Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Town of Cortlandville, New York

Town of Cortlandville’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Work in Cortlandville that must conform to the Uniform Code or Energy Code, including construction, enlargement, alteration, improvement, removal, relocation, demolition, or listed solid-fuel work.

  • The specified exemptions in § 86-4B apply, including listed small sheds, playground equipment, certain shallow above-ground pools, certain fences and repairs.
  • parameters=[]},{

  “Building permits required. Except as otherwise provided in Subsection B of this section, a building permit shall be required for any work which must conform to the Uniform Code and/or the Energy Code, including, but not limited to, the construction, enlargement, alteration, improvement, removal, relocation or demolition of any building or structure or any portion thereof, and the installation of a solid-fuel-burning heating appliance, chimney or flue in any dwelling unit.”

• InspectionsRequired

  Permitted construction in Cortlandville where the listed construction elements are applicable.

  • Work must remain accessible and exposed until inspected and accepted; the permit holder must notify the Code Enforcement Officer when work is ready for inspection.
  • parameters=[]},{

  “Work to remain accessible and exposed. Work shall remain accessible and exposed until inspected and accepted by the Code Enforcement Officer or by an inspector authorized by the Code Enforcement Officer. The permit holder shall notify the Code Enforcement Officer when any element of work described in Subsection B of this section is ready for inspection.”

• Certificate of occupancyRequired

  Work subject to a building permit and structures or portions converted to another use or occupancy classification in Cortlandville.

  • A certificate is issued only after applicable Uniform Code and Energy Code compliance; an inspection is required before issuance; applicable structural-observation, special-inspection, and flood-hazard documents must be provided at the applicant's expense.
  • parameters=[]},{

  “Certificates of occupancy or certificates of compliance required. A certificate of occupancy or certificate of compliance shall be required for any work which is the subject of a building permit and for all structures, buildings, or portions thereof which are converted from one use or occupancy classification or subclassification to another.”

• Camping on your landLimited

  Camping using tents in a trailer park in Cortlandville.

  • The limitation documented here is for a trailer park: a trailer park involves two or more house trailers, tents, or tent houses held open to the public for a fee, and it requires a town permit.
  • parameters=[]},{

  “Any lot, piece or parcel of ground whereon two or more house trailers, tents or tent houses used, designed for use or capable of being used as living or sleeping quarters are parked or located and for which use said premises are held open to the public, a fee being collected for such use. [...] No person, firm or corporation being the owner or occupant of any land or premises within the Town of Cortlandville shall use or permit the use of said land or premises as a trailer park without obtaining a permit therefor as hereinafter provided.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Subdivisions of land in the part of Cortlandville outside incorporated city or village limits.

  • Plat approval is prerequisite to recording; the code excludes division into not more than two parcels of not less than five acres each from its definition of subdivision.
  • parameters=[]},{

  “Such approval, in accordance with the procedures and regulations set forth below, is prerequisite to recording of all plats of any subdivision of land in the office of the Cortland County Clerk. [...] A subdivision shall not include, however, the division into not more than two parcels of not less than five acres each.”

• Permit feesVariable (with conditions)

  Town building permits and construction inspections.

  • Building-permit, amended-permit, and renewal fees are due with application; inspection fees are due before or at the inspection. The retrieved code sets fees by Town Board rather than stating a dollar schedule.
  • parameters=[]},{

  “A fee schedule shall be established by resolution of the Town Board of the Town of Cortlandville. Such fee schedule may thereafter be amended from time to time by like resolution.”

• Permit processPublished (with conditions)

  Building-permit applications in Cortlandville.

  • Application must be written on an accepted form and signed by the owner or authorized agent; it must contain information and documents sufficient to show Uniform Code and Energy Code compliance.
  • parameters=[]},{

  “Applications for a building permit shall be made in writing on a form provided by or otherwise acceptable to the Code Enforcement Officer. The application shall be signed by the owner of the property where the work is to be performed or by an authorized agent of the owner. The application shall include such information as the Code Enforcement Officer deems sufficient to permit a determination by the Code Enforcement Officer that the intended work complies with all applicable requirements of the Uniform Code and the Energy Code.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-performed residential construction in Cortlandville.
• Minimum dwelling size — Residential districts in Cortlandville.
• Minimum lot size — Residential districts in Cortlandville.
• Setbacks — Residential districts in Cortlandville.
• Lot coverage — Residential districts in Cortlandville.

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 Cortlandville 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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