Bolthole Index

Berrien County, Michigan

Zoning, building permits and septic rules in the Village of Baroda, Michigan

The Village of Baroda, Michigan administers its own zoning ordinance, separate from Berrien County and Baroda Township1. The village enforces its adopted residential and building codes through its own building department2. Septic permits, where no public sewer reaches a lot, come from the Berrien County Health Department3. Berrien County itself does not run county zoning4.

At a glance

Zoning
Village of Baroda administers its own Chapter 34 zoning ordinance1
Building codes
Village page says it enforces the 2009 residential code and 2012 building code2
Building permit
Required by state law before construction, issued by the enforcing agency; the village lists its own inspectors56
Septic
Berrien County Health Department where no public sewer is available; connection to village sewer is required where it is available37
R-1 minimum lot
8,000 square feet, 66 feet wide8
Agricultural (AG) minimum lot
1 acre, 150 feet wide9

Who to call

Building permits

Village of Baroda Building Department

Building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical inspections inside the village; the village phone and email shown are the village clerk's contact details

(269) 422-1779

clerk@barodavillage.org

PO Box 54, Baroda, MI 49101

Septic permits

Berrien County Health Department, Environmental Health Office

Septic (on-site sewage disposal) permits, fees and inspections for new and replacement systems where no public sewer is available

269-927-5623

2149 East Napier Ave, Benton Harbor, MI 49022

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 24, 2026.

Off-grid gear

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

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Does the Village of Baroda, Michigan have zoning?

Yes. The Village of Baroda administers its own zoning ordinance, Chapter 34 of the village code, and that ordinance covers land inside village limits only, not Baroda Township or the rest of Berrien County1. Berrien County does not administer county zoning at all, so no county zoning office can answer a village parcel question4.

The village publishes districts R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, C-1, C-2, I and AG10. In the main single-family district, R-1, the minimum lot is 8,000 square feet8, with a 25-foot front yard and 8-foot side yard setback11. A house in R-1 may rise to 2 stories or 30 feet12. In the AG district the minimum lot is 1 acre9, with a 40-foot front yard setback13.

We could not confirm what the village zoning ordinance says about living in an RV, a tiny home, a manufactured home or an accessory dwelling. Ask the village zoning office before you buy.

Do you need a building permit in the Village of Baroda, and who issues it?

Michigan law requires a building permit before construction of a building or structure, and also when a structure's use or occupancy changes; ordinary repairs are exempt5. Inside Baroda, the Village of Baroda Building Department lists its own building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical inspectors, and says the village enforces its adopted residential and building codes6. The adopted codes, per the village's page, are the 2009 residential code and the 2012 building code2.

We could not confirm the village's permit application steps, fees, or whether it issues a certificate of occupancy. Michigan's own rule says a new or altered building may not be occupied until the code official issues one14. Call the village at (269) 422-1779 to confirm the process6.

Michigan's owner-builder rule lets a person build a home for their own use and occupancy on their own property outside the residential-builder licensing definition, but a building permit is still required15.

How do septic permits work in the Village of Baroda?

Septic permits are not a village matter. The Berrien County Health Department regulates on-site sewage systems for homes where no public sewer is available3. A septic permit is required before anyone constructs, alters, extends or replaces an individual sewage disposal system, and the Health Officer issues it16. The Health Department's 2024 fee schedule lists a septic system application at $350 per site17.

Inside the village, public sewer comes first. An owner of a building on a street with a village sewer must connect within 90 days after official notice7. Privies, septic tanks and cesspools are unlawful in the village except as the sewer chapter allows, and a private system is permitted only where no public sewer is available18.

We could not confirm the village's own permit rule for a private septic system or its well rules. Ask the Environmental Health Office at 269-927-562319.

