Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Town of Silver Cliff, Wisconsin

Town of Silver Cliff’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Erecting, installing, enlarging, altering, moving or demolishing buildings and dwellings inside the Town of Silver Cliff

  • Permit must be obtained from the town building inspector before the work begins.
  • Section 3.02b requires a copy of the site plan showing setbacks, and a copy of the Marinette County sanitary permit and county zoning permit if required by county ordinance, to be submitted before issuance.
  • Section 3.02e: permits are not granted for room additions on recreational vehicles or for additions or alterations that violate any town or county ordinance or state statute.
  • Section 4.02(2): the permit is valid for two (2) years.

  “no building, dwelling, micro-dwelling, mobile home, manufactured home, or any part thereof shall hereafter be erected or installed, enlarged, altered structurally, set up, located, relocated, moved, or demolished within the town of silver cliff as hereinafter provided, by any individual, owner, firm, or corporation, until a building permit shall first have been obtained”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Limited — Small movable accessory buildings and cosmetic or non-structural work inside the Town of Silver Cliff

    “for any accessory building less than eighty (80) square feet and costing $1,000 or less, providing such building is movable and conforms to all other building codes”

• Building code adoptedAdopted

  New dwellings and dwelling construction inside the Town of Silver Cliff (Marinette County, WI)

  • Adopted by the town board by ordinance; the ordinance is dated 01/12/21 and its adoption signature lines are blank in the copy reviewed.

  “the wisconsin uniform dwelling code (udc) was adopted by the town of silver cliff by ordinance. all new dwellings constructed in the town of silver cliff require a state of wisconsin building permit.”

• InspectionsRequired

  New dwellings built inside the Town of Silver Cliff

  • Inspections are performed by a state-licensed building inspection service contracted by the town; the town building inspector also has access rights on 24-hour notice (Section 3.02d(5)).
  • Micro-dwellings are subject to the same inspections as other dwellings (Section 3.06a).

  “dwelling construction inspections are provided by a state of wisconsin-licensed building inspection service contracted by the town of silver cliff.”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Condominiums and duplexes (multi-unit buildings) inside the Town of Silver Cliff

  • Requires a comprehensive site plan reviewed by the planning commission and approved by the town board before a building permit.

  land per unit: >= 2.5 acres (condominiums and duplexes only)

  “condominiums and duplexes require two and a half (2.5) acres per unit.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Buildings on any lot inside the Town of Silver Cliff (single set of town setbacks; no separate district)

  • Shoreland and county zoning may impose greater setbacks (Section 3.02d(4) and 3.09).

  setback from road centerline: >= 75 feet · setback from high water mark of stream, river or lake: >= 75 feet · setback from other property lines: >= 10 feet

  “the minimum setback for buildings shall be seventy-five (75) feet from the centerline of any road and seventy-five (75) feet from the high water mark of any stream, river, or lake. setbacks from all other property lines shall be a minimum of ten (10) feet.”

• Tiny homesLimited

  Micro-dwellings (under 600 square feet) placed inside the Town of Silver Cliff

  • Micro-dwellings are dwellings treated the same as other dwellings for permitting and inspection.
  • Micro-dwellings on a permanent frame with wheels must have wheels and transport yoke removed within 90 days or be regulated as recreational vehicles.
  • Micro-dwellings not on a basement or permanent foundation with walls must be skirted within 90 days of placement and tied down.
  • Micro-dwellings on wheels are considered recreational vehicles unless the wheels and transport yoke are removed.

  micro-dwelling maximum floor area: < 600 square feet · wheel and yoke removal deadline: <= 90 days

  “micro-dwellings constructed on a permanent frame with wheels and a transport yoke must have their wheels and yokes removed within ninety days, or they will be regulated as recreational vehicles.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Placing a manufactured or mobile home on private land inside the Town of Silver Cliff

  • Mobile homes built before June 15, 1976 that are not HUD-certified are not permitted.
  • Manufactured homes must be installed under Wisconsin Department of Commerce Comm 27 guidelines and placed on a full basement, blocked crawl space, or slab with tie-downs.
  • A sanitary permit is required before the building permit is granted.
  • Only one manufactured or mobile home is permitted on a single recorded tract, except as covered by Section 3.03; three or more make the parcel a mobile home community under SPS 326.
  • Age over 10 years requires a certified home inspection and a town variance (fee per the building permit fees section) approved by the planning commission and town board.
  • Skirting required within 90 days of placement if no basement or permanent foundation with walls.

  maximum age of manufactured or mobile home at permit issuance: <= 10 years (variance with certified home inspection and town approval (Section 3.08b(7))) · manufactured or mobile homes per recorded tract: 1 count (Section 3.03 parcels (5 acres or more))

  “the construction of the manufactured or mobile home must not be older than ten (10) years of age at the time of the building permit issuance.”

