Building permits, zoning and septic rules in Montmorency County, Michigan

Yes. Montmorency County has adopted and enforces the Michigan State Construction Code, Michigan Residential Code, and associated electrical, mechanical, and plumbing codes, and its own Building Department issues the permits². A permit must be issued before any work requiring one begins, and it's the property owner's or contractor's responsibility to get every required permit and approval before starting^1,2. Requirements vary by project: beyond the county's own building, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing permits, you may also need township zoning approval, Soil Erosion & Sedimentation Control (SESC) sign-off, District Health Department No. 4 well or septic approval, road approval, or a floodplain or EGLE permit, depending on what you're building and where¹. Statewide, Michigan's 2021-edition building code, effective April 9, 2025, governs the construction, alteration, use, and occupancy of buildings, with Michigan-specific amendments⁸. Application fees are non-refundable once paid¹.

The Montmorency County Building Department administers building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, demolition, and SESC permitting and inspections for the whole county². Reach the office at P.O. Box 789, Atlanta, Michigan 49709, by phone at 989-785-8006². The department also runs a Construction Board of Appeals, and its site tells applicants to confirm before applying whether township zoning, SESC, health department, road commission, or floodplain/EGLE approvals also apply to their project². The county's published mechanical permit schedule charges a $65 application fee plus per-item and inspection fees such as $75 for a rough inspection and $50 for a final inspection; ask the Building Department for the fee on the building, electrical and plumbing permits you need⁷. Septic permits are not issued here: those come from District Health Department No. 4³. For driveway or access questions on a county-maintained road, the Montmorency County Road Commission can be reached at 989-785-3334².

Zoning approval in Montmorency County is administered by the townships and the Village of Hillman rather than through one uniform county system, while the county Building Department still issues the building permit, and the Building Department requires any applicable local zoning approval before it will issue a building permit². The county lists zoning contacts for Albert, Avery, Briley, Hillman, Montmorency, Rust, and Vienna townships and the Village of Hillman, while identifying Loud Township as having no zoning². Loud Township therefore has no zoning-based minimum dwelling size, minimum lot size, setback, lot-coverage limit, or building-height limit². Loud Township also imposes no zoning restriction on RV occupancy, temporary camping, tiny-home occupancy, manufactured-home occupancy, or accessory-dwelling occupancy². Building-code, septic, road, land-division, floodplain, and other requirements can still constrain a Loud Township project². For land elsewhere, ask the applicable township or village for the parcel's district and use rules before designing the project².

District Health Department No. 4 (DHD4), not Montmorency County, regulates sewage disposal across Montmorency, Alpena, Cheboygan, and Presque Isle counties³. The Atlanta office that serves Montmorency County is at 12480 State Street, Atlanta, MI 49709, phone (989) 785-4428⁹. An owner or authorized representative must obtain a DHD4 construction permit before installing, repairing, or altering an on-site sewage system; after application and payment, the process includes a site visit, soil evaluation, and site review when conditions allow⁴. The permit is valid for 2 years, and DHD4 must inspect the finished system before it is covered or backfilled⁴. Only 8.1% of Montmorency County soils are free of severe limitations for a conventional drain field, so complete the soil evaluation before fixing the house location or budget⁶. A building served by plumbing must connect to public sewer where available or use an approved private system¹⁰.

Montmorency County has no single answer to RV or tiny-home living because zoning varies by township and in the Village of Hillman². Loud Township has no zoning restriction on RV occupancy, temporary camping, tiny-home occupancy, manufactured-home occupancy, or accessory-dwelling occupancy, but building, septic, sanitary, floodplain, and other non-zoning requirements still apply². In Montmorency Township, ordinary dwelling or camping use of a tent, travel trailer, or motor home is limited to 30 days per year; a travel trailer or motor home may serve as a temporary dwelling for up to 183 days per year when running water and sewage facilities are available⁵. A zoning permit may allow a temporary residence for up to one year while a house is being built, with a possible one-year renewal if construction has substantially progressed⁵. Montmorency Township allows a manufactured or mobile home as a single-family dwelling when it has suitable sleeping, living, and sanitary facilities and complies with township zoning, the state construction code, and county health codes⁵. Elsewhere, ask the applicable zoning authority; Michigan tiny homes still need applicable zoning and construction approvals, including homes on wheels^2,11.

1. Identify your township, or the Village of Hillman, and call its zoning contact for zoning approval; the county requires any applicable local zoning approval before issuing a building permit².
2. If splitting land, get township approval before requesting an address; Michigan's Land Division Act also governs plats and non-plat divisions^2,12.
3. Arrange the DHD4 septic permit and well review and any SESC, road, or floodplain approval^2,9. A driveway onto a state trunkline needs an MDOT permit in addition to the local building permit¹³.
4. Get the septic site evaluation before finalizing the house design⁴.
5. Apply to the Montmorency County Building Department for building and any electrical, mechanical, or plumbing permits; application fees are non-refundable^1,2.
6. Follow the required inspection sequence and do not conceal work before approval¹⁴.
7. After final inspections and life-safety corrections, request a Certificate of Occupancy determination before moving in¹⁵.

Confirm the local zoning authority for the parcel; Loud Township has no zoning-based minimum home size, lot size, setbacks, lot coverage, or height limit, but other townships and the Village of Hillman may impose those controls². Check the soil before assuming a conventional septic system will work because only 8.1% of county soils are free of severe limits for a conventional drain field⁶. A floodplain, shoreline, wetland, inland-lake, or stream project may need EGLE or other approval¹⁶. A proposed subdivision in a floodplain must show the 100-year floodplain on its final plat and satisfy additional state review standards¹⁷. Michigan regulates subdivision plats and requires notice to state and local governments for subdivision or condominium development¹⁸. Michigan's owner-builder rule can exempt an owner building a personal residence from residential-builder licensing, but not from permits, inspections, or occupancy requirements¹⁹. Qualifying property used in agricultural production may receive a sales-and-use-tax exemption, but permanently affixed structural property is generally excluded except for specified items²⁰.