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

Benona Township’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent

  Land inside Benona township, Oceana County, MI

  • Township site also hosts an April 2026 draft with blank effective date; only the ordinances-page listing is relied on, not the draft text.

  “zoning map effective september 1, 2026 benona township zoning ordinance effective september 1, 2026”

Rules another office applies inside Benona Township

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

• Certificate of occupancyRequired

  Occupancy letter from the Oceana County Building Department; the county's municipality table lists Benona township, so applies inside Benona township

  • Called an 'occupancy letter' by the county.
  • Sheet updated 04/17/2026.

  “an occupancy letter is required on all buildings before they can be used or occupied.”

• Driveway accessLimited

  Driveway permits from the Oceana County Road Commission, per the county building sheet that lists Benona township

  • Not needed when the driveway will be on a private road.

  “driveway permit - from the county road commission (231)873-4226 is needed when no other buildings already exist, when doing anything in road right-of-way and/or where culverts will have to be installed, except for when the driveway will be on a private road.”

• Building in a floodplainLimited

  EGLE permit for construction impacting floodplain, wetland, dune etc., listed on the Oceana County building sheet

  • Only where activities impact a regulated feature.

  “egle permit - from the department of environment, great lakes, and energy (egle)'s water resources division is required for any construction activities that would impact a lake, river, stream, wetland, dune, high risk erosion, or floodplain.”

• Permit processPartial

  Oceana County Building Department's step-by-step permit checklist; its municipality table lists Benona township, so it applies inside Benona township

  • Zoning permit or waiver comes from the township zoning administrator (Sara Bizon, Wednesdays 10-2) before the county building permit.
  • Also lists EGLE, DNR, house number, septic/well, driveway and soil erosion steps.
  • Sheet updated 04/17/2026.

  “zoning permit or waiver - needed if you are doing work in a zoned township (see list on page 2)”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — Building permits inside Benona township
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption inside Benona township
• Building code adopted — Building code inside Benona township
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Benona township
• Zoning districts — Zoning districts inside Benona 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.