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

Rules another office applies inside Town of Oakland

Town of Oakland 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 districts under Chapter 8.0, applicable inside Oakland town only if county zoning governs there (not confirmed); the ordinance applies to unincorporated portions of the county

  • Districts listed in the ordinance: R-1, R-2, RR-1, A-1, C-1, I-1, F-1, W-1 (resource conservation), SP-1 (shoreland protection overlay), PUD (planned unit development), and UVD (unincorporated village overlay).
  • Dimensional requirements for W-1, SP-1 and PUD are in the official zoning map and the ordinance, not in the R-1 setback sheet.
  • Official zoning map is 'official zoning map, douglas county, wisconsin'.

  “for the purposes of this ordinance, the unincorporated areas of douglas county are hereby divided into the following types of districts”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  R-1 residential district under Douglas County zoning, if county zoning governs land inside Oakland town (not confirmed)

  • Minimum lot width is 75 ft with public sewer and 100 ft without public sewer.
  • Lot area and setback requirements of the district must be met for a single mobile home conditional use; ordinance section 4.2(5) says lots existing and of record before adoption but substandard may be used for permitted uses.
  • A-1 agricultural district lot size was not located in the opened text; no minimum is recorded for A-1 here.

  minimum lot area with public sewer: >= 10000 sq. ft. (R-1 district, Douglas County setback sheet) · minimum lot area without public sewer: >= 15000 sq. ft. (R-1 district, Douglas County setback sheet) · minimum lot width with public sewer: >= 75 ft (R-1 district) · minimum lot width without public sewer: >= 100 ft (R-1 district)

  “minimum lot area with public sewer 10,000 sq. ft. without public sewer 15,000 sq. ft.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  R-1 residential district under Douglas County zoning, if county zoning governs land inside Oakland town (not confirmed)

  • Road setbacks may also apply: class A highways 130 ft from centerline or 66 ft from right-of-way line, whichever is greater; class B county highways 75 ft from centerline or 42 ft from right-of-way line, whichever is greater; class C town roads and highways 63 ft from centerline or 30 ft from right-of-way line, whichever is greater.
  • Lake and river setback from ordinary high water mark is 75 ft.
  • Side-yard labels in the sheet read 'principal building 10' and 'accessory building 5'; the front and rear labels are read as in the quote.
  • The shoreland overlay (SP-1) has separate setbacks from the ordinary high-water mark that this R-1 sheet does not cover.

  front setback: 30 ft (road setbacks may also apply) · rear setback, principal building: 40 ft (R-1 district) · rear setback, accessory building: 20 ft (R-1 district) · side setback, principal building: 10 ft (R-1 district) · side setback, accessory building: 5 ft (R-1 district) · lake/river setback from ordinary high water mark: 75 ft (R-1 district)

  “minimum lotline setbacks front (road setbacks may also apply; see below) 30’ rear principal building 40’ accessory building 20’ principal building 10’ accessory building 5’ side”

• Building heightSpecified

  R-1 residential district under Douglas County zoning, if county zoning governs land inside Oakland town (not confirmed)

  • Height is the vertical distance from average finished grade at the front of the building to the roof point, per the Chapter 8.0 definition.
  • Certain structures (cooling towers, silos, water towers, antennae and similar) may exceed district height with county zoning committee approval.

  maximum building height: <= 35 ft (R-1 district)

  “maximum building height 35’ minimum lot area with public sewer 10,000 sq. ft.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  A single mobile home on a lot in Douglas County residential or agricultural districts, if county zoning governs inside Oakland town (not confirmed)

  • Allowed only as a conditional use, when the lot area and setback requirements of the district are met and the owner provides an accessory building or garage for storage.
  • Mobile home parks require a minimum size of two acres and public or common water and sewer systems, per the mobile home park section.

  minimum mobile home park size: >= 2 acres (mobile home parks)

  “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.”

• Well permitRequired

  Drinking water supply located on a premises in Douglas County, if county zoning governs inside Oakland town (not confirmed)

  • The capture clips the subject of the sentence; the quoted permit requirement is read as applying to the drinking water supply on the premises.
  • Permit must be obtained under the Douglas County Sanitary Code.

  “where connection is not to be made to a public water system, no residential use shall be permitted unless provision is made for a safe and adequate supply of drinking water located on the premises, a permit for which has been obtained in accordance with the provisions of the douglas county sanitary code.”

• Driveway accessLimited

  Access driveways from abutting properties onto county-regulated highways, if county zoning governs inside Oakland town (not confirmed)

  • Minimum spacing between access driveways for separate land uses depends on highway class (class A, federal aid primary/secondary, class B, class C).
  • Other land uses: maximum one access driveway per property; maximum width 24 ft.
  • Commercial and industrial land uses: maximum two access driveways, maximum width 35 ft.
  • Driveways must be directly opposite median crossovers where those exist.
  • Town road access rules were not located in the opened text.

  maximum access driveways, other land uses: <= 1 count (other land uses) · maximum access driveway width, other land uses: <= 24 ft (other land uses)

  “access driveways to highways from abutting properties shall comply with the following requirements”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — Building permit requirement for new construction inside Oakland town
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption from permit or licensing for a home inside Oakland town
• Building code adopted — Building code adopted for new construction inside Oakland town
• Inspections — Building inspection requirement for new construction inside Oakland town
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy requirement inside Oakland 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.