• Accessory dwellingsLimited

  Second or additional dwellings on one recorded parcel inside the Town of Silver Cliff

  • Parcels under 5 acres: one primary dwelling only.
  • Parcels of 5 acres or more: additional dwellings allowed if the parcel provides at least 2.5 acres per dwelling.
  • Condominiums and duplexes require 2.5 acres per unit and a comprehensive site plan (Section 3.09).

  minimum parcel size for additional dwellings: >= 5 acres (parcels under 5 acres allow one primary dwelling only) · land per additional dwelling: >= 2.5 acres

  “there shall be only one (1) primary dwelling per recorded parcel of less than five (5) acres. on parcels five (5) acres or larger, additional dwellings may be added, providing the parcel allows for at least two and one half (2 ½) acres per dwelling.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Prohibited — Accessory buildings (garages, sheds, pole barns and similar) inside the Town of Silver Cliff

    “no accessory building is to be used as a sleeping place or dwelling either full or parttime.”

• Septic permitLimited

  Building permit applications for dwellings and other structures inside the Town of Silver Cliff

  • Marinette County sanitary permit must be submitted with the building permit application only if required by county ordinance.
  • For condominiums and duplexes, the applicant must obtain a sanitary permit after the planning commission and town board approve the comprehensive site plan (Section 3.02c).

  “a copy of the marinette county sanitary permit, if required by county ordinance”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Required — Placing a manufactured or mobile home on land inside the Town of Silver Cliff

    “a sanitary permit shall be required before a building permit will be granted for the placement of a manufactured or mobile home in the town of silver cliff.”

• Permit feesPublished

  Town of Silver Cliff building permit fees (ordinance dated 01/12/21)

  • Additional fee amounts are set and collected by the building inspector, and the town board sets a fine/forfeiture schedule by resolution (not reviewed).
  • A variance fee of $100 is nonrefundable and must be paid before action on a variance request.
  • Newer fee schedule not found; the copy reviewed is the 01/12/21 ordinance, and the ordinances listing mentions a later building permit ordinance update that was not opened.

  new dwelling construction, setting or relocation of a dwelling permit fee: 50 USD (plus additional fees set by building inspector) · garage, shed, accessory building, or addition/structural change permit fee: 20 USD · building variance request fee: 100 USD (nonrefundable; mobile home age variance fee is $20) · penalty for beginning construction without a building permit: 250 USD

  “a fee of $250.00 shall be charged for the following: (a) beginning construction of a building without having first obtained a building permit”

• Permit processPublished

  Building permit application and issuance in the Town of Silver Cliff

  • Permit is issued by the town building inspector after fees are paid and all ordinance and legal requirements are met (Section 4.04a).
  • Permit valid for two years; expired permits may be renewed for the original permit fee (Section 4.02(2)-(3)).
  • Condominiums and duplexes require planning commission review, town board approval of a comprehensive site plan, and a sanitary permit before a building permit (Section 3.02c).

  “no person shall be issued or re-issued a building permit in the town of silver cliff without first submitting to the building inspector of the town of silver cliff the following:”

Rules another office applies inside Town of Silver Cliff

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

• Who permits septicCounty (with conditions)

  Private onsite wastewater (septic) systems on land inside the Town of Silver Cliff; the county program applies there, and the town does not run its own septic program in the ordinance reviewed

  • Applies to land inside the Town of Silver Cliff under the Marinette County program.

  “zoning/sanitary division staff enforce several county ordinances regulating development throughout the county, as well as dealing with amendments to wisconsin statutes and administrative codes concerning the implementation and enforcement of shoreland/floodplain zoning and the inventory and maintenance requirements for private onsite wastewater treatment systems (powts).”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder construction of a home in the Town of Silver Cliff
• Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy approval for new dwellings in the Town of Silver Cliff
• Local zoning — Whether Silver Cliff town administers its own zoning ordinance for land inside the town
• Zoning districts — Zoning district map or districts inside the Town of Silver Cliff
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum floor area for a single-family dwelling inside the Town of Silver Cliff

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.