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

Tittabawassee Township’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Buildings to be occupied by people inside Tittabawassee township.

  • The zoning administrator issues the building permit only after sewage disposal and water provisions are met (county or state permits where no public sewer or water).
  • The township building code is referenced in the ordinance; its identity was not confirmed.

  “no building permit shall be issued for any building to be occupied by human beings unless provisions have been made to provide sewage disposal and water to the building.”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  All land inside Tittabawassee township limits: the township administers its own zoning ordinance (Tittabawassee township zoning ordinance, Saginaw County).

  • The ordinance text was read from a PDF copy hosted on energyzoning.org, not from a township-hosted file; the township homepage confirms it publishes a zoning ordinance link but the current adopted version was not confirmed on the township domain.
  • The copy states revisions through 11.22.2021; later amendments were not checked.
  • Each district's rules differ; see the district and dimensional claims.

  “zoning administration zoning map zoning ordinance site plan application”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts for land inside Tittabawassee township limits.

  • Districts are named in section 3.1 of the ordinance copy; the official zoning map is referenced in section 3.2 and was not opened.
  • Ordinance copy is from energyzoning.org; confirm against the township-hosted version.

  “ag or a-1 agricultural district r-1a rural residential district r-1 low density residential district”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Agricultural (Ag) district land inside Tittabawassee township: minimum lot area per dwelling unit or main structure.

  • Value read from Table 17 (section 3.4, dimensions for all districts). The text extraction of the table is scrambled; the row alignment is inferred and should be checked against a clean copy.
  • Lot width minimum for the Ag district is also shown as 150 ft in the same row.

  minimum lot area, Ag district: >= 43560 sq ft · minimum lot width, Ag district: >= 150 ft

  “ag agriculture 43,560 150 35 b 40 50 (35) r-1a rural residential without sewer and water”

• SetbacksDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Agricultural (Ag) district land inside Tittabawassee township: minimum front yard setback.

  • Read from the Ag row of Table 17; the column alignment is inferred from scrambled text. Side yard setback for the Ag row is shown as 50 with 35 in parentheses and is not recorded here.
  • Setbacks for R-1, R-1A, R-1V, R-2 and R-3 are not recorded.

  minimum front yard setback, Ag district: >= 40 ft

  “ag agriculture 43,560 150 35 b 40 50 (35) r-1a rural residential without sewer and water”

• Building heightDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Agricultural (Ag) district land inside Tittabawassee township: maximum height of the main structure.

  • Accessory buildings in the Ag district used for agricultural purposes may not exceed eighty five (85’) feet in height, per the ordinance footnote quoted in the second evidence item.
  • Height value is read from the Ag row of Table 17 and should be checked against a clean copy.

  maximum height of structure, Ag district: <= 35 ft (agricultural accessory buildings: 85 ft)

  “b. all accessory buildings in the ag district, and used for agricultural purposes, may not exceed eighty five (85’) feet in height.”

• Manufactured homesAllowed (with conditions)

  Mobile or manufactured home parks in the R-4 manufactured home park district inside Tittabawassee township.

  • Allowed only in the R-4 manufactured home park district; the ordinance copy lists R-4 as a separate district but this claim does not establish that single manufactured homes on individual lots are allowed in other districts.
  • Mobile home definition in the ordinance excludes recreational vehicles.

  “r-4 manufactured home park district vc or c-1 village center district”

• Mandatory utility hookupConditional

  A single-family dwelling inside Tittabawassee township that meets the township's dwelling design standards.

  • The dwelling must be connected to public sewer and water, or to private facilities approved by the local health department.
  • The ordinance text read does not establish a mandatory connection to public sewer or water where mains are available; the dimensional table distinguishes lots with and without public sewer and water.

  “the dwelling is connected to a public sewer and water supply or to private facilities approved by the local health department.”

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Physical alterations to properties in the gc greenbelt conservation/floodplain district inside Tittabawassee township.

  • Applies only to properties located in the greenbelt conservation/floodplain (gc) district; the district map was not opened.
  • Site plan review is the stated requirement; state or federal floodplain permits may also apply and were not checked.

  “all applications for physical alterations to properties located in this district shall be subject to the site plan review requirements”

• Permit processPartial

  Building permit application process for land inside Tittabawassee township.

  • The homepage shows a permit application page, but its step-by-step process was not opened; the process is therefore only partly described here.

  “how do i apply for obtain building permits foia”

Rules another office applies inside Tittabawassee Township

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

• Septic permitRequired

  Septic systems serving buildings occupied by people inside Tittabawassee township (where no public sewer is available).

  • Permit is issued by county or state agencies, not the township; the building permit is withheld until the county or state permits are in place.
  • Schema geography for county is district-specific; intended scope is township-specific.

  “in the absence of public sewer or water the zoning administrator can only issue a building permit when county or state permits for water and sewage disposal meet state and county health department standards.”

• Well permitRequired

  Private water wells serving buildings occupied by people inside Tittabawassee township (where no public water is available).

  • Permit is issued by county or state agencies, not the township; the building permit is withheld until the county or state permits are in place.
  • Schema geography for county is district-specific; intended scope is township-specific.

  “in the absence of public sewer or water the zoning administrator can only issue a building permit when county or state permits for water and sewage disposal meet state and county health department standards.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit exemption inside Tittabawassee township.
• Building code adopted — Building code adopted for construction inside Tittabawassee township.
• Inspections — Building inspections for construction inside Tittabawassee township.
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new dwellings inside Tittabawassee township.
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum floor area of a dwelling inside Tittabawassee 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.