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

Town of Fort Ann’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Solar, battery-storage, and EV-charger projects inside the Town of Fort Ann.

  • A Washington County Building Permit is required.
  • The Town of Fort Ann Code Enforcement Department must sign LRCC#1 before the county permit is submitted.
  • The Town form says this particular local application has no cost.

  “This application is for informational and data tracking purposes only and has no cost associated with it. You are still required to obtain a Washington County Building Permit.”

• InspectionsRequired

  Solar, battery-storage, and EV-charger projects inside the Town of Fort Ann.

  • The source describes the inspection as a final inspection.
  • After the final inspection, Washington County contacts Town code enforcement to complete LRCC#2.

  “I acknowledge that after final inspection has been completed, Washington County will contact the Town of Fort Ann Code Enforcement department to complete the LRCC# 2.”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Mobile homes placed in mobile-home parks outside the Village of Fort Ann limits.

  • The mobile home must also have a HUD seal, sanitary facilities, cooking and heating facilities, and plumbing and electrical systems for outside connections that comply with applicable laws, rules, and regulations.

  minimum living area: >= 840 square feet (Mobile home in a mobile-home park)

  “9.10 No mobile home shall be placed in any mobile home park unless the same shall be at least eight hundred and forty (840) square feet minimum living area”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Mobile-home parks outside the Village of Fort Ann limits.

  • The park must be on a well-drained site with grades and soils suitable for mobile-home sites.
  • Soil conditions and site constraints may further limit lots per acre.

  minimum park area: >= 2 acres (Mobile-home park) · maximum density: <= 4 lots per gross acre (Soil conditions and constraints may further limit density) · minimum lot area: >= 7500 square feet (Mobile-home lot) · minimum boundary length: >= 75 feet (Mobile-home lot)

  “Each mobile home lot shall have a total area of not less than 7,500 square feet and no boundary line thereof shall be less than 75 feet in length.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Mobile-home stands in mobile-home parks outside the Village of Fort Ann limits.

  • The rule applies to mobile-home stands in a mobile-home park.

  adjacent mobile-home separation: >= 30 feet (Any direction) · adjoining-property-line setback: >= 50 feet (Mobile-home stand) · street-centerline setback: >= 100 feet (State, county, or town street or highway) · internal street right-of-way setback: >= 30 feet (Nearest edge of right-of-way boundary)

  “No-such stand shall be nearer than a distance of: a. Thirty (30) feet from an adjacent mobile home in any direction. b. Fifty (50) feet from an adjoining property line.”

• Living in an RVLimited

  Travel-trailer camps outside the Village of Fort Ann limits.

  • A trailer camp may not operate without a license.
  • Trailer-camp lot density may not exceed 12 lots per gross acre.
  • Each trailer lot must be at least 2,500 square feet with a minimum 30-foot dimension.

  maximum trailer lots: <= 12 lots per gross acre (Trailer camp) · minimum trailer-lot area: >= 2500 square feet (Trailer camp) · minimum trailer-lot dimension: >= 30 feet (Trailer camp)

  “The total number of trailer lots in any trailer camp shall not exceed twelve(12) per gross acre. 10.3. Each trailer lot shall have a total area of not less than 2,500 square feet with a minimum dimension of thirty (30) feet.”

• Camping on your landLimited

  Camping in travel trailers at trailer camps outside the Village of Fort Ann limits.

  • A trailer camp requires a Town license.
  • The rule is limited to travel-trailer camps; no official source opened established rules for tent camping or all temporary camping.

  “No person, partnership, association or corporation being the owner, lessee or occupant of any land within the Town of Fort Ann (outside Village of Fort Ann limits) shall use or allow the use of such land for a mobile home park or trailer camp unless a license therefore has been obtained as herein provided.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Mobile homes outside a licensed mobile-home park and outside the Village of Fort Ann limits.

