standard in section 10.33

    “in the event that the dwelling is a mobile home, as defined herein such dwelling shall be installed pursuant to the manufacturer's setup instructions and shall be secured to the premises by an anchoring system or device”

• Short-term rentalsLimited

  Short-term rentals as a permitted use in the R-1 Residential district inside Fife Lake village

  • Requires an annual permit.
  • Ordinance text notes the short-term rental provision is effective 8-12-25.

  “g. short-term rental *annual permit required *effective 8-12-25”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  Village permits, including the land use and driveway permits listed on the village forms page

  • Only the existence of a schedule of fees is confirmed; no fee amounts were read.
  • The schedule of fees link was not opened.

  “land use permit vendor permit right of way permit driveway permit special land use permit schedule of fees”

• Permit processPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning land use permit for construction or change of use inside Fife Lake village

  • This is the zoning land use permit only; the building code permit process is not covered by this claim.

  “land use permit: a document signed by the zoning administrator, as required in the zoning ordinance, as a condition prior to the commencement of a use, or the erection, or change of use, construction, reconstruction, restoration, alteration, conversion, or installation of a structure or building.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Village of Fife Lake or Grand Traverse County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption for construction inside Fife Lake village
• Building code adopted — Building code adoption for Fife Lake village
• Inspections — Building inspections for construction inside Fife Lake village
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new buildings inside Fife Lake village
• Lot coverage — Lot coverage limits inside Fife Lake 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.