Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Town of Bristol, Wisconsin

Town of Bristol’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  All buildings and additions built inside Bristol town

  • Permits and related materials go directly to the town building inspector (General Engineering Company).
  • Applicants are asked to contact the building inspector before beginning a project.
  • Construction may proceed after the town building permit is issued.

  “All buildings and additions require a Town Building Permit.”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Bristol town limits: the town zoning ordinance and its town zoning administrator govern land use, land divisions, rezones, conditional uses and variances there.

  • The town land-use page names the town planning commission and zoning administrators at General Engineering Company and lists the zoning ordinance as 'Dane County Legacy Zoning'; the ordinance copy opened is titled 'Town of Bristol Zoning Ordinance' (October 2019). The adopting instrument was not confirmed on an official page.
  • The ordinance copy was read from a third-party host (energyzoning.org), not the town's site.
  • Zoning maps are in the town's official zoning map (sec. 1.015).

  “land use planning is done through the town planning commission and with assistance from our zoining administrators - general engineering (gec).”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts of the Bristol town zoning ordinance

  • The ordinance lists the agriculture, conservancy, commercial, industrial, residential and special districts (sec. 1.0311 to 1.0325).
  • The official zoning map is maintained by the town zoning administrator (sec. 1.015).
  • Only the district list and the single-family residential description were read; the district dimensional tables were not.

  “1.0324 single family residential zoning district (sfr). the single-family residential (sfr) zoning district is intended to accommodate single-family dwellings on individual lots.”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Residential buildings and dwellings inside Bristol town (town-wide minimum; not district-specific in the text read)

  • Applies unless otherwise specified by the chapter; the district-level exceptions were not checked.
  • Mobile or manufactured homes located within a mobile home park are exempt.

  minimum floor area per dwelling: >= 500 square feet (mobile or manufactured homes within a mobile home park are exempt)

  “not less than 500 square feet per dwelling”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  All newly created lots inside Bristol town; the main single-family residential (sfr) district and the agriculture (ag) district figures were not located

  • Lots must meet the minimum area of the zoning district in effect at the time of the land division or recording.
  • Road, highway and railroad rights-of-way are excluded from area computation.
  • Numeric district minimums were not read; see followups.

  “(1) all lots created shall meet minimum lot area requirements.”

• SetbacksDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Yards and setbacks for buildings inside Bristol town, by zoning district

  • Setbacks follow the regulations applicable to each zoning district and any Dane County shoreland or floodplain ordinance that applies.
  • Numeric setback distances per district were not read.

  “except as otherwise provided under this ordinance, lot area, width, setbacks, and building height shall be in accordance with the regulations applicable to each zoning district, including regulations contained in the dane county shoreland or floodplain ordinances, if the land is subject to such ordinances.”

• Lot coverageDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Lot coverage for buildings inside Bristol town

  • Subchapter XI establishes lot coverage requirements; numeric percentages were not read.
  • Standards vary by zoning district.

  “the purpose of this subchapter is to establish lot area, lot coverage, height, and density requirements.”

• Building heightDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Building height for dwellings inside Bristol town, measured against each district's height limit

  • Churches, schools, hospitals and other public or quasi-public buildings may reach 75 feet if yards are increased by one foot per foot of added height (sec. 1.071(4)).
  • Agricultural-use structures may exceed 75 feet under sec. 1.071(5); the rest of that clause was not read.
  • Numeric district height limits were not read.

  maximum dwelling height increase above district limit: <= 10 feet (requires each yard and required open space to be increased by 1 foot for each foot of height above the district limit)

  “dwellings may be increased in height by not more than 10 feet when all yards and other required open spaces are increased by 1 foot for each foot by which such building exceeds the height limit of the district in which it is located.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Land divisions and subdivisions of land inside Bristol town

  • Land divisions go through the town zoning administrator and planning commission under an application form.
  • Land division rules and subdivision ordinance text were not read.

  “Information and the application form for land divisions, rezones, CUPs and Variance requests.”

• Driveway accessRequired

  New driveway access for a building lot inside Bristol town

  • The town lists a driveway permit application form; the operative permit requirement text was not opened.

  “town of bristol building fee schedule town of bristol solar pv fees demolition permit driveway permit application”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  Building permit fees inside Bristol town

  • The town's building fee schedule is linked from the building inspection page; its amounts were not opened.
  • Solar PV fees are a separate published schedule.

  “town of bristol building fee schedule town of bristol solar pv fees demolition permit driveway permit application”

• Permit processPartial

  Permit process for building projects inside Bristol town

  • Permit applications go directly to the building inspector, Kelly Green, at General Engineering Company.
  • Application steps, timelines and plan review were not published on the pages read.

  “SHOULD GO DIRECTLY TO THE BUILDING INSPECTOR.”

Rules another office applies inside Town of Bristol

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

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Land inside Bristol town that is subject to the Dane County shoreland or floodplain ordinances

  • Dane County shoreland or floodplain regulations apply inside the town where the land is subject to them.
  • The county floodplain permit process and mapped floodplain boundaries were not read.

  “A land use permit shall be obtained [...] before any development”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder construction inside Bristol town
• Building code adopted — New construction and additions inside Bristol town
• Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy approval for new homes inside Bristol town
• Living in an RV — Long-term RV occupancy on private land inside Bristol town
• Camping on your land — Temporary camping on private land inside Bristol 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.