Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Town of McCordsville, Indiana

Town of McCordsville’s own rules

• Certificate of occupancyRequired

  Each new structure inside McCordsville town limits: the town occupancy permit release (§ 150.02).

  • The release form is Exhibit A to the ordinance and must be procured for each new structure before the town notifies the county building inspector.
  • Charge is $50 per § 150.02(b), effective January 1, 2003; the current fee schedule was not opened.

  occupancy permit release charge: 50 USD (effective January 1, 2003 per code text; current fee schedule not opened)

  “which shall be procured by each builder, developer or homeowner for each new structure within the town, before the town will notify the county building inspector that the structure meets the terms and conditions of the town overlay ordinance and all other town ordinances.”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside McCordsville town limits: the town adopts and administers its own zoning ordinance (Chapter 154 Zoning Code, ord. 121410).

  • Uses are allowed only as listed in the Official Schedule of Uses (Appendix A), per the district-classification section.
  • Official zoning map is kept by the administrative officer; overlay districts (highway corridor, airport, right-of-way corridor, conservation/flood plain) apply in addition to base districts.

  “for the purpose of this chapter, the town is divided into zoning district classifications.”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Land inside McCordsville town limits. District list from § 154.041 (residential, commercial, industrial, overlay and other districts).

  • Residential districts R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, MF1, MF2; commercial CN, CO, CR; industrial I1, I2; overlays AO, HCO, R/WCO; other P, Old Town, TC, PUD.
  • Districts stand alone and are not hierarchical; only uses expressly permitted by the Official Schedule of Uses are allowed.
  • Official zoning map (§ 154.040) is the final authority for each parcel; the administrative officer determines each property's zoning. Map itself not retrieved.
  • No agricultural or rural-residential district appears in the § 154.041 district list.

  R1 gross density: < less than 1 dwelling units per acre (low density single-family) · R2 gross density: 1 - 1.99 dwelling units per acre (low-medium density single-family) · R3 gross density: 2 - 2.49 dwelling units per acre (moderate density single- or two-family)

  “each of the following districts is intended to stand alone and is not part of a hierarchy system of land use regulation.”

• Septic permitLimited

  New private sewage disposal systems inside McCordsville town limits where a public sanitary sewer is not available

  • No permit shall be issued for a subsurface soil absorption system on a lot under 20,000 square feet.
  • Septic tanks or cesspools may not discharge to a natural outlet.
  • Health-officer and state board requirements also apply (see septic_authority).

  minimum lot area for subsurface soil absorption system permit: < 20000 square feet (lots below this area cannot receive a permit)

  “no permit shall be issued for any private sewage disposal system employing subsurface soil absorption facilities where the area of the lot is less than 20,000 square feet.”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Private on-site sanitation for a building inside McCordsville town limits where a public sanitary sewer is not available

  • Subsurface soil absorption systems are barred on lots under 20,000 square feet.
  • Septic tanks and cesspools may not discharge to a natural outlet.
  • Must be connected and the system abandoned once a public sewer becomes available within 300 feet.
  • Owner must operate and maintain the private system in a sanitary manner at no expense to the town.

  minimum lot area for subsurface soil absorption system: < 20000 square feet (below this area no permit is issued)

  “no permit shall be issued for any private sewage disposal system employing subsurface soil absorption facilities where the area of the lot is less than 20,000 square feet.”

• Mandatory utility hookupSewer (with conditions)

  Existing and new buildings abutting a street, alley or right-of-way in which a public sanitary sewer of the town is located, inside McCordsville town limits

  • Requirement applies only when the public sewer is within 300 feet of the property line.
  • Owner must connect within 60 days after official notice.
  • Septic tanks, cesspools and similar facilities must be abandoned and filled once a public sewer is available; sanitary sewer service is prohibited in wetlands and floodplains except for existing structures (§ 53.36(h)-(i)).
  • Water connection requirement not found in the sections opened; value is limited to sewer.

  distance from property line to public sanitary sewer triggering connection: <= 300 feet (property must abut a street, alley or right-of-way with a public sanitary sewer) · connection deadline after official notice: 60 days (from date of official notice)

  “at a time as a public sewer becomes available to a property served by a private sewage disposal system as provided in division (d) above, a direct connection shall be made to the public sewer in compliance with this subchapter, and any septic tanks, cesspools and similar private sewage disposal facilities shall be abandoned and filled with suitable material.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Land divisions inside McCordsville town limits, under the town's Subdivision Regulations (Chapter 153).

  • Chapter 153 text not opened; plat and lot-split thresholds unknown.

  “chapter 153: subdivision regulations chapter 154: zoning code table of special ordinances”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  Town permit charges referenced in McCordsville code, including the occupancy permit release and the sewer lateral inspection fee.

  • The current schedule of fees and charges (referenced in § 53.38(b)(4)) was not opened; the published charge for the occupancy release is the 2003 code figure.
  • The sewer lateral inspection fee amount is set by that schedule, not in the code text.

  occupancy permit release charge: 50 USD (charge stated in code text effective January 1, 2003)

  “effective january 1, 2003, a charge of $50 shall be paid by each applicant to defray the cost and expense of inspecting the property and issuing the occupancy permit release form”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-occupant builders inside McCordsville town limits
• Building code adopted — Construction inside McCordsville town limits
• Minimum dwelling size — Dwellings inside McCordsville town limits
• Lot coverage — Residential lots inside McCordsville town limits
• Living in an RV — Recreational vehicle occupancy on private land inside McCordsville 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.

Off-grid gear

Going off-grid in Town of McCordsville means bringing your own water and power. The kit we’d start with:

• Water Crystal Quest Filter any source — well, rain, or creek — to drinking-clean.
• Power Bluetti Solar generators and home battery backup for living off the grid.
• Septic Soil percolation test kit Run your own perc test before paying an engineer — the first thing a septic office asks about.
• Water Well water test kit Bacteria, nitrates, hardness — know what the well on a parcel is really pumping.

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