Building a home in the Village of Baroda: the steps, in order

  1. Confirm the lot's zoning district with the village, then check the lot size, width and setbacks for that district1.
  2. Ask the village whether a public sewer abuts the lot. If it does, plan to connect rather than install a septic system7.
  3. If no sewer is available, apply to the Berrien County Health Department for a septic permit, which follows a site inspection of soils and groundwater20.
  4. Apply to the village building department for a building permit before construction starts5.
  5. Notify the Health Officer before the septic work is covered, and obtain final inspection approval21.
  6. Request a certificate of occupancy before anyone moves in14.

What stays with Berrien County, and what to check before you buy in Baroda

Zoning, building inspections and codes for village lots stay with the village. Septic permits, and well permits where the county issues them, stay with the Berrien County Health Department. The county's 2024 fee schedule lists a residential well permit at $26517.

A driveway or other work inside a county road right-of-way needs a right-of-way permit from the Berrien County Road Department22. Land outside village limits follows a different set of rules; see the Berrien County page for unincorporated land.

County-level context: Berrien County's effective property tax rate is 1.1%23, and only 10.8% of its soils rate as not limited for a conventional septic drain field, so lots without sewer should expect a site evaluation and possibly an engineered system24.

Watch-outs

  • The village's zoning code page says it includes legislation through April 2021, while the village ordinances page says the code was updated through September 2017, so confirm the current Chapter 34 text with the village1.
  • The village's building department page names the 2009 residential code and 2012 building code, while Michigan's current state codes are newer; ask the village which edition applies to your project2.
  • We could not confirm whether the village allows RVs, tiny homes or accessory dwellings; call the village zoning office before buying for that purpose6.

Sources

  1. Chapter 34: Zoning - Village of Baroda, MI (Village of Baroda), quoted and re-checked
  2. Village of Baroda - Building Department (Village of Baroda), quoted and re-checked
  3. On-Site Septic, quoted and re-checked
  4. Request for Proposals — Berrien County Planning Commission Master Plan 2021, quoted and re-checked
  5. Building Permit Information, quoted and re-checked
  6. Village of Baroda Building Department (barodavillage.org)
  7. Division 2: Use Regulations (Chapter 32 Utilities, Article III Sewers) - Village of Baroda, MI (Village of Baroda), quoted and re-checked
  8. Division 2: Schedules - Village of Baroda, MI (Village of Baroda), quoted and re-checked
  9. Division 2: Schedules - Village of Baroda, MI (Village of Baroda), quoted and re-checked
  10. Division 2: Schedules - Village of Baroda, MI (Village of Baroda), quoted and re-checked
  11. Division 2: Schedules - Village of Baroda, MI (Village of Baroda), quoted and re-checked
  12. Division 2: Schedules - Village of Baroda, MI (Village of Baroda), quoted and re-checked
  13. Division 2: Schedules - Village of Baroda, MI (Village of Baroda), quoted and re-checked
  14. Certificate of Occupancy Request (Michigan statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
  15. Frequently Asked Questions — Residential Builder, quoted and re-checked
  16. Berrien County Sewage Disposal Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
  17. Environmental Health Schedule of Fees – 2024, quoted and re-checked
  18. Division 2: Use Regulations (Chapter 32 Utilities, Article III Sewers) - Village of Baroda, MI (Village of Baroda), quoted and re-checked
  19. Berrien County Health Department, Environmental Health Office (berriencounty.org)
  20. Sewage Disposal Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
  21. Berrien County Sewage Disposal Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
  22. Permits, quoted and re-checked
  23. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
  24. Share of soils USDA rates "not limited" for a conventional septic drain field (SSURGO). A strict rating: the median county is about 6% and a tenth of counties are 0%, so a low figure means most lots need a site evaluation or an engineered system, not that septic is impossible. Cite it only with that caveat: Bolthole Index county data

Written October 24, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.

