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

Town of Highland’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  New dwellings in rural Douglas County, including Highland town; the town building permit under the Uniform Dwelling Code applies inside Highland town

  • The county page places the town building permit in the town's hands. The page does not name Highland town, and the town's own UDC ordinance text was not retrieved.
  • Construction may proceed after the town permit is issued, and a county land use permit and septic permit are also required (see separate claims).

  “1.6 BUILDING PERMITS REQUIRED. If a person alters a building in excess of $500,000.00 value in any twelve month period adds onto a building in excess of $500,000.00 in any twelve month period, or builds a new building, within the scope of thus ordinance, they shall first obtain a building permit for such work from the building inspector.”

• Building code adoptedAdopted

  Building code for one- and two-family dwellings inside Highland town, administered by the town under the Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code

  • The town's ordinance list names a Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code ordinance; the adopting ordinance text itself was not retrieved, so the adoption is shown by its title on the town ordinance index only.
  • The Uniform Dwelling Code is a state code (Wis. Admin. Code SPS 320-325) that the town administers.

  “1.4 WISCONSIN UNIFORM DWELLING CODE ADOPTED. The Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code, Chs. Comm 20-25 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, and all amendments thereto, is adopted and incorporated by reference and shall apply to all buildings within the scope of this ordinance.”

• InspectionsRequired

  Construction of new dwellings under the Uniform Dwelling Code inside Highland town

  • Inspections are required under the town's UDC ordinance and process, carried out by state or municipal employees or private firms under contract with the town, per the county page. Highland's own inspector arrangement was not confirmed.

  “1.3 SCOPE. The scope of this ordinance includes the construction and inspection of one-and two- family dwellings built since June 1, 1980.”

Rules another office applies inside Town of Highland

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

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Douglas County zoning district schedule; applies inside Highland town only if county zoning governs that town (not confirmed)

  • Highland town's own zoning status is not confirmed; this county schedule is not Highland's own ordinance.
  • Districts listed in the schedule include R-1, R-2, RR-1, RRC-1, A-1, A-2, F-1, C-1 and I-1, with W-1, SP-1 and PUD requirements located on the official zoning map.

  “NE SE Section 14, T46N-R11W; (HI-016-01119-00, 8247 S Oakdale Rd), Town of Highland – F-1: Forestry zone district to the A-1: Agricultural zone district.”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  A-1 agricultural district lots in Douglas County zoning, applying inside Highland town only if county zoning governs there (not confirmed)

  • Column alignment is inferred from the order of values in the extracted schedule text; verify against the source PDF before relying on it.
  • Footnote 3: plus any additional area required by the wisconsin administrative code, section 65.03.

  minimum lot area with public sewer: >= 5 acres · minimum lot area without public sewer: >= 5 acres (plus any additional area required by Wis. Admin. Code section 65.03 (footnote 3))

  “With Public Sewer 10,000 sq ft 5 acres 10,000 sq ft 5 acres 5 acres 40 acres 10 acres 10,000 sq ft 1 acre Without Public Sewer 15,000 sq ft 5 acres 20,000 sq ft 5 acres 5 acres 40 acres 10 acres 20,000 sq ft 1 acre”

  2 more reviewed findings on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — R-1 district lots in Douglas County zoning, applying inside Highland town only if county zoning governs there (not confirmed)

    “With Public Sewer 10,000 sq ft 5 acres 10,000 sq ft 5 acres 5 acres 40 acres 10 acres 10,000 sq ft 1 acre Without Public Sewer 15,000 sq ft 5 acres 20,000 sq ft 5 acres 5 acres 40 acres 10 acres 20,000 sq ft 1 acre”

  • District specific (with conditions) — RR-1 rural-residential district lots in Douglas County zoning, applying inside Highland town only if county zoning governs there (not confirmed)

    “With Public Sewer 10,000 sq ft 5 acres 10,000 sq ft 5 acres 5 acres 40 acres 10 acres 10,000 sq ft 1 acre Without Public Sewer 15,000 sq ft 5 acres 20,000 sq ft 5 acres 5 acres 40 acres 10 acres 20,000 sq ft 1 acre”

• SetbacksDistrict specific (with conditions)

  A-1 agricultural district setbacks in Douglas County zoning, applying inside Highland town only if county zoning governs there (not confirmed)

  • Numeric setback values were not extracted because the schedule text does not give unambiguous row alignment; read the source PDF's setback table for A-1.
  • Schedule note (1): unless specified elsewhere in this ordinance or on the official zoning map, the dimensional requirements of this schedule shall apply to the respective listed districts.
  • Schedule note (5): setback requirements for all lakes & streams: 75 ft. from the ordinary high water mark (ohwm).

