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

Handy Township’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent

  Land inside Handy township limits; Handy Township administers its own Handy Township Zoning Ordinance (November 2024 revision)

  • The November 2024 revision stamp is not stated as an effective date and is not recorded as one.

  “unless specified elsewhere in this ordinance, all uses, structures and buildings on all zoning lots shall conform to the schedule of regulations and accompanying footnotes shown on the following pages.”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts in the Handy township zoning ordinance

  • Districts named in the schedule of regulations include AR (agricultural-residential), RA (residential A), and RB (residential B); other districts were not reviewed.

  “rb residential ‘b’ 12,000 (d) 80 (e) 30 15 30 15 35 2½ 30”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Single-family dwelling inside Handy township limits

  • The figure is cross-referenced from the family accessory apartment provision as section 14.2a; the full section 14.2a text was not separately opened.
  • The same passage sets a 600 sq ft ground-floor minimum.

  minimum residential floor area, single family: >= 960 sq ft (at least 600 sq ft on the ground floor)

  “all dwellings shall contain a minimum floor area in accordance with the following: single family 960 sq. ft., with at least 600 sq. ft. on the ground floor”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  RA residential 'a' district (main single-family residential district) inside Handy township limits

  • Column alignment and footnote (c) were not individually verified; confirm against the printed schedule before use.
  • Livingston County health requirements for septic and wells may require a larger lot (section 2.32 cross-reference).

  minimum lot area: >= 35000 sq ft (footnote (c)) · minimum lot width: >= 120 ft (footnote (c))

  “ra residential ‘a’ districts yard setbacks (ft.) (b) height coverage (%) front one side total (j) rear feet stories 120 50 15 30 15 45 2½ 20 35,000 (c) 120 (c) 40 15 30 15 45 2½ 30”

  2 more reviewed findings on this topic

  • Specified — AR agricultural-residential district inside Handy township limits

    “ar agricultural-residential 35,000 ra residential ‘a’ districts”

  • Specified — RB residential 'b' district inside Handy township limits

    “rb residential ‘b’ 12,000 (d) 80 (e) 30 15 30 15 35 2½ 30”

• SetbacksSpecified

  RA residential 'a' district inside Handy township limits

  • Rear setback read from the table column order; footnotes (b) and (c) not verified.
  • Corner-lot and projection rules in chapter 2 may change the measurement.

  front yard setback: >= 40 ft · one side yard setback: >= 15 ft · total side yards: >= 30 ft · rear yard setback: >= 15 ft

  “ra residential ‘a’ districts yard setbacks (ft.) (b) height coverage (%) front one side total (j) rear feet stories 120 50 15 30 15 45 2½ 20 35,000 (c) 120 (c) 40 15 30 15 45 2½ 30”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — AR agricultural-residential district inside Handy township limits

    “ra residential ‘a’ districts yard setbacks (ft.) (b) height coverage (%) front one side total (j) rear feet stories 120 50 15 30 15 45 2½ 20 35,000 (c) 120 (c) 40 15 30 15 45 2½ 30”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  AR agricultural-residential district inside Handy township limits

  • Coverage column read from table order; not verified against the printed schedule.

  maximum lot coverage: <= 20 percent

  “ra residential ‘a’ districts yard setbacks (ft.) (b) height coverage (%) front one side total (j) rear feet stories 120 50 15 30 15 45 2½ 20 35,000 (c) 120 (c) 40 15 30 15 45 2½ 30”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — RA residential 'a' district inside Handy township limits

    “ra residential ‘a’ districts yard setbacks (ft.) (b) height coverage (%) front one side total (j) rear feet stories 120 50 15 30 15 45 2½ 20 35,000 (c) 120 (c) 40 15 30 15 45 2½ 30”

• Building heightSpecified

  AR agricultural-residential district inside Handy township limits

  • Height column read from the table order; not verified against the printed schedule.

  maximum building height: <= 45 ft · maximum stories: <= 2.5 stories

  “ra residential ‘a’ districts yard setbacks (ft.) (b) height coverage (%) front one side total (j) rear feet stories 120 50 15 30 15 45 2½ 20 35,000 (c) 120 (c) 40 15 30 15 45 2½ 30”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — RA residential 'a' district inside Handy township limits

    “ra residential ‘a’ districts yard setbacks (ft.) (b) height coverage (%) front one side total (j) rear feet stories 120 50 15 30 15 45 2½ 20 35,000 (c) 120 (c) 40 15 30 15 45 2½ 30”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Manufactured home used as a single-family dwelling inside Handy township limits

  • Must meet the lot area, lot width, minimum residential floor area, yard and height requirements of the district.
  • Must be firmly attached to a permanent continuous foundation built to building-code standards for on-site single-family dwellings.
  • Wheels must be removed.

  “if the dwelling unit is a manufactured home, the manufactured home shall be installed with the wheels removed.”

• Accessory dwellingsLimited

  Family accessory apartment attached to a principal single-family dwelling inside Handy township limits

  • The principal dwelling must be owner occupied.
  • Combined living space of both units must exceed 1360 square feet.
  • Accessory living area must be a minimum of 400 and a maximum of 800 square feet.
  • No more than two bedrooms in the accessory apartment; appearance must remain that of a single-family dwelling.
  • The principal dwelling may not be reduced below the section 14.2a minimum floor area; the single-family minimum lot size of chapter 14 applies.

  accessory apartment living area: 400-800 sq ft

  “the living area of the family accessory apartment shall be a minimum of 400 square feet and a maximum of 800 square feet.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Prohibited — Use of a garage or accessory building as a dwelling or for sleeping inside Handy township limits, in any zoning district

    “the use of any portion of a garage or accessory building for dwelling or sleeping purposes in any zoning district is prohibited.”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Non-public water and sewage facilities for a structure for human occupancy inside Handy township limits

  • Non-public facilities must meet minimum requirements of the state and Livingston County health departments; the reviewed text states no separate permit or inspection rule for them.
  • The ordinance does not expressly allow or prohibit a home with no sanitation connection; treated as limited.

  “such installations and facilities, if not from an approved public system, shall conform with the minimum requirements for such facilities set forth by the state of michigan health department and the livingston county health department”

• Mandatory utility hookupConditional

  New or altered structure for human occupancy inside Handy township limits

  • The ordinance requires safe potable water and safe sewage collection and disposal; an approved public system is the alternative to on-site facilities.
  • The reviewed text (section 2.15) contains no distance-to-main or mandatory-connection rule; a public-system connection requirement is not confirmed.

  “no structure for human occupancy shall, after the effective date of this ordinance, be erected, altered or moved and used in whole or part for dwelling, business, industrial or recreation purposes unless provided with a safe, sanitary and potable water supply and with a safe and effective means of collection, treatment and disposal of human, domestic, commercial and industrial waste.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Land divisions and open-space or reduced-lot developments inside Handy township limits

  • The ordinance cross-references Livingston County health requirements for septic and wells and P.A. 288 of 1967 (Subdivision Control Act).
  • Section 2.15 also refers to the township subdivision regulations; those regulations were not located.

  “larger lot area may be required to meet livingston county health department requirements related to the use of on-site septic and wells, and/or for conformance with the requirements of p.a. 288 of 1967, the subdivision control act, as amended.”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — Building permits for new homes inside Handy township limits
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption for a homeowner building their own home inside Handy township limits
• Building code adopted — Building code adopted for new homes inside Handy township limits
• Inspections — Building inspections for new homes inside Handy township limits
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new homes inside Handy township limits

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.