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

Town of Catlin’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Structures or land uses inside Catlin town.

  • A permit may not issue for construction, alteration, or use violating Town law or another applicable Town law.

  “No STRUCTURES or land shall be USED, no BUILDING or STRUCTURE shall be erected, added to, or structurally altered until a permit therefore as specified herein has been issued by the CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.”

• Certificate of occupancyRequired

  New, structurally altered, extended, or changed-use buildings or structures inside Catlin town.

  • For new or altered structures, application is made coincident with the building-permit application; issuance follows approval of compliance.

  issuance period: <= 30 days (after erection or alteration has been approved as complying with the law)

  “No building or STRUCTURE hereafter erected, structurally altered, or extended shall be USED, or changed in USE until a NOTICE OF COMPLIANCE or Occupancy shall have been issued by the CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER in accordance with this Law.”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside the Town of Catlin, Chemung County, New York.

  “This Law shall be known as the "Zoning Law of the Town of Catlin, N.Y.", and may be cited as “TOWN OF CATLIN ZONING LAW”.”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts inside Catlin town.

  • The law also establishes Planned Multiple Residential Development and Planned Non-Residential Development floating districts, plus the Flood Damage Prevention Overlay.

  base districts: Agricultural Residential (AR); Residential (R1); Neighborhood Business (NB); General Business (GB)

  “In order to fulfill the purpose of this Law, the Town of Catlin establishes and is hereby divided into the following 4 districts: Agricultural Residential (AR) Residential (R1) Neighborhood Business (NB) General Business (GB)”

• Camping on your landLimited

  Flea-market sites inside Catlin town.

  • Camping or permanent occupancy is allowed only if specifically authorized in an approved site plan.

  “No overnight camping or permanent occupancy shall be permitted unless specifically authorized in an approved SITE PLAN.”

• Driveway accessRequired

  Driveway entrances or exits into a road in Catlin town.

  • Requirements are in Zoning Law Section 10.8.

  “No new DRIVEWAY or alteration or relocation made to an existing DRIVEWAY shall be made without first securing permission from the Highway Superintendent.”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  Building permits inside Catlin town.

  • The Town webpage labels the fee schedule effective June 1, 2025; exact fees were not available in the opened PDF cache.

  “Building Permit Fee effective 6-1-2025 (pdf)Download”

• Permit processPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning/building-permit applications inside Catlin town.

  • Application requires the Town-established fee and two scaled plot plans; nonconforming applications are returned with a written explanation.

  plot-plan copies: 2 copies

  “There shall be submitted, with each application for a Zoning Permit, a fee as established by Town Board and two copies of a layout or plot plan drawn to scale showing the actual dimensions of the LOT to be built upon, the exact size and location on the LOT of any existing and/or proposed BUILDING and ACCESSORY STRUCTURES to be erected, and such other information as may be necessary to determine and provide for the enforcement of this Law.”

Rules another office applies inside Town of Catlin

Town of Catlin does not set these itself; the county, a health district or the state does, and they apply to every address inside its limits.

• Building code adoptedAdopted (with conditions)

  Building construction inside Catlin town.

  • The Uniform Code applies statewide except New York City.

  “The Uniform Code is applicable in every part of the State (except the City of New York, which was permitted to retain its own code).”

• InspectionsRequired

  Uniform-Code work inside Catlin town.

  • Inspection requirements apply to specified construction-process elements; permit holders must keep work accessible and exposed until inspected and accepted.

  “Construction Inspections. Inspections of certain specified elements of the construction process must be required. Building permits holders must keep work accessible and exposed until inspected and accepted by the municipality.”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  One-unit dwellings in Catlin's Agricultural Residential district.

  • No overall exterior dimension may be less than 20 feet.

  minimum habitable dwelling area: >= 1200 square feet

  “ONE UNIT DWELLING 3 Acres 250 75 50 75 10 35 2 1,200 with no overall exterior dimension less than 20'*”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  One-unit dwellings in Catlin's R-1 Residential district.

  • For a one-unit dwelling with percolation of 30 minutes or less, the schedule states a one-acre minimum.

  minimum lot area: >= 3 acres (one-unit dwelling with 30 minutes or less percolation: 1 acre)

  “ONE-UNIT DWELLING 3 Acres 250 75 50 75 10 35 2 ONE-UNIT DWELLING (with 30 min or less percolation) 1 Acre 150 50 25 75 25 35 2”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — One-unit dwellings in Catlin's Agricultural Residential district.

    “ONE UNIT DWELLING 3 Acres 250 75 50 75 10 35 2 1,200 with no overall exterior dimension less than 20'*”

• SetbacksSpecified

  One-unit dwellings in Catlin's Agricultural Residential district.

  front setback: >= 75 feet · side setback: >= 50 feet · rear setback: >= 75 feet

  “ONE UNIT DWELLING 3 Acres 250 75 50 75 10 35 2 1,200 with no overall exterior dimension less than 20'*”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  One-unit dwellings in Catlin's Agricultural Residential district.

  maximum lot coverage: <= 10 percent

  “ONE UNIT DWELLING 3 Acres 250 75 50 75 10 35 2 1,200 with no overall exterior dimension less than 20'*”

• Building heightSpecified

  One-unit dwellings in Catlin's Agricultural Residential district.

  maximum building height: <= 35 feet · maximum stories: <= 2 stories

  “ONE UNIT DWELLING 3 Acres 250 75 50 75 10 35 2 1,200 with no overall exterior dimension less than 20'*”

• Accessory dwellingsAllowed (with conditions)

  Agriculture/crops or agriculture/livestock uses with an accessory dwelling unit in Catlin's Agricultural Residential district.

  • The density/bulk schedule applies; agriculture/crops requires five acres and agriculture/livestock requires ten acres.

  “AGRICULTURE/LIVESTOCK - ACCESSORY DU 10 Acres 500 75 50 75 10 35 2 same as above AGRICULTURE/CROPS - ACCESSORY DU 5 Acres 300 75 50 75 10 35 2 same as above”

• Who permits septicCounty (with conditions)

  Private sewage treatment systems serving premises inside Catlin town.

  • County sanitary standards incorporate cited state standards.

  “No person shall construct a system or facilities for the private treatment of waterborne sewage, domestic, or trade wastes, to serve any building, dwelling, or premises in or from which such wastes may be discharged without first having obtained a "Construction Permit" from the Chemung County Health Department.”

• Septic permitRequired

  Private wastewater systems serving buildings, dwellings, or premises inside Catlin town.

  • A Chemung County Health Department construction permit is required before construction.

  “No person shall construct a system or facilities for the private treatment of waterborne sewage, domestic, or trade wastes, to serve any building, dwelling, or premises in or from which such wastes may be discharged without first having obtained a "Construction Permit" from the Chemung County Health Department.”

• Building in a floodplainLimited

  Land in Catlin's Flood Damage Prevention Overlay district.

  • The overlay must conform to Town of Catlin Flood Damage Prevention Local Law No. 1 of 1987.

  “FDPO Flood Damage Prevention Overlay which shall conform to and meet all of the requirements of Local law # 1 of 1987, Town of Catlin Flood Damage Prevention Local Law.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder construction of dwellings inside Catlin town.
• Living in an RV — RV occupancy on private land inside Catlin town.
• Tiny homes — Tiny-home occupancy inside Catlin town.
• Well permit — Private wells inside Catlin town.
• Mandatory utility hookup — New homes inside Catlin 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 Catlin 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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