Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Frankenmuth, Michigan

Frankenmuth’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent

  Land inside Frankenmuth city limits: the city adopts and administers its own zoning ordinance (Chapter 51 of Title V, Zoning & Planning Code).

  • Text was read from a city-hosted copy of Chapter 51; no effective or adoption date for the current compilation was stated on the page.
  • Amendments after the compiled text may exist; the city's City Code page was not reachable (HTTP 404) during this research.

  “for the purpose of this chapter, the city of frankenmuth is hereby divided into the following districts”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts inside Frankenmuth city limits (RE, RA-1, RA-2, RA-3, MHR, RCD, RCM, O, B-1 to B-4, I, FP, R-PUD, MU-PUD, CL-PUD, CT-PUD, I-PUD, IS-PUD, SU, P-1 per Sec. 5.11).

  • The district list is from Sec. 5.11 of the city's Zoning & Planning Code; the district schedule table (Article 15) was not fully extractable from the PDF text.
  • Agriculture district is listed in Sec. 5.11 as 'a agriculture district'; the text does not show whether any land inside the city is mapped to it.
  • The zoning map was not opened.

  “for the purpose of this chapter, the city of frankenmuth is hereby divided into the following districts”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Lots inside Frankenmuth city that are not served by sanitary sewers (note to the schedule of regulations, Sec. 5.132 a.).

  • Applies only where the lot is not served by sanitary sewers.
  • The lot must also be of adequate size to accommodate on-site sewage disposal.
  • The district-by-district minimum lot area and width figures in the Sec. 5.131 schedule table were not extractable from the PDF text; see search_notes.

  minimum lot area where not served by sanitary sewers: >= 20000 square feet (applies only where the lot is not served by sanitary sewers)

  “no lot shall be less than twenty thousand (20,000) square feet in lot area where said lot is not served by sanitary sewers and shall be of adequate size to accommodate on site sewage disposal.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Residential districts inside Frankenmuth city other than RE and MHR (includes the one-family districts RA-1, RA-2, RA-3 and the multiple-dwelling districts), for lots with a street-facing side yard and a common rear yard.

  • Applies only where there is a common rear yard.
  • Excludes RE and MHR districts.
  • Front, rear and interior side setbacks per district are in the Sec. 5.131 schedule, which did not extract to text; see search_notes.

  side yard abutting a street (residential districts except RE and MHR): >= 25 feet (applies only when there is a common rear yard)

  “in all residential districts except re and mhr, the side yard abutting upon a street shall not be less than twentyfive (25) feet, when there is a common rear yard.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Mobile homes in the city's MHR mobile home residential district (mobile home parks only), inside Frankenmuth city limits.

  • Mobile home parks must conform to the state trailer coach park act and the park conditions in Sec. 5.51(1).
  • Other districts were not shown to permit manufactured homes in this extraction; occupancy of single manufactured homes outside parks not confirmed.

  minimum mobile home park size: >= 10 acres

  “the minimum size of a mobile home park shall be ten (10) acres, five percent (5%) of which shall be devoted to the recreational use of the tenants.”

• Short-term rentalsLimited

  Owner-occupied short-term rentals in residential zoning districts inside Frankenmuth city limits.

  • Not within 300 feet of any bed and breakfast or other short-term rental, except homes on listed streets (S. Franklin St., Genesee St. between Parker St. and Churchgrove Rd., E. Jefferson St. between S. Main St. and the city limits, N. Main St.).
  • Must be operated entirely within the principal dwelling; no more than 25 percent of the dwelling's total square footage and no more than 2 bedrooms; total guests not to exceed four lodgers.
  • Must provide on-site parking, a minimum of two exits, city housing code compliance (city code chapter 61), a guest register, and licensing per city code chapter 71.
  • Non-owner-occupied short-term rentals are allowed only in RCM and certain legal nonconforming structures in O, commercial and I districts, under separate standards.

  maximum bedrooms used for short-term rental, owner occupied: <= 2 bedrooms (no more than 25 percent of total dwelling square footage)

  “short term rentals-owner occupied, shall be permitted in all residential zoning districts, but shall not be located within 300 feet of any bed and breakfast nor any other short-term rental (owner occupied or non-owner occupied).”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Frankenmuth or Saginaw County directly.

• Building permit — Building permits for new homes inside Frankenmuth city limits
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder construction inside Frankenmuth city limits
• Building code adopted — Building code adoption inside Frankenmuth city limits
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Frankenmuth city limits
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new homes inside Frankenmuth city limits

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.