Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Town of Binghamton, New York

Town of Binghamton’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Work submitted on the Town of Binghamton building-permit application, including new residential construction.

  • Work may not start until the building permit is approved.
  • The application states that a one-year expiration requires new fees for extensions and may require a new review.

  permit expiration: 1 year (The application states that extensions require new fees and may require a new review.)

  “All work shall not be started until the building permit is approved”

• InspectionsRequired

  Permitted construction inside the Town of Binghamton.

  • Electrical inspection must be completed by a New York State Certified Electrical Inspector.
  • The Town does not perform electrical inspections; it performs heating, plumbing, HVAC, footer, foundation, drainage, framing, and insulation inspections.

  “Inspections Required: 1. Foundation with drainage installed before backfill 2. Framing 3. Plumbing 4. Insulation 5. Electrical* (must be completed by NYS Certified Electrical Inspector) 6. Final”

• Certificate of occupancyRequired

  Buildings inside the Town of Binghamton that are to be occupied after work covered by the Town application.

  • A building cannot be occupied before first obtaining a certificate of occupancy.

  “No building shall be occupied before first obtaining a Certificate of Occupancy (CO)”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside the Town of Binghamton, Broome County, New York.

  • The zoning chapter was adopted by the Town Board and has amendments noted in the official code.

  “Chapter 240 Zoning [HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Binghamton 9-7-1976 by L.L. No. 8-1976 as Ch. 36 of the 1969 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts inside the Town of Binghamton.

  • The schedule is adopted as part of Chapter 240.

  published district schedules: R1, R2/RR, C/I, PDD/PMHD

  “Attachment 1 - Schedule of Zoning Regulations, R1 Residential One-Family District, Parts 1 and 2 Attachment 2 - Schedule of Zoning Regulations, R2 Residential Multifamily District AND RR Rural Residential District, Parts 1 and 2 Attachment 3 - Schedule of Zoning Regulations, C Commercial District AND I Industrial District, Parts 1 and 2 Attachment 4 - Schedule of Zoning Regulations, PDD Planned Development District AND PMHD Planned Mobile Home District, Parts 1 and 2”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Each dwelling unit in the R1 Residential One-Family District inside the Town of Binghamton.

  • The schedule is part of the Town zoning chapter; other listed use and district conditions continue to apply.

  minimum gross floor area per dwelling unit: >= 800 square feet

  “R1 35 feet 35 feet 800 square feet per dwelling unit”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — RR Rural Residential District inside the Town of Binghamton.

    “RR 35 feet 35 feet Same as in R1 District”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  One-family dwellings in the R1 Residential One-Family District inside the Town of Binghamton.

  • The schedule separately states standards without public sewers and with public sewers.

  minimum lot area without public sewers: >= 2 acres (The schedule also states 87,120 square feet.) · minimum lot area with public sewers: >= 10000 square feet

  “Without Public Sewers [...] 2 acres or 87,120 square feet [...] With Public Sewers 10,000 square feet”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — One-family dwellings in the RR Rural Residential District inside the Town of Binghamton.

    “80,000 square feet one-family [...] 100,000 square feet two-family”

• SetbacksDistrict specific (with conditions)

  R1 Residential One-Family District inside the Town of Binghamton.

  • On corner lots, buildings must meet the minimum setbacks for two front yards, one rear yard, and one side yard.
  • Standards differ for lots with and without public sewers.

  principal front yard without public sewers: >= 50 feet · principal side yard without public sewers: >= 20 feet (Each side.) · principal rear yard without public sewers: >= 20 feet · principal front yard with public sewers: >= 30 feet · principal side yard with public sewers: >= 10 feet (Each side.) · principal rear yard with public sewers: >= 20 feet

  “Without Public Sewers [...] 150 feet 50 feet 20 feet 20 feet [...] With Public Sewers 10,000 square feet 75 feet 30 feet 10 feet 20 feet [...] Corner lot setbacks. Buildings on corner lots shall be positioned to meet minimum setbacks for two front yards, one rear yard and one side yard.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — RR Rural Residential District inside the Town of Binghamton.