  • A mobile home outside a licensed park is prohibited except under the listed permit pathways.
  • A construction-related mobile-home permit is limited to one year and may be renewed once without a fee, for a total maximum of two years; the home must then be removed.
  • A single-family mobile-home permit requires a Planning Board public hearing with 10-day notice.

  construction-related permit duration: <= 1 year (May be renewed once without a fee; total of two years) · public-hearing notice: >= 10 days (Single-family mobile-home permit)

  “No mobile home shall hereafter be parked or otherwise placed within the Town (outside the Village of Fort Ann limits) and outside a licensed mobile home park, except as follows:”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Travel-trailer camps outside the Village of Fort Ann limits.

  • Trailer-lot wastewater must enter an approved public or private sewer system and must not present a health hazard.
  • The provision does not establish a general rule for off-grid sanitation at other dwelling types.

  “Waste from all buildings and trailer lots shall be discharged into an approved public or private sewer system in such manner as not to present a health hazard.”

• Mandatory utility hookupConditional

  Travel-trailer camps outside the Village of Fort Ann limits.

  • Waste from all trailer-camp buildings and trailer lots must be discharged into an approved public or private sewer system.
  • This is a use-specific rule and not evidence of a townwide public-water or public-sewer connection mandate.

  “Waste from all buildings and trailer lots shall be discharged into an approved public or private sewer system in such manner as not to present a health hazard.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Land subdivisions inside the Town of Fort Ann.

  • The Town's laws index also lists a 1994 local-law amendment providing an immediate-family exemption; the underlying ordinance text was unavailable to open within the research budget, so conditions of that exemption are not recorded.

  “Local Law 5 of 1990 -- Regulation for Land Subdivision”

• Driveway accessLimited

  Short-term-rental properties inside the Town of Fort Ann.

  • The short-term-rental site plan must identify driveways and delineate ingress and egress.
  • This source does not establish a general driveway-permit rule for all construction.

  “Delineation of means of ingress and egress, and proposed parking area.”

• Short-term rentalsLimited

  Short-term rentals throughout the Town of Fort Ann.

  • A short-term rental is a dwelling unit rented for less than 30 consecutive days, excluding a hotel, motel, inn, campground, or bed and breakfast.
  • Unless an exemption applies, a Town license is required before marketing or renting.
  • The local law applies to the whole Town.
  • The law provides a license exemption when the rental dwelling is on the same property as the owner's principal residence and the owner occupies that principal residence contemporaneously.

  short-term-rental duration: < 30 consecutive days (Excludes Hotel, Motel, Inn, Campground, and Bed and Breakfast)

  “Unless otherwise exempt under this Local Law, all persons, corporations, business entities, or institutions desiring to use their property as a Short-Term Rental within the Town must obtain a license from the Town of Fort Ann, prior to marketing or renting their property.”

• Permit feesVariable (with conditions)

  Short-term-rental licenses inside the Town of Fort Ann.

  • The fee is per property.
  • The Town Board sets the fee annually by resolution.
  • The license is issued on a calendar-year basis.

  “A per property license fee for Short-Term Rental Owners shall be set annually by resolution of the Town Board.”

• Permit processPublished (with conditions)

  Short-term-rental licenses inside the Town of Fort Ann.

  • Unless exempt, the license is required before marketing or renting.
  • The application is filed with the Town Clerk on a form determined by the Town Board.
  • The license is property-specific and nontransferable.
  • The application requires, among other listed materials, a deed, detailed site plan, sewage-system certificate of compliance, and sworn affirmation.

  “All Short-Term Rental Owners shall file with the Town Clerk an application, in a form to be determined by the Town Board. Each license shall be specific to each individual property and is not transferrable.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-built residential construction inside the Town of Fort Ann.
• Building code adopted — General building-code adoption for land inside the Town of Fort Ann.
• Certificate of occupancy — Construction inside the Town of Fort Ann.
• Local zoning — Land inside the Town of Fort Ann, including land outside the Village of Fort Ann unless a source states otherwise.
• Zoning districts — Land inside the Town of Fort Ann.

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 Fort Ann 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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