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

Delaware Township’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  All land inside Delaware township's limits (Delaware Township, Sanilac County), administered by the township under its own Zoning Ordinance

  • The ordinance is a township board ordinance adopted at a meeting held on November 10, 1992 and given immediate effect on adoption; the table of contents records later amendments (for example, amended 02-09-2010, amended 10-09-2001, amended 08-09-2011, amended 12-12-17). This record reflects the copy opened on the township site and does not confirm that it is the latest amended version.
  • Zoning districts: AR agricultural residential, R residential, RL residential lakeshore, RM residential multiple dwellings, MHP mobile home park, LC lakeshore commercial, C commercial, I industrial (section 4.01).
  • Wind and solar energy overlay districts and special approval procedures appear in the same ordinance; they do not replace the base districts.

  “section 4.01. districts: districts. ar r rl rm mhp lc c i the township is hereby divided into the following zoning”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts of Delaware township, Sanilac County, Michigan (AR, R, RL, RM, MHP, LC, C, I)

  • The district list is in section 4.01; the zoning map is a separate attachment designated as the Delaware Township zoning map (section 4.02) and was not opened.
  • Single-family dwellings are a principal permitted use in the AR and R districts (sections 5.01 and 6.01), subject to section 15.06.
  • District-by-district dimensional values were not extracted (see minimum_lot_size, setbacks, building_height and lot_coverage).

  “section 4.01. districts: districts. ar r rl rm mhp lc c i the township is hereby divided into the following zoning”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Lots inside platted subdivisions in Delaware township. The text sits in the footnotes to the area, setback and height table (section 13.02); district-by-district values (AR, R, RL) were not extracted.

  • Within platted subdivisions: minimum lot area 20,000 square feet and minimum lot width 100 feet.
  • Outside platted subdivisions: the footnote text found does not state a minimum lot area; the table values for the AR and R districts were not extracted.
  • Multi-family land area: in no case shall there be less than 5,000 square feet of land area per dwelling unit; an additional 100 square feet is required for each bedroom beyond the first.
  • Parcel depth limit (footnote): in no case shall the length of any parcel exceed 4 times the width of the parcel.
  • Mobile home park site (section 13.02 footnote, MHP district): minimum site size 20 acres and minimum width 600 feet.
  • The footnotes are not clearly linked to a specific district in the extracted text, so the mapping to district values is not verified.

  minimum lot area (within platted subdivisions): >= 20000 sq ft · minimum lot width (within platted subdivisions): >= 100 ft

  “within platted subdivisions, the minimum lot area shall be 20,000 square feet and the minimum lot width shall be 100 feet.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Buildings in Delaware township near public or private roads (footnote to section 13.02 table of area, setback and height requirements). District-by-district front, side and rear yard values were not extracted.

  • Footnote text: measured from center of the road right-of-way.
  • Footnote text: not applicable to farm structures such as barns, silo, or grain elevators.
  • Side and rear yard setbacks for the AR, R and RL districts were not extracted; those values are not recorded here.
  • The footnote is not clearly linked to a specific district in the extracted text.

  setback from centerline of public or private road: >= 100 ft (not applicable to farm structures such as barns, silo, or grain elevators)

  “no building shall be constructed within 100 feet of the centerline of any public or private road.”

• Accessory dwellingsProhibited

  Occupancy of garages, barns, accessory buildings and basements as dwellings in Delaware township

  • Covers the occupancy of accessory structures as dwellings, temporarily or permanently.
  • The ordinance text read does not state whether a separate accessory dwelling unit attached to or detached from a single-family home is allowed; that question is not answered by this claim.

  “garages, barns, accessory buildings and basements shall not be occupied either temporarily or permanently as dwellings.”

• Short-term rentalsLimited

  Bed and breakfast establishments only, in the RL residential lakeshore district of Delaware township. General short-term rental is not addressed.

  • Permitted only as a use after special approval (section 7.02 a), with planning commission approval.
  • The home shall not rent out more than five sleeping rooms.
  • Adequate on-site parking, as determined by the planning commission, shall be provided.

  maximum rented sleeping rooms: <= 5 rooms

  “bed and breakfast establishments. 1. the home shall not rent out more than five sleeping rooms. 2. adequate on-site parking, as determined by the planning commission, shall be provided.”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — Building permits for new homes inside Delaware township
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption from building permits or inspections inside Delaware township
• Building code adopted — Construction codes applied inside Delaware township
• Inspections — Building inspections for construction inside Delaware township
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificates of occupancy for new dwellings inside Delaware 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.