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

Town of Fremont’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Zoning permit (not a building permit) for new buildings, new or changed uses and land clearing inside Fremont town.

  • Driveways onto a property, lawns and pastures are excepted from the permit requirement.
  • Agricultural harvesting, grazing, tilling and crop rotation are exempt from change-in-use permits.
  • Building-code permits under the NYS code were not separately located.

  “b. zoning permit required. whenever any owner or occupant of land in the town of fremont shall, for any purpose or in any manner; establish a new use, clear, excavate or grade land in advance of expanding an existing use or establishing a new use, (except for construction of a driveway onto a property, lawn or pasture), change an existing use, make permanent improvements, erect a new building, move, alter, add to or enlarge any existing land use or building;”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  All land inside Fremont town limits is subject to the Town of Fremont Section 100 Zoning Law, administered by the town's code enforcement officer.

  • Section 100 was originally adopted May 8, 2002 and amended June 8, 2016 per the cover page; later amendments, including Local Law 2 of 2024 amending Local Law 1 of 2005 Land Use Regulations listed on the town local-laws page, were not verified in this pass.

  “town of fremont sullivan county, new york section 100 zoning law amended june 8, 2016 originally adopted may 8, 2002”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts inside Fremont town limits, including Residential Recreation (RR), Residential (R), Hamlet (H) and River Conservation (RC).

  • Opened the schedule; the Agricultural district, if any, was not located in the opened text, and the full district map was not checked.

  “town of fremont, ny section 100 - zoning law appendix 2 - schedule of district regulations residential recreation district (rr) intent”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Residential Recreation (RR) district inside Fremont town.

  • Minimum lot area depends on slope: 40,000 sq ft for 0-8% slope and 80,000 sq ft for 8-15% slope, per table 1 note 4.
  • Note 4 adds 40,000 sq ft if seasonal high water table or bedrock is 4 feet or less in depth, or 80,000 sq ft if these are found at less than 2 feet.
  • Two-family dwellings require twice the minimum lot size.

  minimum lot area, 0-8% slope: 40000 sq ft (note 4 increases apply) · minimum lot area, 8-15% slope: 80000 sq ft (note 4 increases apply)

  “min. lot area (note 4) 0-8% 40,000 sf 8-15% 80,000 sf”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Residential (R) district, single-family lots inside Fremont town.

    “lot area: 40,000 sf 40,000 sf 40,000 sf lot width: 150 ft 150 ft 150 ft 125 ft”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Residential (R) district inside Fremont town, on-site sewage and water column.

  • Setbacks are listed by utility column; the figures quoted are the first column as read from the PDF.
  • Two-family dwellings require twice the minimum lot size.

  front yard: 60 ft (on-site sewage and water column) · side yard: 25 ft (on-site sewage and water column) · sides combined: 60 ft (on-site sewage and water column) · rear yard: 50 ft (on-site sewage and water column)

  “front yard: 60 ft 60 ft 60 ft 50 ft side yard: sides combined: 25 ft 25 ft 25 ft 25 ft 60 ft 60 ft 60 ft 50 ft rear yard: 50 ft 50 ft 50 ft 40 ft”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Residential Recreation (RR) district inside Fremont town, on-site sewage and water column.

    “front yard: 60 ft 60 ft 60 ft 50 ft side yard: 25 ft 25 ft 25 ft 25 ft”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  Residential (R) district inside Fremont town.

  • Column values are 25% in all four utility columns as read from the PDF.

  lot coverage: 25 %

  “lot coverage: 25% 25% 25% 25% building height: 40 ft 40 ft 40 ft 40 ft”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Residential Recreation (RR) district inside Fremont town.

    “lot coverage: 15% 15% 15% 25% 15-25% 120,000 sf building height: 40 ft 40 ft 40 ft 40 ft”

• Building heightSpecified

  Residential (R) district inside Fremont town.

  • Maximum building height as read from the schedule.

  building height maximum: <= 40 ft

  “lot coverage: 25% 25% 25% 25% building height: 40 ft 40 ft 40 ft 40 ft”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Residential Recreation (RR) district inside Fremont town.

    “building height: 40 ft 40 ft 40 ft 40 ft”

• Camping on your landLimited

  Residential (non-commercial) tent camping on private land in the Residential Recreation (RR) and Residential (R) districts inside Fremont town.

  • Camping is limited to the non-commercial personal use of the property owner; commercial campgrounds and summer camps are separate special uses, not covered by this claim.
  • The residential camping definition gives no numeric day limit in the text read.

  “camping, residential: the temporary and short-term erection of tents for the personal and non-commercial benefit of the property owner(s), such as backyard family camping.”

• Manufactured homesAllowed

  Mobile homes as single-family dwellings in the Residential Recreation (RR) district inside Fremont town.

  • Same footnote applies in the R and H districts; the town's separate manufactured home park special use in RR is not covered by this claim.
  • Set-back, lot and coverage rules for the district still apply.

  “(1) single-family dwellings include mobile homes”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Allowed — Mobile homes as single-family dwellings in the Residential (R) district inside Fremont town.

    “(1) single-family dwellings include mobile homes”

• Permit processPartial

  Zoning-permit process inside Fremont town for permitted and special uses.

  • Permitted and special-use zoning permits are issued by the code enforcement officer; special uses go through planning-board review for solar and similar uses.
  • Fees, forms and building-permit steps were not located.

  “principal permitted and special uses and permits for these uses shall be issued directly by the code enforcement officer, provided the proposed use is in compliance with these regulations.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption for homeowners building on their own land inside Fremont town.
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Fremont town.
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificates of occupancy inside Fremont town.
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum dwelling size inside Fremont town.
• Living in an RV — Long-term RV occupancy on private land inside Fremont 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 Fremont 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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