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

Bingham Township’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  All land inside Bingham township limits: the township administers its own zoning ordinance

  • Source is a hosted PDF copy (energyzoning.org) of the ordinance amended through June 2019; the township's own page on leelanau.gov returned 404 and no later consolidated text was opened
  • A 2021 draft amendment (No. 21-001) appears in search results but its adoption was not verified

  “bingham township zoning ordinance (as amended through june 2019)”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts inside Bingham township: agricultural, rural residential, residential, commercial and industrial

  • Zoning map is incorporated in Section 3.2; the map itself was not opened

  “zoning district rural agricultural residential residential commercial industrial minimum lot area minimum lot width, road frontage maximum height of structure”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Duplexes and multiple family dwellings, Bingham township (average floor area per dwelling in each structure)

  • Applies to duplexes and multiple family dwellings only; no single-family minimum was found in the text reviewed

  average floor area per dwelling: >= 500 square feet (Average across the structure, duplexes and multiple family dwellings only)

  “(d) in duplexes and multiple family dwellings, the average floor area per dwelling in each structure shall be a minimum of five hundred (500) square feet.”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Residential district (single-family), Bingham township

  • Minimum lot area is also the space needed for the building(s) and the permitted well(s) and septic field(s) (footnote a)
  • Column alignment read from the extracted Section 3.6 table; verify against the printed table

  minimum lot area: >= 1 acre (Must also hold the building(s), well(s) and septic field(s) per footnote (a)) · minimum lot width: >= 150 feet

  “a. one (1) duplex per lot of two (2) acres or more. if the duplex is built on a zero lot line, each dwelling may have its own lot of one acre or more.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Rural residential district, Bingham township

    “a. one (1) duplex per lot of four (4) acres or more. if the duplex is built on a zero lot line, each dwelling may have its own lot of two (2) acres or more”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  Residential district, Bingham township: maximum lot area covered by structures

  • Read from the Section 3.6 table, which lists 25% in each district column

  maximum lot area covered by structures: <= 25 percent

  “2 2 1 none (a) 5 200 150 150 none (a) 350 35 (c) 35 35 35 35 10,000 500 500 500 500 500 25% 25% 25% 25% 25%”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Rural residential district, Bingham township: maximum lot area covered by structures

    “2 2 1 none (a) 5 200 150 150 none (a) 350 35 (c) 35 35 35 35 10,000 500 500 500 500 500 25% 25% 25% 25% 25%”

• Building heightSpecified

  Residential district, Bingham township: maximum height of structure

  • Structure shall not exceed two and one-half exposed stories above ground (footnote b)

  maximum height of structure: <= 35 feet (Also limited to two and one-half exposed stories (footnote b))

  “(b) structure shall not exceed two and one-half (2 ½) exposed stories above ground.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Rural residential district, Bingham township: maximum height of structure

    “(b) structure shall not exceed two and one-half (2 ½) exposed stories above ground.”

• Living in an RVTemporary only (with conditions)

  Temporary dwelling (mobile home or other temporary dwelling) on the same lot during construction or repair of a home, Bingham township

  • Owner must occupy the premises
  • Zoning administrator must approve
  • All district setbacks must be met
  • Health department approval and permit for septic connection
  • Must be removed 12 months after the land use permit issue date, with a possible renewal by the zoning administrator

  removal period after land use permit issue: <= 12 months (Zoning administrator may issue one additional renewal (see followups))

  “temporary accessory housing is removed at the end of twelve (12) months from the issued date of the bingham township land use permit for new construction or repair of a residence.”

• Manufactured homesAllowed (with conditions)

  Mobile homes as single-family dwellings in the Residential district, Bingham township

  • Used as a single family dwelling
  • Attached to a permanent foundation
  • Health department approval for well and septic systems

  “1. the home is used as a single family dwelling. 2. is attached to a permanent foundation. 3. it has health department approval for well and septic systems.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Allowed (with conditions) — Mobile homes as single-family dwellings in the Rural Residential district, Bingham township

    “mobile homes are recognized by bingham township as valid single family dwellings. they are permitted, provided: 1. the home is used as a single family dwelling. 2. is attached to a permanent foundation. 3. it has health department approval for well and septic systems.”

• Accessory dwellingsProhibited

  Agricultural district, Bingham township: accessory apartments

  • Accessory apartment section 3.7 was deleted effective 3-8-02 and the residential accessory apartment item was deleted February 29, 2002

  “accessory apartments are no longer allowed in the agricultural district.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Site condominium subdivisions inside Bingham township

  • Each site condominium lot must meet the zoning district's lot size, height, setback and lot coverage rules
  • Article 14 review procedures were not opened

  “1. each site condominium lot, with regard to lot size, building heights, setbacks, and lot coverage shall conform with the requirements of the zoning district in which it is located”

• Permit processPartial

  New construction and reconstruction inside Bingham township

  • Township land use permit is required before temporary housing; the full land use permit process (Section 21.4) and fees (Section 21.8) were not opened

  “following the issuance of a land use permit for new construction or reconstruction”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — Building permits for new homes inside Bingham township
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption for Bingham township construction
• Building code adopted — Building code adoption for construction inside Bingham township
• Inspections — Building inspections for new homes inside Bingham township
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new homes inside Bingham 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.