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

Town of Harmony’s own rules

• Permit processPublished (with conditions)

  Building-permit applications inside Harmony town.

  • Applicants may obtain applications during open office hours, print and submit them for review, or schedule time when the Code Enforcement Officer is in the office.

  “applications for building permits are available during open office hours or can be printed, filled out, and dropped off for review; or schedule a time when the code enforcement officer is in the office.”

Rules another office applies inside Town of Harmony

Town of Harmony 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)

  Household sewage treatment systems inside Harmony town, which is within the Chautauqua County Health District.

  • The Public Health Director administers permits under the Health District sanitary code.

  “the property owner or designated agent shall apply for a permit from the public health director for construction, installation, alteration, or extension of a household sewage treatment system prior to start of work.”

• Septic permitRequired

  Household sewage treatment systems inside Harmony town.

  • No permit is required for minor repairs.
  • A separate permit is required for each premises.
  • Permits expire one year after issuance unless extended in writing.

  permit duration: 1 year (Unless an extension is granted in writing.)

  “no person shall construct, install, connect, alter or extend a household sewage treatment system within the chautauqua county health district without having first applied for and received a written permit from the public health director. no permit is required for minor repairs.”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Private sanitation systems inside Harmony town.

  • Pit privies are prohibited.
  • Privies must be watertight vault privies.
  • Systems must conform to 10 NYCRR Part 75 and Appendix 75-A.

  “pit privies are not to be utilized, and privies are to be watertight vault privies.”

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Development inside Harmony town that is within a FEMA-identified Special Flood Hazard Area.

  • A local floodplain development permit is required in addition to other applicable local, state, or federal permits or approvals.
  • This state guidance does not establish whether a particular Harmony parcel lies in a Special Flood Hazard Area.

  “floodplain management is locally administered, any development within a fema identified special flood hazard area requires a local floodplain development permit from the municipality with jurisdiction. this is in addition to any other necessary local, state, or federal permits or approvals.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-built residential work inside Harmony town.
• Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy of structures inside Harmony town.
• Tiny homes — Tiny-home occupancy inside Harmony town.
• Well permit — Private wells inside Harmony town.
• Mandatory utility hookup — New homes inside Harmony town.

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 Harmony 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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