Answers from the rulebook for Village of Baroda

Village of Baroda’s own rules

  • Building code adoptedAdopted

    Construction inside the Village of Baroda

    • Village page names the 2009 residential code and 2012 building code as adopted and enforced; the page does not give the adopting ordinance number or effective date.
    “the village of baroda has adopted and is currently enforcing the 2009 residential code and 2012 building code.”
  • Local zoningPresent

    Land inside the Village of Baroda limits: the village administers its own Chapter 34 Zoning ordinance (not Baroda Township or the Berrien County unincorporated area)

    • Code page states it includes legislation through 04-01-2021; the village ordinances page says the code was updated through September 2017, so currency is not confirmed.
    “article iii district regulations (§ 34-173 – § 34-255)”
  • Zoning districtsPublished

    Zoning districts of the Village of Baroda

    • District list from the § 34-214 schedule: R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, C-1, C-2, I and AG. Zoning map referenced in Chapter 34 was not opened.
    “r-1 single-family residential 25 8 20 2 30 8,000 66 r-2 single-family residential 35 10 30 2 35 12,000 (e) 100 r-3 multiple-family residential 40 10 40 2 30 12,000 (e) 120”
  • Minimum lot sizeSpecified

    Agricultural district AG inside Baroda village

    • Row reads '1 acre' in the minimum lot size column; the row's maximum-height cell is not clearly parsed in the captured text.

    minimum lot size: >= 1 acre · minimum lot width: >= 150 feet

    “ag agricultural 40 10 40 1 acre 150 notes: (a) see § 34-240 on accessory uses.”
    One more reviewed finding on this topic
  • SetbacksSpecified

    Agricultural district AG inside Baroda village

    • Minimum yard setbacks from the § 34-214 schedule; footnotes and accessory-use rules (§ 34-240) not opened.

    minimum front yard setback: >= 40 feet · minimum side yard setback: >= 10 feet · minimum rear yard setback: >= 40 feet

    “ag agricultural 40 10 40 1 acre 150 notes: (a) see § 34-240 on accessory uses.”
    One more reviewed finding on this topic
  • Building heightSpecified

    Main single-family district R-1 (single-family residential) inside Baroda village

    • Maximum from the § 34-214 schedule, given as stories and feet.

    maximum building height: <= 2 stories · maximum building height: <= 30 feet

    “r-1 single-family residential 25 8 20 2 30 8,000 66”
  • Off-grid sanitationLimited

    Privies, septic tanks and cesspools inside Baroda village

    • Privies, septic tanks and cesspools are unlawful except as the Chapter 32 provisions allow.
    • Where no public sewer is available, a building sewer may connect to a compliant private system.
    • Where a public sewer becomes available, the building must connect within 90 days and the private system must be pumped and filled.
    “except as hereinafter provided, it shall be unlawful to construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool, or other facility intended or used for the disposal of sewage.”
  • Mandatory utility hookupSewer (with conditions)

    Owners of buildings on a street with a village public sanitary or combined sewer inside Baroda village

    • Connection is required within 90 days after official notice, only where the public sewer is available to the abutting property.
    • The sentence continues with a proviso that the public sewer is within 10 feet of a point the captured text cut off; re-read the full section before relying on the distance test.
    • Water connection rule not located in the captured text.

    connection deadline after official notice: 90 days

    “is hereby required, at the owner's expense, to install suitable toilet facilities therein, and to connect such facilities directly with the proper public sewer in accordance with the provisions of this division, within 90 days after date of official notice to do so”

Still unanswered

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

  • Building permit — Building permits for new homes inside Baroda village
  • Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit rules inside Baroda village
  • Inspections — Building inspections for work inside Baroda village
  • Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy approval for new homes inside Baroda village
  • Minimum dwelling size — Minimum floor area for a dwelling inside Baroda village
15 more unanswered
  • Lot coverage
  • Living in an RV
  • Camping on your land
  • Tiny homes
  • Manufactured homes
  • Accessory dwellings
  • Septic permit
  • Septic inspection
  • Well permit
  • Agricultural exemption
  • Driveway access
  • Building in a floodplain
  • Short-term rentals
  • Permit fees
  • Permit process

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.

Unanswered questions are usually a sign that Village of Baroda publishes no rule on the point, not that none exists. Berrien County’s page lists the county offices to call.

← All of Berrien County: county rules, score and offices