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

Town of Dairyland’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  New dwellings built inside Dairyland town

  • Land use or conditional use permit and septic permit from the Douglas County Zoning Office come first (unless served by municipal sewer); the town building permit follows.
  • Town procedures for application, plan review, and inspections are set by a town ordinance or resolution; that ordinance was not located.

  “the permitting process for a new dwelling in douglas county requires: obtaining a land use or conditional use permit from the douglas county zoning office a septic system permit (unless the property is served by a municipal sewer system) from the douglas county zoning office a building permit from the town”

• InspectionsRequired

  New dwellings built inside Dairyland town

  • Inspectors may be state or municipal employees or private firms under contract with the town (county page).
  • The town's website names a private UDC inspector for dwelling permits; that named inspector is not treated as the authority.

  “plan reviewers and building inspectors may be state or municipal employees or private firms under contract with the town.”

Rules another office applies inside Town of Dairyland

Town of Dairyland 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

  New dwellings inside Dairyland town under the Uniform Dwelling Code (state code administered locally by the town)

  • Each town administers the UDC under its own ordinance or resolution (county new-dwellings page).

  “each town has created an ordinance or resolution outlining the permitting process to include application, plan review, and inspections required in the code.”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Land in unincorporated Douglas County, which includes Dairyland town unless the town adopts its own zoning; county districts are the only district list located for Dairyland

  • Districts are established by Douglas County Chapter 8.0 and shown on the county's official zoning map; parcel district assignment requires the map.
  • Overlay districts (shoreland SP-1, unincorporated village UVD) apply only where mapped.

  “the unincorporated areas of douglas county are hereby divided into the following types of districts”

• Who permits septicCounty (with conditions)

  Private onsite sewage systems for new dwellings inside Dairyland town (applies because the town is in Douglas County and not served by municipal sewer)

  • Septic permit is issued by the Douglas County Zoning Office.
  • Not required where the property is served by a municipal sewer system.

  “a septic system permit (unless the property is served by a municipal sewer system) from the douglas county zoning office”

• Septic permitRequired

  New dwellings inside Dairyland town that are not served by municipal sewer

  • Permit issued by the Douglas County Zoning Office before the building permit.
  • Exception: property served by a municipal sewer system.

  “a septic system permit (unless the property is served by a municipal sewer system) from the douglas county zoning office”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-built dwellings in Dairyland town
• Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy approval for new dwellings in Dairyland town
• Local zoning — Land inside Dairyland town limits: whether the town itself adopts and administers a zoning ordinance
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum dwelling size in the main residential district (R-1) and agricultural district (A-1) for land inside Dairyland town
• Minimum lot size — Minimum lot size in R-1 (main residential) and A-1 (agricultural) districts for land inside Dairyland 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.