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

Town of Hawthorne’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  A new dwelling inside Hawthorne town.

  • The county's new-dwelling process also requires a county land-use or conditional-use permit and, unless served by municipal sewer, a county septic permit.

  “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”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Subdivision road review inside Hawthorne town.

  • The Planning Commission may impose road-related requirements, including construction to the subdivision boundary, setbacks, screening, buffers, and access limitations.

  “the planning commission may require any road to be constructed to the boundary of the subdivision.other requirements may consist of special setbacks, screening and other buffers along roads and may limit access along such roads.”

Rules another office applies inside Town of Hawthorne

Town of Hawthorne 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)

  New dwellings inside Hawthorne town.

  • The county describes the Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code as administered by DSPS under SPS 320-325; each rural Douglas County town is responsible for procedures, including application, plan review, and inspections.

  “The code is administered by the wisconsin department of safety and professional services (dsps) safety and buildings division, based on rules outlined in sps 320-325. in rural douglas county each town is responsible to assure the proper procedures are met.”

• InspectionsRequired

  New dwellings inside Hawthorne town under the Uniform Dwelling Code process.

  • The county says each rural Douglas County town's procedure includes inspections required in the Code; inspectors may be state or municipal employees or private firms under contract with the town.

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

• Certificate of occupancyLimited

  Buildings and land subject to Douglas County floodplain zoning inside Hawthorne town.

  • This is a floodplain certificate of compliance, not evidence of a townwide general certificate-of-occupancy requirement; no certificate is required where no permit is required.

  “No land shall be occupied or used, and no building which is hereafter constructed, altered, added to, modified, repaired, rebuilt or replaced shall be occupied until a certificate of compliance is issued by the zoning administrator, except where no permit is required, subject to the following provisions:”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Hawthorne town, which is within unincorporated Douglas County.

  • The county ordinance regulates the unincorporated portions of Douglas County; exact zoning district is determined by the official zoning maps.

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

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  R-1 Residential District parcels inside Hawthorne town.

  • The schedule applies unless otherwise specified in the ordinance or official zoning map. The R-1 schedule differentiates public-sewer-served and non-public-sewer lots.

  minimum lot area with public sewer: 10000 square feet (R-1) · minimum lot area without public sewer: 20000 square feet (R-1)

  “required lot area with public sewer without public sewer [...] 10,000 sqft 20,000 sqft 5 acres 5 acres”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  A single mobile home in an R-1 Residential District parcel inside Hawthorne town.

  • The lot-area and setback requirements of R-1 must be met and the owner must provide an accessory building or garage for storage; mobile-home parks are separately subject to Section 6.0.

  “A single mobile home provided the lot area and setback requirements of this district are met and the owner provides an accessory building or garage for storage purposes.”

• Who permits septicCounty (with conditions)

  New dwellings inside Hawthorne town not served by municipal sewer.

  • Municipal-sewer-served property is excepted from the county septic-permit step.

  “A septic system permit (unless the property is served by a municipal sewer system) from the Douglas County Zoning Office”

• Septic permitRequired

  A new dwelling inside Hawthorne town that is not served by municipal sewer.

  • The county page expressly excepts 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”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Park-model camping units inside Hawthorne town.

  • The rule does not apply when the unit is at a facility licensed to sell that unit and is there only for sale.

  park-model trailer area: <= 400 square feet (in setup mode)

  “These types of camping units are required to be connected to a POWTS, unless it is located at a facility licensed to sell this type of camping unit and is only located there for the purpose of sale.”

• Permit processPublished (with conditions)

  New dwellings inside Hawthorne town.

  • The process specifies county land-use or conditional-use permitting, county septic permitting unless municipal sewer serves the property, and a town building permit.

  “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”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-built dwellings inside Hawthorne town.
• Minimum dwelling size — Dwellings inside Hawthorne town.
• Lot coverage — Lots inside Hawthorne town.
• Tiny homes — Tiny homes used as dwellings inside Hawthorne town.
• Accessory dwellings — Accessory dwelling units inside Hawthorne 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.