Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Village of Copemish, Michigan

Village of Copemish’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent

  Land inside Copemish village limits: the village administers its own zoning ordinance

  • Ordinance adopted by the Copemish Village Council March 12, 2019; effective March 25, 2019.
  • The title page does not name Manistee County; county identity was not confirmed on an opened page. No same-named village in another county was found in the sources read.
  • Amendments after 2019 were not checked; the village site was not opened.

  “village of copemish zoning ordinance adopted by the copemish village council march 12th, 2019 effective march 25th, 2019”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  All land inside Copemish village limits

  • Districts listed in the table of contents include recreation & open space (ROS), agricultural (AG), residential settlement (R-1), neighborhood commercial (C-1), highway commercial (C-2), mixed use 1 (M-1) and light industrial (LI).
  • The AG district is limited to a single large parcel in the northeast corner of the village, per its purpose statement.
  • Zoning map: the R-1 purpose statement refers to 'the zoning map of copemish village'; the map itself was not read.

  “to allow for agricultural use in the village of copemish on a single large parcel in the northeast corner of the village.”

• Minimum dwelling sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Single-family dwelling in the R-1 residential settlement district inside Copemish village

  • The quick-reference table lists 600 sq ft building floor area for single-family dwellings and 1,200 sq ft for two-family dwellings; the column layout in the PDF text is garbled, so verify before relying on it.
  • Construction must meet or exceed building and fire code standards (Article 11, section 112 a).

  minimum building floor area (single-family): >= 600 sq ft (two-family dwellings: 1,200 sq ft per table)

  “residential use singlefamily dwellings two-family dwellings lot 35 ft building floor area min. 600 ft2”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — Dwelling in the agricultural (AG) district inside Copemish village

    “building floor area min. 800 ft bulk max.”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Single-family residential lot in the R-1 residential settlement district inside Copemish village

  • Two-family dwelling: each housing unit needs at least 10,000 sq ft of parcel area (Article 40 minimum parcel area text).
  • Minimum parcel width is 125 ft for two-family homes, per the same section.
  • Dimensions taken from the R-1 quick-reference table and minimum-parcel text; the table is garbled in the PDF text, so verify against the printed ordinance before relying on it.

  minimum parcel area (single-family): >= 8000 sq ft (two-family: 10,000 sq ft per housing unit) · minimum parcel width (single-family): >= 80 ft (two-family: 125 ft; parcel must front on a public road)

  “b. parcel width shall be no less than eighty (80') feet for single-family homes and onehundred twenty-five (125') feet for two-family homes, and it shall front on a public road.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Agricultural (AG) district parcel inside Copemish village (the single large parcel in the northeast corner)

    “a. minimum parcel area is twenty thousand (20,000) square feet.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Principal building in the R-1 residential settlement district inside Copemish village

  • Setback figures are read from the R-1 quick-reference table, which is garbled in the PDF text (its columns mix single-family and two-family values). The full text of the setback subsection (4004 e., 1) to 3)) was cut off in the extraction; verify before relying on these numbers.
  • Water yard 100 ft is listed in the same table.

  front and road yard: >= 25 ft (table value; front setback text was not fully extracted) · side yard: >= 10 ft · rear yard: >= 15 ft · water yard: >= 100 ft

  “5) front yard - the minimum front setback shall not be less than twenty-five (25') feet from the front property line. 6) side yards - the minimum setback of either side yard shall not be less than ten (10') feet; 7) rear yard - the minimum rear setback shall not be less than fifteen (15') feet. 8) waterfront yard - the minimum waterfront yard setback shall not be less than onehundred (100') feet.”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  Lot in the R-1 residential settlement district inside Copemish village

  • Building coverage and impervious coverage limits are from the R-1 quick-reference table; verify against the printed ordinance.

  maximum building coverage: <= 45 percent of lot · maximum impervious coverage: <= 60 percent of lot

  “lot building coverage allowance 45% max. lot impervious coverage allowance 60%”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Lot in the agricultural (AG) district inside Copemish village

    “lot building coverage allowance n/a max. lot impervious coverage allowance 10%”

• Building heightSpecified

  Non-agricultural buildings in the agricultural (AG) district inside Copemish village

  • Applies to non-agricultural buildings or structures; the agricultural-use buildings were not separately read.

  maximum structure height: <= 35 ft (non-agricultural buildings only, per text read)

  “all non-agricultural buildings or structures shall not be taller than thirty-five (35') feet in height measured from top of roof line to threshold grade.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Buildings and structures in the R-1 residential settlement district inside Copemish village

    “k. maximum structure height b. no building or structure shall be taller than thirty-five (35') feet in height measured from top of roof line to threshold grade.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Mobile homes or trailers used as dwelling units inside Copemish village

  • Mobile homes or trailers must meet HUD mobile home construction and safety standards.
  • A village land use permit is required before a dwelling unit is moved into the village.
  • Section 112 beyond subsection a. was not read; other occupancy limits may apply.

  “mobile homes or trailers shall meet or exceed the requirements imposed by the united states department of housing and urban development mobile home construction and safety standards”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Subdivision and condominium development inside Copemish village

  • Only the table of contents for Article 12 was read; the design standards and approval procedure were not.

  “article 12 83 subdivision and condominium design standards 83”

• Permit processPartial

  New, relocated, or moved-in dwelling units inside Copemish village

  • Only the zoning land use permit for dwellings was read (Article 11, section 112 a). Other permit steps, fees, and the building-permit route were not established.
  • Dwelling units and additions must meet or exceed building and fire code construction standards.

  “a land use permit issued by the village of copemish shall be required before any dwelling unit is constructed, relocated, or moved into the village of copemish.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Village of Copemish or Manistee County directly.

• Building permit — Building permits for construction inside Copemish village
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption for construction inside Copemish village
• Building code adopted — Building code adoption inside Copemish village
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Copemish village
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy inside Copemish 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.