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

Pine Township’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Pine township's limits in Montcalm County: the township adopts and administers its own zoning ordinance and issues its own zoning permits.

  • County page says zoned townships in Montcalm County enforce their own zoning restrictions and issue their own zoning permits; the county list includes a Pine township zoning administrator.
  • Pine township's official home page links to a zoning ordinance ('pine twp zoning ordinance') and a zoning map; the ordinance PDF itself was not opened on an official page in this run.
  • Development must conform to the township zoning ordinance and its districts; the township ordinance governs over any county rule for land inside the township.

  “zoned townships within montcalm county enforce their own zoning restrictions along with issuing their own zoning permits.”

Rules another office applies inside Pine Township

Pine 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, alterations, additions, change of use, demolitions and other listed work on land inside Pine township, permitted by the Montcalm County building department (which covers all of Montcalm County except the City of Greenville).

  • Construction may proceed after the county building permit is issued.
  • Exceptions stated on the county page: residential accessory structures not greater than 200 square feet and entryway additions to existing dwellings where no horizontal dimension exceeds 7 feet are excepted from the garage, carport, shed and yard-building permit list.
  • Building permits are not required for re-siding of a structure, and window replacements need a permit only when the window opening is made larger.
  • Permits are also listed for swimming pools 24 inches or deeper, decks, porches or floor surfaces 30 inches or more above grade, all mobile home installations and replacements, and roof systems (excluding re-roofing without structural repairs).
  • Township zoning permits are separate and are issued by the township zoning administrator.

  “montcalm county building department issues building, electric, plumbing and mechanical permits for all of montcalm county, except for the city of greenville, where we issue electric, plumbing and mechanical permits only.”

• Permit feesVariable (with conditions)

  Montcalm County building department permit fees for work inside Pine township

  • Fees are based on the size of the project and the actual work performed, per the county statement; no fee schedule was opened.
  • Zoning permit fees set by the township were not found.

  “montcalm county building department permit fees are based on the size of the project and the actual work that is being performed.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption for a home built by the owner inside Pine township
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for a new home inside Pine township
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum dwelling size for the main single-family residential district in Pine township
• Minimum lot size — Minimum lot size for the main single-family residential and agricultural preservation districts in Pine township
• Setbacks — Front, side and rear setbacks in Pine township's residential and agricultural districts

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.