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

Elmer Township’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Structures of 200 square feet or larger built inside Elmer township need a township land use permit. This is a zoning land use permit; a state or county building permit was not verified.

  • Portable buildings of 199 square feet or less do not require a land use permit.
  • Structures moved onto a site need a cash deposit set by the township board (section 11.04).

  structure size requiring land use permit: >= 200 square feet (portable buildings of 199 square feet or less do not require a land use permit)

  “portable buildings are defined as: 199 square feet or less and do not require a land use permit. any structure 200 square feet or larger a land use permit is required.”

• Building code adoptedPartial

  Single-family dwellings and dwelling additions built or moved inside Elmer township.

  • Ordinance requires compliance with the building code in effect when the dwelling is built or moved; it does not name the code edition.
  • The state-adopted residential code that would apply by state law was not verified here.

  “f. construction code. each dwelling and dwelling addition shall comply with building code requirements in effect at the time the dwelling is constructed or moved within the township.”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Elmer township limits, administered under the Township of Elmer Zoning Ordinance (not a Sanilac County ordinance and not the county's unincorporated area).

  • Use and building are governed by the township ordinance's district, permit and special-approval provisions.
  • Ordinance title shows revisions through 02/2026; the title's '1995' date is not stated as an effective date.

  “township of elmer zoning ordinance 1995 (revised 11/2022) (revised 03/2013) (revised 05/2025) (revised 02/2026)”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts for land inside Elmer township limits.

  • Table of contents lists Article V 'AR-1 agricultural and single-family residential district' and Article IV district regulations with a zoning map.
  • Zoning map itself is not text-extracted; district-by-district content not captured.

  “section 9.02 tables of area, setback and height requirements”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Single-family dwellings inside Elmer township (section 11.06). The square-foot minimum is set by the section 9.02 table, which text extraction did not capture.

  • Minimum square footage applies to each dwelling before any alterations or additions.
  • Each dwelling must have a basement, garage or storage building of at least 100 square feet, built at the same time as the dwelling.
  • Foundation, skirting, anchoring and a shingled roof of at least 3-12 pitch are also required (section 11.06 c-e).

  minimum width of single-family dwelling, in all directions: >= 24 feet

  “b. minimum width. in all directions. each dwelling shall be no less than twenty-four (24) feet in width”

• Living in an RVProhibited

  Motor homes and travel trailers used as dwellings on land inside Elmer township.

  • Prohibition covers occupation as a dwelling, either temporarily or permanently.
  • Storage or parking of an RV is not addressed by this sentence.

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

• Tiny homesProhibited

  Tiny homes used as dwellings on land inside Elmer township.

  • Tiny home is defined in the ordinance as 919 square feet or less.
  • Prohibition covers occupation as a dwelling, either temporarily or permanently.

  tiny home maximum size: <= 919 square feet

  “tiny homes are defined as: 919 square feet or less.”

• Accessory dwellingsProhibited

  Accessory buildings (garages, barns, basements and similar structures) used as dwellings inside Elmer township.

  • Applies to accessory buildings and garages; no separate accessory-dwelling-unit section was found in the text read.
  • Other accessory dwelling rules may exist in articles not extracted.

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

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption from licensing or permit rules for work inside Elmer township.
• Inspections — Building inspection of structures inside Elmer township.
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new structures inside Elmer township.
• Minimum lot size — Minimum lot size for land inside Elmer township.
• Lot coverage — Lot coverage (building footprint as share of lot) inside Elmer 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.