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

Wright Township’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  New construction and zoning-regulated structures inside Wright township

  • Building permits are issued through the township's building permit provider per the township contact page (PCI for building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits).
  • Permit requirements are by reference to the Wright Township building code.

  “nothing in this section relieves a person of the duty to obtain all necessary building permits as required by the wright township building code.”

• Certificate of occupancyLimited

  Dwelling units in the village district where they are established within a commercial building in Wright township; general certificate-of-occupancy rule not located

  • Only the village-district mixed-use dwelling provision was located; the sec. 2400 administration section listing a certificate of occupancy was not opened.

  “the entire building containing the dwelling unit shall also be brought into compliance with the building code and fire code before an occupancy permit is issued.”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Wright township's unincorporated area is zoned under the township's own Wright Township Zoning Ordinance, administered by the township office.

  • The ordinance governs the unincorporated portions of Wright township only.

  “for the purpose of this ordinance, all the unincorporated area of the township of wright, county of ottawa, and state of michigan, is hereby divided into the following zoning districts.”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts for unincorporated land inside Wright township

  • Districts are shown on the official zoning districts map, which the township posts as a 2024 zoning map PDF (not opened).

  “for the purpose of this ordinance, all the unincorporated area of the township of wright, county of ottawa, and state of michigan, is hereby divided into the following zoning districts.”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Main single-family residential district (LDR, low density residential) inside Wright township

  • Square footage is measured to the outside dimensions and excludes attached garages, unenclosed porches and other accessory structures.

  minimum one-story dwelling floor area: >= 960 square feet (dwellings with fewer than three bedrooms: 720 square feet) · minimum two-story dwelling first-floor area: >= 720 square feet

  “all one-story dwellings shall have a minimum of 960 square feet of area, except that dwellings with less than three bedrooms must only have a minimum of 720 square feet of area.”

  2 more reviewed findings on this topic

  • Specified — Agricultural district dwellings inside Wright township

    “all one-story dwellings shall have a minimum of nine hundred, sixty (960) square feet of area, except that dwellings with less than three (3) bedrooms must only have a minimum of seven hundred, twenty (720) square feet of area.”

  • Specified — Rural agricultural (RA) district dwellings inside Wright township

    “all one-story dwellings shall have a minimum of nine hundred sixty (960) square feet of area, except that dwellings with less than three (3) bedrooms must only have a minimum of seven hundred twenty (720) square feet of area.”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Low density residential (LDR) district, single-family lots inside Wright township

  • Lot size depends on public sewer, public water, or community septic/well service; the largest minimum applies where neither is served.

  minimum lot area, no public sanitary sewer: >= 30000 square feet (not served by public sanitary sewer) · minimum lot width, no public sanitary sewer: >= 132 feet (at front lot line) · minimum lot area, public sewer or public water or community septic/well: >= 20000 square feet (minimum lot width 100 feet at front lot line) · minimum lot area, public sewer and water or community septic and well: >= 12000 square feet (minimum lot width 80 feet at front lot line)

  “for lots that are not served by public sanitary sewer, the minimum lot size shall be 30,000 square feet with a minimum width of 132 feet at the front lot line.”

  2 more reviewed findings on this topic

  • Specified — Agricultural district lots created for a single-family dwelling inside Wright township (lots created after August 10, 2005)

    “a lot shall be a minimum of one acre and a maximum of two acres in size except as may be otherwise allowed by section 503(b) herein.”

  • Specified — Rural agricultural (RA) district lots inside Wright township

    “all lots or parcels must be at least one and one-half (1.5) acres in area, with a minimum width of one hundred-fifty (150) feet at the front lot line.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Low density residential (LDR) district inside Wright township

  • Front yard is 50 feet on a county primary road right-of-way; the 25-foot front yard applies to all other lots.
  • Rear yard is 35 feet from the rear lot line.

  minimum side yard, each side: >= 10 feet · minimum front yard, non-county-primary road: >= 25 feet (50 feet on county primary road) · minimum rear yard: >= 35 feet

  “sec. 703.5 minimum rear yard. each lot or parcel shall have a minimum rear yard of 35 feet from the rear lot line.”

  2 more reviewed findings on this topic

  • Specified — Agricultural district lots inside Wright township

    “sec. 504.4 minimum side yard. each lot or parcel shall have minimum side yards of not less than fifteen (15) feet on each side.”

  • Specified — Rural agricultural (RA) district lots inside Wright township

    “sec. 603.5 minimum rear yard. each lot or parcel shall have a minimum rear yard of fifty (50) feet in depth from the rear lot line.”

• Building heightSpecified

  Agricultural district inside Wright township (principal buildings)

  maximum principal building height: <= 35 feet

  “sec. 504.2 maximum building height. no principal building shall exceed a height of thirty five (35) feet.”

