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

Arcadia Township’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent

  Land inside Arcadia township limits, governed by the township's own Zoning Ordinance No. 100

  • Ordinance text opened covers Article IV (AR agricultural residential), Article V (R-1 single-family residential), Article XI general provisions, Article XIV area/setback/height table, and Article XVIII subdivisions.
  • Ordinance references Michigan Public Act 110 of 2006 and a Township Board, Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals.

  “article v r-1, single-family residential district section 5.01. principal uses permitted.”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts inside Arcadia township

  • Districts named in the ordinance and Article XIV table header: AR (agricultural residential), R-1 (single-family residential), RM, RMH, REC, and C or I.
  • Article IV (AR) and Article V (R-1) are published with use lists; the Article XIV table is extracted with garbled column alignment, so per-district numbers are flagged in the dimensional claims.

  “zoning district ar r-1 rm rmh rec c or i”

• Minimum dwelling sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Single-family dwellings in the AR agricultural residential and R-1 single-family residential districts inside Arcadia township

  • Section 11.06 requires the minimum square feet in section 14.02 before any alterations or additions.
  • Footnote (e) of section 14.02: in the case of two-story houses, the main floor area shall contain at least six hundred fifty (650) square feet; basement areas are not counted.
  • Extracted table columns are garbled; the 850 sq. ft. figure is read from the first two district columns and should be verified against the PDF.

  minimum floor area per dwelling: 850 sq ft (AR and R-1 read from garbled table; two-story main floor minimum 650 sq ft per footnote (e))

  “minimum floor area per dwelling (in sq. ft.) (e) 850 850”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  AR agricultural residential district in Arcadia township, per dwelling unit or main building

  • Open space preservation developments may be reduced by the planning commission to no less than one (1) acre per detached dwelling unit.
  • Lot width depends on acreage per footnotes (a) and (b); column alignment in extracted text is unclear.

  minimum lot area per dwelling unit or main building: 2 acres (open space preservation development may be reduced to no less than 1 acre)

  “minimum lot area per dwelling unit or main building 2 acres 30,000 sq. ft. 1 acre (g) 20 acres 10 acres 1 acre”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — R-1 single-family residential district in Arcadia township, per dwelling unit or main building

    “minimum lot area per dwelling unit or main building 2 acres 30,000 sq. ft. 1 acre (g) 20 acres 10 acres 1 acre”

• SetbacksDistrict specific (with conditions)

  AR agricultural residential district in Arcadia township

  • Front setback is measured from the center of the road right-of-way (footnote c).
  • Footnote (d): in no case shall a building be constructed within one hundred (100) feet of the centerline of any public or private road right-of-way.
  • Values read from the first two district columns of the section 14.02 table; verify against the PDF.

  minimum front yard setback: 100 feet (measured from road right-of-way center; AR column read from garbled table) · minimum side yard setback: 20 feet (AR column read from garbled table) · minimum rear yard setback: 25 feet (AR column read from garbled table)

  “minimum front yard setback (in feet) (c) 100 100 minimum side yard setback (in feet) (d) 20 20 minimum rear yard setback (in feet) (d) 25 25”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — R-1 single-family residential district in Arcadia township

    “minimum front yard setback (in feet) (c) 100 100 minimum side yard setback (in feet) (d) 20 20 minimum rear yard setback (in feet) (d) 25 25”

• Building heightDistrict specific (with conditions)

  AR and R-1 districts in Arcadia township (first two district columns of section 14.02)

  • Footnote (f): not applicable to farm structures such as barns, silos, or grain elevators.
  • Column alignment in the extracted table is inferred; verify against the PDF.

  maximum building height: <= 35 feet (farm structures excluded per footnote (f))

  “maximum building height (in feet) (f) 35 35”

• Living in an RVTemporary only (with conditions)

  Occupancy of a recreational vehicle on a parcel inside Arcadia township

  • Owner or renter may allow temporary occupancy of not more than one RV.
  • Limited to a total of three months in any calendar year.
  • RVs are not stored on a parcel for more than three months in a calendar year unless the parcel contains a permanent residence.
  • Recreational vehicles are defined as travel trailers, motor homes, truck campers and similar vehicles not exceeding forty (40) feet in length.

  maximum recreational vehicles occupied: 1 vehicle · maximum temporary occupancy: <= 3 months per calendar year

  “the owner or renter of any property may permit the temporary occupancy of not more than one recreational vehicle for a period not-to-exceed a total of three (3) months in any calendar year.”

• Camping on your landLimited

  Temporary camping with recreational vehicles on private land inside Arcadia township

  • Same three-month, one-RV limit in section 11.07 applies.
  • Tent camping and campgrounds were not addressed in the opened text; the ordinance defines a travel trailer park but the cited passage does not regulate it.

  maximum temporary occupancy: <= 3 months per calendar year

  “the owner or renter of any property may permit the temporary occupancy of not more than one recreational vehicle for a period not-to-exceed a total of three (3) months in any calendar year.”

• Accessory dwellingsProhibited

  Occupancy of garages, barns, pole barns, accessory buildings or basements as dwellings inside Arcadia township

  • Does not address a separate accessory dwelling unit inside or attached to a main house; no such rule located.
  • Section 11.05 also bars commercial and industrial buildings from dwelling use.

  “garages, barns, pole barns, accessory buildings, and basements shall not be occupied either temporarily or permanently as dwellings.”

• Mandatory utility hookupConditional

  New subdivisions (plats) inside Arcadia township; this subdivision design standard does not state a rule for an individual new home

  • Applies only when the proposed subdivision is located within, adjacent to or reasonably near the service area of a municipal public sewer system.
  • Where no municipal sewer exists, septic tank systems are to be approved by the county health department.
  • A parallel water-supply rule requires water mains when a subdivision is near a municipal water system.

  “when a proposed subdivision is located within, adjacent to or reasonably near the service area of a municipal public sewer system, sanitary sewers and other required appurtenances thereto, shall be installed”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Land divisions creating subdivisions (plats) inside Arcadia township

  • Subdivision streets must conform to the land use plan.
  • Final plat approval requires the township board to accept improvements or a financial deposit.

  “section 18.04. subdivision design standards. a. streets 1. the proposed subdivision streets shall conform to the land use plan”

Rules another office applies inside Arcadia Township

Arcadia 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 (septic) for residential and small commercial systems on land inside Arcadia township, which is part of Lapeer County

  • Lapeer County Health Department (LCHD) evaluates site suitability, system construction and complaints of improper operation.
  • Page does not mention a township role for septic.

  “lchd acts as the local permitting agency for all residential and small commercial onsite sewage treatment systems.”

• Septic permitRequired

  New residential or small commercial onsite septic systems on land inside Arcadia township

  • LCHD is the local permitting agency; septic permit application forms are linked on the county page.
  • Vacant-land site evaluation uses a separate application.

  “lchd acts as the local permitting agency for all residential and small commercial onsite sewage treatment systems.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit exemption for a homeowner building on own land in Arcadia township
• Building code adopted — State construction code adoption for Arcadia township
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new homes in Arcadia township
• Lot coverage — Lot coverage limits in Arcadia township
• Tiny homes — Tiny home occupancy inside Arcadia 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.