Zoning / Building Permits

[billyamy]

Wife and I will be starting construction of a coop in the next 30 days. We live in a township on 2 acres and called the office just to be sure before we began construction to avoid any fines. They told us anything under 200 square foot only requires a zoning permit ($35) with measurements and placement plans of the coop.


Just wondering if anyone else has had to do the same thing or had a similar experience. I thought it to be a bit ridiculous for a coop but if it has to be done it will be. Thinking we might just go big and go right to the limit of 200 square foot.

 

[4 the Birds]

Wife and I will be starting construction of a coop in the next 30 days. We live in a township on 2 acres and called the office just to be sure before we began construction to avoid any fines. They told us anything under 200 square foot only requires a zoning permit ($35) with measurements and placement plans of the coop.


Just wondering if anyone else has had to do the same thing or had a similar experience. I thought it to be a bit ridiculous for a coop but if it has to be done it will be. Thinking we might just go big and go right to the limit of 200 square foot.

Are you in a neighborhood are out in a rural setting? Do you have AG zoning? Neighborhoods can be tricky because they have covenants and sometimes neighbors that don't like sounds of nature.

Technically alot of things need a building permit and each county wants to regulate how things are built. Even fencing out in a rural farm has built standards! Wood Deck.... Yep. Some require a permit. As a rule of thumb, anything that is portable and without a foundation does not need a permit (local laws vary). You can apply for a permit but to tell you the truth... I would use your own judgement on these things. We live on a small farm and make improvements with as minimal involvement with local gov as possible. Of course our large 25x60 ft barn needed soil tests and the necessary permits. Sometimes several small "portable" sheds connected together can give alot of square footage.

 

[billyamy]

1 neighbor and he won't be an issue. Only thing that could of been an issue is that our property backs to a business (very large sand/gravel pit) but we are most certainly rural.

I'm going to file the zoning permit, $35 is cheaper than what they would fine me fore I'm sure. Likely I'll do the same next year and just build another identical coop within the size requirements to avoid inspections.

 

[Kaitie09]

We expanded our garage and built a chicken/goat shed at the same time. We did need a permit for the garage, because it had a foundation. Our shed it technically not on a foundation, but is on cider block "posts" that we filled with concrete. We are zoned AG but only are allowed to have 2 building permits (1 per acre), one being the house and one being the garage. The guy said that as long as we build something that can be picked up from its foundation, it does not need a permit.

 

[harri]

I have a carpentry business on the side and run into this a lot. Most towns/cities go by the square footage rule as far as permitting issues go. Before you can get a permit you need to get zoning requirements and locate it to those specs. That is usually included with the permit fee, if a permit is required, if not they just want to make sure it is not to close to neighbors or boundaries and get some money from you with a zoning fee.

 

[cosbackyard]

My town has a 100sq ft limit, under which you don't need any kind of permit. So naturally I built right up to that limit.
My guess is that they won't do any kind of inspection to make sure that you follow the plans on your permit. It would cost them more than the $35 to send someone out. But you should probably go through the process anyway. Municipalities can go as far as forcing a teardown for unapproved construction.