  2 more reviewed findings on this topic

  • Specified — Low density residential (LDR) district inside Wright township

    “sec. 703.2 maximum building height. no building or structure shall exceed a height of th”

  • Specified — Rural agricultural (RA) district inside Wright township

    “sec. 603.2 maximum building height. no building or structure shall exceed a height of thirty-five (35) feet.”

• Living in an RVLimited

  Occupying a mobile home or recreational vehicle as a dwelling inside Wright township

  • Outside the disaster-replacement exception, a mobile home or recreational vehicle may not be used as a dwelling under sec. 303.
  • After a fire, flood, wind, earthquake or similar disaster, the township supervisor and planning commission chair may authorize use for up to 180 days while the dwelling is repaired or rebuilt, extendable by up to three further 180-day periods.

  “no mobile home or recreational vehicle shall be permitted under section 303 except in cases where an existing dwelling in wright township is destroyed by fire, flood, wind, earthquake, or other acts of god, or the public enemy, and where there is compliance with all other provisions of section 303.”

• Tiny homesLimited

  Small dwellings (tiny homes) in the LDR district inside Wright township

  • No separate tiny-home category was located; the minimum floor area for one-story dwellings in the LDR district applies to any dwelling.

  minimum one-story dwelling floor area: >= 960 square feet (dwellings with fewer than three bedrooms: 720 square feet)

  “all one-story dwellings shall have a minimum of 960 square feet of area, except that dwellings with less than three bedrooms must only have a minimum of 720 square feet of area.”

• Manufactured homesAllowed (with conditions)

  Mobile homes on individual lots inside Wright township, in any district where single-family dwellings are permitted

  • Must comply with the ordinance requirements for single-family dwellings.
  • The chassis, wheels and undercarriage must not be exposed.
  • Must meet HUD mobile home construction safety standards.
  • Mobile home parks are a separate use in the MHP district (ch. 13).

  “mobile homes, shall be permitted, outside licenses mobile home parks, in any district wherein single family dwellings are permitted”

• Accessory dwellingsProhibited

  A second dwelling unit on a parcel in the agricultural, rural agricultural, LDR and MDR districts inside Wright township

  • Applies to the agricultural, rural agricultural, LDR and MDR districts only; other districts were not reviewed for accessory dwellings.

  “in the agricultural, rural agricultural, ldr, and mdr zoning districts, there shall be no more than one dwelling unit on any parcel.”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Dwelling sanitation without public sewer inside Wright township

  • Only a private system approved by the county health department is allowed in place of public sewer.

  “all dwelling units shall be connected to a public sanitary sewer system and public water supply system or to a private system approved by the county health department.”

• Mandatory utility hookupConditional

  All dwelling units inside Wright township

  • Connection to public sanitary sewer and public water is required only where the dwelling is connected to those systems or when no approved private system is used; the ordinance does not state a distance or availability test.
  • A private system approved by the county health department is the alternative.

  “all dwelling units shall be connected to a public sanitary sewer system and public water supply system or to a private system approved by the county health department.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Lot splits and platted subdivisions or site condominiums inside Wright township

  • Lot splits in the agricultural district also require planning commission approval under the sliding scale (sec. 503).
  • Platted subdivisions and site condominiums follow the township subdivision ordinance or site condominium regulations, per sec. 326.
  • Open space preservation projects follow the township subdivision or site condominium rules where platted.

  “if the commission approves the request the applicant must also obtain approval of the proposed lot split as required by the township land division ordinance.”

• Driveway accessRequired

  Driveways and shared driveways serving lots inside Wright township

  • Driveways must meet the minimum standards in sec. 2911 of the zoning ordinance.
  • Driveway permits are issued by the Ottawa County Road Commission, per the township contact page.

  “driveway permits ottawa county road commission phone: 616-842-5400”

• Permit processPartial

  Building permit and zoning administration process inside Wright township

  • Only the table of contents of the administration chapter was seen; the procedure text (sec. 2400 to 2402) was not opened.
  • Building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits are handled by PCI per the township contact page.

  “sec. 2400.2 duties of the building inspector. this ordinance shall be enforced by the building inspector, who shall in no case issue any building permit nor grant any occupancy permit where the proposed structure, alteration or use would be in violation of any provisions of this ordinance”

Rules another office applies inside Wright Township

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

• Who permits septicCounty (with conditions)

  Septic systems for dwellings inside Wright township

  • Ordinance sec. 314.3 requires private systems to be approved by the county health department.

  “well & septic permits ottawa county health department phone: 616-396-5266”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder construction exemption in Wright township
• Building code adopted — Building code adopted for construction inside Wright township
• Inspections — Building inspections for dwellings inside Wright township
• Lot coverage — Maximum lot coverage inside Wright township
• Septic inspection — Septic system inspection inside Wright 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.