  “ZONE DISTRICT R-1 R-2 RR-1 RRC-1 A-1 A-2 F-1 C-1 I-1 [...] Front (road setbacks may apply) 30' 50' 30' 50' 50' 50' 30' 10' 50' Rear Principal Building 40' 50' 40' 40' 50' 50' 40' 20' 50' Accessory Building 20' 50' 40' 40' 50' 50' 40' 20' 50' Side Principal Building 10' 20' 10' 10' 20' 20' 10' 10' 20' Accessory Building 5' 10' 5' 5' 10' 10' 5' 5' 10'”

  2 more reviewed findings on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — R-1 district setbacks (front, rear, side; principal and accessory) in Douglas County zoning, applying inside Highland town only if county zoning governs there (not confirmed)

    “ZONE DISTRICT R-1 R-2 RR-1 RRC-1 A-1 A-2 F-1 C-1 I-1 [...] Front (road setbacks may apply) 30' 50' 30' 50' 50' 50' 30' 10' 50' Rear Principal Building 40' 50' 40' 40' 50' 50' 40' 20' 50' Accessory Building 20' 50' 40' 40' 50' 50' 40' 20' 50' Side Principal Building 10' 20' 10' 10' 20' 20' 10' 10' 20' Accessory Building 5' 10' 5' 5' 10' 10' 5' 5' 10'”

  • District specific (with conditions) — RR-1 rural-residential district setbacks in Douglas County zoning, applying inside Highland town only if county zoning governs there (not confirmed)

    “ZONE DISTRICT R-1 R-2 RR-1 RRC-1 A-1 A-2 F-1 C-1 I-1 [...] Front (road setbacks may apply) 30' 50' 30' 50' 50' 50' 30' 10' 50' Rear Principal Building 40' 50' 40' 40' 50' 50' 40' 20' 50' Accessory Building 20' 50' 40' 40' 50' 50' 40' 20' 50' Side Principal Building 10' 20' 10' 10' 20' 20' 10' 10' 20' Accessory Building 5' 10' 5' 5' 10' 10' 5' 5' 10'”

• Building heightDistrict specific (with conditions)

  A-1 agricultural district buildings in Douglas County zoning, applying inside Highland town only if county zoning governs there (not confirmed)

  • Height values are matched to districts by the order of the extracted schedule row; verify against the source PDF.
  • Schedule note (1): unless specified elsewhere in this ordinance or on the official zoning map, the dimensional requirements of this schedule shall apply to the respective listed districts.

  maximum building height: <= 35 ft

  “ZONE DISTRICT R-1 R-2 RR-1 RRC-1 A-1 A-2 F-1 C-1 I-1 Maximum Building Height 35' 35' 35' 35' 35' 35' 35' 35' 60'”

  2 more reviewed findings on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — R-1 district buildings in Douglas County zoning, applying inside Highland town only if county zoning governs there (not confirmed)

    “ZONE DISTRICT R-1 R-2 RR-1 RRC-1 A-1 A-2 F-1 C-1 I-1 Maximum Building Height 35' 35' 35' 35' 35' 35' 35' 35' 60'”

  • District specific (with conditions) — RR-1 rural-residential district buildings in Douglas County zoning, applying inside Highland town only if county zoning governs there (not confirmed)

    “ZONE DISTRICT R-1 R-2 RR-1 RRC-1 A-1 A-2 F-1 C-1 I-1 Maximum Building Height 35' 35' 35' 35' 35' 35' 35' 35' 60'”

• Who permits septicCounty (with conditions)

  Private onsite septic systems for new dwellings in Douglas County, including Highland town, unless the property is served by a municipal sewer system

  • Applies only where the property is not served by a municipal sewer system.
  • Highland town is not named on the page; the county's sanitary/septic rule text was not retrieved.

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

• Septic permitRequired

  New dwellings on private septic in Douglas County, including Highland town, where no municipal sewer serves the property

  • Required unless the property is served by a municipal sewer system.
  • Applies to new dwellings as listed on the county page; applicability inside Highland town is not separately confirmed.

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

• Permit processPartial

  New dwelling permit sequence in rural Douglas County, including Highland town

  • Sequence: county land use or conditional use permit, county septic permit (unless municipal sewer), then town UDC building permit. Partial because Highland's own permit forms, fees, and steps were not retrieved.

  “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 Highland or Douglas County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption from permit or inspection requirements inside Highland town
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new dwellings inside Highland town
• Local zoning — Whether Highland town adopts and administers its own zoning ordinance
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum dwelling size inside Highland town
• Lot coverage — Lot coverage limits inside Highland 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.