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

Town of Ripley’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  New construction and uses listed in the Ripley land use matrix, inside Ripley town limits

  • Uses marked r in the land use matrix need a zoning permit; uses marked s need a special use permit with public hearing.
  • The Building/Zoning office lists building, electrical, roof, demo and sign permit applications; construction may proceed after the permit is issued.

  “r = zoning permit required - by right n = yes allowed, abide by rules”

• Local zoningPresent

  All land inside Ripley town limits

  • The town's own Zoning Law is dated February 9, 2017 on the town website; no later amendment was located in this research.
  • Use, district and area rules are in the Zoning Law text, Appendix A (use matrix) and Appendix B (area standards).

  “town of ripley zoning february 9, 2017 town of ripley zoning law article i: title, enacting clause and purpose”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts of Ripley town

  • Districts are R-1 (smaller lot), R-2 (larger lot), Rural, Rec/Con, C-1, C-2, M/I and M/I-A, with an area-standards summary table in Appendix B.
  • The Building/Zoning page links to a Ripley zoning map as well as the zoning document; the map was not opened.

  “town of ripley - zoning districts area standards summary table setbacks district / type of use”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Single-family dwellings in the rural and agricultural district inside Ripley town

  • Minimum floor space is 900 sq ft in the rural district, taken from the Appendix B summary table.
  • The Appendix B table text was garbled in extraction; confirm against the source PDF page.

  minimum floor space, single-family (primary use), rural district: >= 900 sq ft

  “12,000 (s) 5,000 (ns) 30% 200 50 20 25 (s) 5 (ns) 900 2.5 (s) 2 (ns)”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Single-family dwellings in the R-1 residential (smaller lot) district inside Ripley town

  • Lot size excludes street and highway rights-of-way (Appendix B note 1).
  • The 12,000 sq ft figure applies to sewered lots (s) and 20,000 sq ft to lots without sewer (ns), using the notation in Appendix B.
  • The R-1 row was read from garbled extracted text; confirm against the source PDF page.

  minimum lot size, sewered: >= 12000 sq ft (sewered lots (s)) · minimum lot size, no sewer: >= 20000 sq ft (lots without sewer (ns))

  “12,000 (s) 20,000 (ns) 20% ----- 50% structure front yard (feet)”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Single-family dwellings in the rural and agricultural district inside Ripley town

    “12,000 (s) 5,000 (ns) 30% 200 50 20 25 (s) 5 (ns) 900 2.5 (s) 2 (ns)”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Single-family dwellings in the rural and agricultural district inside Ripley town

  • Rear yard is 25 ft on sewered lots (s) and 5 ft on lots without sewer (ns).
  • Lake Erie shore setback applies to parcels bordering the Lake Erie shoreline (Appendix B note).

  minimum front yard: >= 50 feet · minimum side yard: >= 20 feet · minimum rear yard, sewered: >= 25 feet (sewered lots (s)) · minimum rear yard, no sewer: >= 5 feet (lots without sewer (ns))

  “12,000 (s) 5,000 (ns) 30% 200 50 20 25 (s) 5 (ns) 900 2.5 (s) 2 (ns)”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  Single-family dwellings in the R-1 residential (smaller lot) district inside Ripley town

  • Read from the garbled Appendix B row; confirm against the source PDF page.

  maximum lot coverage: <= 20 percent

  “12,000 (s) 20,000 (ns) 20% ----- 50% structure front yard (feet)”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Single-family dwellings in the rural and agricultural district inside Ripley town

    “12,000 (s) 5,000 (ns) 30% 200 50 20 25 (s) 5 (ns) 900 2.5 (s) 2 (ns)”

• Building heightSpecified

  Single-family dwellings in the rural and agricultural district inside Ripley town

  • Section 504: height limits apply only to portions of a building occupied by people; spires, belfries, silos, chimneys, windmills and water tanks are limited to the height needed for their purpose.
  • The 2.5-story limit applies on sewered lots and 2 stories on lots without sewer.

  maximum building height, sewered: <= 2.5 stories (sewered lots (s)) · maximum building height, no sewer: <= 2 stories (lots without sewer (ns))

  “12,000 (s) 5,000 (ns) 30% 200 50 20 25 (s) 5 (ns) 900 2.5 (s) 2 (ns)”

• Living in an RVLimited

  Travel trailer (RV) occupancy in travel trailer campgrounds inside Ripley town

  • Travel trailer campgrounds are allowed by special use permit with public hearing (section 602).
  • Travel trailers may not be used as a permanent residence in those campgrounds.

