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

Garfield Township’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Garfield township's limits (Mackinac County). The township's Building & Zoning page lists a zoning administrator and a township zoning permit that must be obtained before a building permit.

  • Zoning permit must be obtained from the township zoning administrator before a building permit application.
  • The township zoning ordinance is posted on the township site as a Word file (garfieldtwpmcmi.gov/download/12675/garfield-township-zoning-ordinance.doc). That file could not be opened in this research, so its district rules were not read.
  • Zoning administrator contact listed on the page: Dave Kovar, 906-420-2848.

  “before you apply for a building permit, you must obtain: zoning permit from zoning administrator wetlands permit flood elevation permit well & septic permit from the health department”

• Permit processPartial

  Pre-application sequence for building permits inside Garfield township

  • The township lists the prerequisite permits in order. It does not give the full application steps, fees, or review times.
  • Permits for new plan reviews and building permits are sent to the state BCC website, per the announcement.

  “before you apply for a building permit, you must obtain: zoning permit from zoning administrator wetlands permit flood elevation permit well & septic permit from the health department”

Rules another office applies inside Garfield Township

Garfield Township does not set these itself; the county, a health district or the state does, and they apply to every address inside its limits.

• Building permitRequired

  New construction and building permits inside Garfield township (Mackinac County). The township's own announcement says new plan reviews and permits are handled by the State of Michigan Bureau of Construction Codes (BCC).

  • The township Building & Zoning page says a building permit application is preceded by a zoning permit, wetlands permit, flood elevation permit, and well & septic permit.
  • The announcement is titled as state assistance with township approval of building permits. It says that once assistance ends, permits issued by the state continue to be handled by the state until the project is complete.
  • Permit requests go to the BCC website, www.michigan.gov/bcc. BCC collects the applicable fees directly from the applicant.

  “all new plan reviews/permits requested (not previously issued by the township) should be directed to the bureau’s website at www.michigan.gov/bcc to apply.”

• Septic permitRequired

  Septic system installation or permit work inside Garfield township

  • Obtain the well and septic permit from the health department before applying for a building permit.

  “before you apply for a building permit, you must obtain: zoning permit from zoning administrator wetlands permit flood elevation permit well & septic permit from the health department”

• Well permitRequired

  Well installation or well permit work inside Garfield township

  • Obtain the well and septic permit from the health department before applying for a building permit.

  “before you apply for a building permit, you must obtain: zoning permit from zoning administrator wetlands permit flood elevation permit well & septic permit from the health department”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit exemption for a homeowner building on their own land inside Garfield township
• Building code adopted — Building code applicable to new construction inside Garfield township
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new homes inside Garfield township
• Zoning districts — Zoning district map and district list for land inside Garfield township
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum dwelling size for single-family residential districts inside Garfield 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.