Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Village of Cassville, Wisconsin

Village of Cassville’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Construction, alteration, moving or demolition inside Cassville village

  • Includes new 1- and 2-family dwellings, additions, detached accessory buildings and decks
  • Exempt: re-siding, re-roofing (with limits), interior finishing, gutters, like-size window replacement, minor repairs
  • Work begun before permit payment doubles the fee
  • Zoning land use permit also required under 16.04 (not for farm structures not sheltering humans)

  “no owner or contractor may construct, erect, alter, enlarge, repair, move, convert to other uses, or demolish any building, structure or mechanical system until a valid permit is obtained from a municipal building inspector.”

• Building code adoptedAdopted

  Building construction inside Cassville village

  • Adopts listed Wis. Admin. Code chapters incl. SPS 320-325 (Uniform Dwelling Code), SPS 316 electrical, SPS 361-366 commercial, SPS 381-387 plumbing, with future amendments
  • Village is a certified municipality for commercial plan review (14.03)

  “the following chapters of the wisconsin administrative code, as well as all subsequent future amendments, modifications, and revisions, are adopted by the municipality and shall be enforced by the building inspector.”

• Local zoningPresent

  All lands and waters within Cassville village corporate limits

  • Adopted under Wis. Stat. 61.35 and 62.23; amendments follow s. 62.23
  • Chapter 16 text is stamped revised Nov. 9, 2020

  “the jurisdiction of this ordinance shall include all lands and waters within the corporate limits of the village of cassville.”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts inside Cassville village

  • Nine districts: R-1, R-2, C-1, C-2, I-1, I-2, PUD, A, C (conservancy)
  • Boundaries set by the official zoning map

  “nine zoning districts are hereby established: 1. single- and two-family residence 2. multiple-family residence 3. general commercial 4. highway commercial 5. light industrial 6. general industrial 7. planned unit development 8. agriculture 9. conservancy”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  R-1 single- and two-family district, inside Cassville village

  • 900 sq ft per family for residential structure; 720 sq ft for mobile home
  • R-2 district minimum is 720 sq ft per family

  minimum floor area per family (residential structure): >= 900 sq ft (mobile home 720 sq ft)

  “minimum floor area per family residential structure mobile home 900 sq. feet 720 sq. feet”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  R-1 single- and two-family district, inside Cassville village

  • Larger area (8,500 sq ft) in Kleinpell, Eckstein, Mulberry, Forest Bluff and Jack Oak additions
  • Minimum average lot width 50 ft (75 ft in those additions)
  • Where no public sewer, lots must fit an on-site system per H65 and Grant County sanitary code

  minimum lot area per family: >= 6000 sq ft (8500 sq ft in named additions)

  “minimum lot area per family 6000 sq. feet minimum lot area per family in 8500 sq. feet kleinpell addition, eckstein addition, mulberry subdivision, forest bluff addition & jack oak addition, (including along jack oak rd)”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Agricultural (A) district, inside Cassville village

    “minimum lot area per family (residential) 5 acres”

• SetbacksSpecified

  R-1 single- and two-family district, inside Cassville village

  • Front 25 ft; rear 25 ft principal, 3 ft accessory; side 8 ft each side (20 ft total) principal, 3 ft accessory
  • State highway frontage may impose stricter standards

  front yard: >= 25 ft · rear yard principal: >= 25 ft (accessory 3 ft) · side yard principal: >= 8 ft (20 ft total; accessory 3 ft)

  “minimum front yard setback 25 feet *note: more restrictive standards may be imposed by state regulations in certain circumstances, for example, on lots fronting on certain classes of state highways. minimum rear yard setback principal buildings accessory buildings minimum side yard setback principal buildings accessory buildings 25 feet 3 feet 8 feet each side;(20 feet total) 3 feet; each side”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Agricultural (A) district, inside Cassville village

    “minimum front yard setback 50 feet minimum rear yard setback 50 feet minimum side yard principal buildings accessory buildings 20 feet each side 5 feet each side”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  Accessory buildings in all zoning districts inside Cassville village (only coverage limit found; no overall residential lot coverage cap seen)

  • Accessory buildings permitted in rear and side yards only
  • C-1 and C-2 districts have separate maximum building areas

  accessory buildings share of rear yard: <= 30 percent

  “accessory buildings shall not occupy more than 30% of the rear yard.”

• Building heightSpecified

  R-1 single- and two-family district, inside Cassville village

  • Accessory building max 20 ft
  • Agricultural district: 35 ft for residential structures

  maximum building height: <= 35 ft (accessory 20 ft)

  “maximum building height 35 feet maximum accessory building height 20 feet minimum width of principal building 24 feet”

• Manufactured homesAllowed

  HUD-code manufactured homes in the R-1 single- and two-family district inside Cassville village

  • Mobile homes are excluded from R-1 (and from two-family unless in a mobile home park)
  • Manufactured home must be on real estate owned by the homeowner to be a dwelling
  • Mobile homes only in mobile home parks or subdivisions (16.12), parks only as conditional use in R-2

  “single-family dwellings, including manufactured homes, (specifically excluding mobile homes).”

• Permit processPublished (with conditions)

  Building permit process inside Cassville village

  • Fees paid to village clerk/treasurer before issuance; double fee if work starts first
  • Building permits lapse if work not started in 6 months or not complete in 12 months; uniform building permits expire 24 months after issuance if exterior incomplete
  • Zoning land use permit applications need a plat of survey and site details (16.04)

  “the wisconsin uniform building permit shall be issued if the requirements for filing and fees are satisfied, and the plans have been conditionally approved.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Village of Cassville or Grant County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption inside Cassville village
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Cassville village
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy inside Cassville village
• Camping on your land — Temporary camping inside Cassville village
• Tiny homes — Tiny homes inside Cassville village

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.