  “d. occupancy - travel trailers shall be used for seasonal occupancy only. travel trailers shall not be utilized as permanent residence.”

• Camping on your landLimited

  Seasonal private camps on land inside Ripley town

  • A 200-foot minimum structure setback applies.
  • Structure type, size and construction are reviewed before a permit is granted.
  • The section applies only to parcels bought after the law's effective date.

  minimum lot size for seasonal camp: >= 2 acres (parcels of 2 to 10 acres) · maximum lot size for seasonal camp: <= 10 acres · minimum structure setback: >= 200 feet

  “a. size of lot - seasonal camps shall be allowed on 2 to 10 acre parcels.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Limited — Commercial travel trailer campgrounds inside Ripley town

    “travel trailer campgrounds shall be allowed by special use permit in accordance with the following conditions”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Single-family mobile homes placed on individual private lots inside Ripley town

  • Rural district: zoning permit required, allowed by right.
  • R-2, C-1, C-2 and M/I districts: special use permit required with public hearing.
  • Mobile homes must meet the district's single-family area standards and minimum floor space.
  • Mobile home parks are a separate use with their own rules.

  “minimum area requirements for the placement of individual mobile homes on private property shall be in accordance with the requirements for single family dwellings.”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Private sanitation systems on land inside Ripley town

  • Cesspools are prohibited under the town zoning law.
  • Septic tank systems are allowed only when they conform to the Chautauqua County health department requirements.

  “a. no cesspools shall be permitted. b. all septic tank installations shall conform to the requirements of the chautauqua county health department.”

• Subdividing landLimited

  Division of land that already has a building on it inside Ripley town

  • Each resulting zoning lot must still meet the bulk rules of its district.
  • Subdivision approval procedure and any town subdivision regulations were not located.

  “b. division of zoning lots - no zoning lot improved with a building or buildings shall hereafter be divided into two (2) or more zoning lots”

• Driveway accessRequired

  New buildings inside Ripley town

  • The lot must abut an existing road, or have a legal easement for permanent public access dated before the law, or have a new private road or drive with a 50-foot right-of-way connecting to a public street.
  • The town may take over a private road that meets town standards, but is not obligated to.

  private road or drive right-of-way: >= 50 feet (new private road or drive connecting to a public street)

  “all new buildings must be built on lots that either: a. abut an existing road, or b. have a legal easement for permanent public access dated prior to the enactment of this law, or c. have access created for such building(s) by a new private road or drive with a 50-foot right of way connecting to a public street”

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Parcels inside the FEMA-mapped flood plain in Ripley town

  • The applicant for a zoning or building permit must comply with National Flood Insurance Program regulations in addition to zoning rules for flood-plain parcels.

  “it shall be the responsibility of the applicant for a zoning/building permit to insure that the national flood insurance regulations in addition to zoning regulation shall be complied with for those parcels located within the flood plain as shown on official flood insurance administration maps.”

Rules another office applies inside Town of Ripley

Town of Ripley 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)

  Septic tank installations inside Ripley town; the Chautauqua County health department rule applies inside the town

  • The town zoning law sends septic tank installations to the Chautauqua County health department requirements; the town does not set its own septic standard in the opened text.
  • Cesspools are not permitted under the town zoning law.

  “a. no cesspools shall be permitted. b. all septic tank installations shall conform to the requirements of the chautauqua county health department.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit exemption inside Ripley town
• Inspections — Inspections for new homes inside Ripley town
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new homes inside Ripley town
• Tiny homes — Tiny homes inside Ripley town
• Accessory dwellings — Accessory dwelling units on lots inside Ripley 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 Ripley 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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