    “80,000 square feet one-family 200 feet 50 feet 20 feet 20 feet [...] Corner lot setbacks. Buildings on corner lots shall be positioned to meet minimum setbacks for two front yards, one rear yard and one side yard.”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  R1 Residential One-Family District inside the Town of Binghamton.

  • The schedule’s 30% maximum applies under both the displayed public-sewer and no-public-sewer standards.

  maximum building coverage of lot: <= 30 percent

  “Without Public Sewers [...] 5 feet 5 feet 30% [...] With Public Sewers [...] 5 feet 5 feet 30%”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — RR Rural Residential District inside the Town of Binghamton.

    “Not permitted except roadside stands (See Remark No. 7) 5 feet 5 feet 30% (See Remark No. 3)”

• Building heightSpecified

  R1 Residential One-Family District inside the Town of Binghamton.

  • Height restrictions do not apply to radio towers, TV antennas, chimneys, spires, or other nonintegral projections.
  • Nonresidential structures over 35 feet require increased yards and are subject to Town firefighting capabilities.

  maximum principal building height: <= 35 feet (Subject to listed projection and nonresidential-structure exceptions.) · maximum accessory building height: <= 35 feet (Subject to listed projection exceptions.)

  “R1 35 feet 35 feet 800 square feet per dwelling unit [...] Height restrictions shall not apply to radio towers, TV antennas, chimneys, spires or any other projections of a building which are not an integral part thereof.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — RR Rural Residential District inside the Town of Binghamton.

    “RR 35 feet 35 feet Same as in R1 District [...] Remark Nos. 1 through 3 shall apply in RR District.”

• Living in an RVLimited

  R1 Residential One-Family District inside the Town of Binghamton.

  • The R1 schedule lists a travel trailer only as an accessory use and specifies that it must be unoccupied, currently registered, and inspected.

  “Travel trailer, unoccupied. but shall be currently registered and inspected.”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  Listed permit types and new homes inside the Town of Binghamton.

  • The page states water and sewer connection fees apply if the home is built in a municipal water/sewer district and are in addition to meter cost.

  house permit under 2,000 square feet: 200 USD · house permit at or over 2,000 square feet: 300 USD · water connection fee inside district: 450 USD (In addition to cost of meter.) · sewer connection fee inside district: 250 USD

  “House under 2000 sq. ft. – $200 House at, or over, 2000 sq. ft. – $300 [...] Water Connection Fee – $450 (if user is inside the district) [...] Sewer Connection Fee – $250 (if user is inside the district)”

• Permit processPublished (with conditions)

  New-house construction and other work submitted to the Town of Binghamton building department.

  • The permit application must be completed and accompanied by a structural drawing and plot/site plan; stamped drawings may be required.
  • Work must not begin before approval.

  “This application must be filled out completely (please print clearly) Structural drawing describing all use spaces including conditioned and unconditioned space Plot/Site Plan shall accompany this application. Note: stamped drawings may be required All work shall not be started until the building permit is approved”

Rules another office applies inside Town of Binghamton

Town of Binghamton 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)

  New-home construction inside the Town of Binghamton that requires sewage approval.

  • The Town lists Broome County Health Department sewage approval among the items needed to build a house.

  “To Build A House, You’ll Need: Complete set of NYS approved stamped plans Energy study (architect usually provides along with prints) Plot plan Broome County Health Dept. Sewage Approval”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Town of Binghamton or Broome County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder work on residential property inside the Town of Binghamton.
• Camping on your land — Temporary camping on private land inside the Town of Binghamton.
• Tiny homes — Tiny-home occupancy inside the Town of Binghamton.
• Manufactured homes — Manufactured-home occupancy inside the Town of Binghamton.
• Accessory dwellings — Accessory dwelling units inside the Town of Binghamton.

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.

Off-grid gear

Going off-grid in Town of Binghamton means bringing your own water and power. The kit we’d start with:

• Water Crystal Quest Filter any source — well, rain, or creek — to drinking-clean.
• Power Bluetti Solar generators and home battery backup for living off the grid.
• Septic Soil percolation test kit Run your own perc test before paying an engineer — the first thing a septic office asks about.
• Water Well water test kit Bacteria, nitrates, hardness — know what the well on a parcel is really pumping.

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