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

Town of Lincoln’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Lincoln town limits (Wood County, WI): the Town of Lincoln adopted its own zoning ordinance, which applies in place of county zoning.

  • The Town of Lincoln zoning ordinance is maintained by the town zoning committee and amended by the town board, per its section 7.03.
  • The town ordinances page lists amendments titled '2026-01 town of lincoln zoning ordinance updated' and '2026-02 town of lincoln zoning ordinance'. Those amendments were not opened, so the 2021 text may be superseded in part.

  “adopted by town board: may 11, 2021 publication: may 12, 2021 approved by wood county board of supervisors: june 15, 2021”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Land inside Lincoln town limits: the 2021 town zoning ordinance publishes a schedule of regulations by district (R-1 single-family residential, A-1 agricultural, A-2 agricultural transition, C commercial, I industrial, plus an open space community overlay district).

  • District boundaries are on the official zoning map adopted by the town board; the map itself was not opened.
  • The 2026 amendments were not checked.

  “schedule of regulations for town of lincoln zoning districts”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  R-1 single-family residential district inside Lincoln town limits

  • Schedule of regulations, section 4.11 of the town zoning ordinance. The source table is garbled in text extraction, so the row was matched by district label.
  • Minimum average lot width is 100 feet per the same schedule row.
  • Public sewer and water connection is referenced in the row, but the source does not state that the lot size changes with service.

  minimum lot size: >= 1.5 acres · minimum frontage: >= 200 feet · density: 8 houses per quarter section of land

  “eight (8) houses per quarter section of land. 1½ acres frontage: 200’”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — A-1 agricultural district inside Lincoln town limits (single-family residence on a qualifying parcel)

    “one farm or nonfarm residence shall be permitted per public land survey system quarterquarter with frontage on a public roadway.”

• Living in an RVLimited

  Recreational vehicles and mobile homes on residential land inside Lincoln town limits

  • Storage only: an unoccupied recreational mobile home, motor home, tent trailer or camper may be stored by the owner on the owner's premises.
  • A mobile home may be parked in a residential zone for up to one year only while a permanent dwelling is under construction, with a zoning administrator permit and fee.
  • The ordinance does not state that living in a stored RV is allowed.

  mobile home temporary parking period: <= 1 year (while a permanent dwelling is being constructed)

  “an unoccupied recreational mobile home, motor home, tent trailer or camper may be stored by the owner on such owner’s premises.”

• Manufactured homesAllowed

  Manufactured homes on land inside Lincoln town limits where single-family or two-family dwellings are permitted

  • Must be set on a permanent foundation extending below the frost line under Wis. Admin. Code ch. COMM 27.
  • Mobile homes (built before June 15, 1976) may not be parked in a residential zone except while a permanent dwelling is being built, for up to one year, with a zoning administrator permit.

  “for purposes of zoning code enforcement, manufactured homes shall be set upon a permanent foundation which extends below the frost line in accordance with chapter comm 27, wisconsin administrative code.”

• Accessory dwellingsProhibited

  Accessory buildings in the R-1 single-family residential district inside Lincoln town limits

  • An accessory building may not be used as a separate dwelling unit.
  • Accessory dwelling rules in the other districts were not confirmed.

  “accessory buildings, including private garages and buildings clearly incidental to the use of the property, provided however, that no accessory building may be used as a separate dwelling unit.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Land divisions inside Lincoln town limits

  • The town's subdivision ordinance is 1990-4 (formerly ord. no. 9). Its text was not opened, so its standards are unknown.

  “1990-4 subdivision ordinance (formerly ord. no. 9)”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — Dwelling construction inside Lincoln town limits
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-built dwellings inside Lincoln town limits
• Building code adopted — Dwelling construction inside Lincoln town limits
• Inspections — Dwelling construction inspections inside Lincoln town limits
• Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy of new dwellings inside Lincoln town limits

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.