Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Village of Greendale, Wisconsin

Village of Greendale’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Buildings and structures built, enlarged, altered, demolished, or moved into, within, or out of Greendale village.

  • Permit must first be obtained by the owner or agent from the Director of Inspection Services.
  • Permit categories include building, air conditioning, wrecking or razing, heating, moving of buildings, occupancy, and specified collector/antenna structures.

  “No building or structure or any part thereof shall hereafter be built, enlarged, altered or demolished within the Village or moved into, within or out of the Village except as hereinafter provided unless a permit therefor is first obtained by the owner or his agent from the Director of Inspection Services.”

• Building code adoptedAdopted (with conditions)

  Buildings and structures within Greendale village.

  • The listed Wisconsin Administrative Code chapters and subsequent revisions are adopted and enforced by the Director of Inspection Services.
  • The adoption includes SPS 320 through 325, Uniform Dwelling Code; SPS 361 through 366, Commercial Building Code; SPS 316, Electrical Code; and SPS 381 through 387, Uniform Plumbing Code.

  “The following chapters of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, as well as all subsequent revisions, are adopted by the municipality and shall be enforced by the Director of Inspection Services.”

• InspectionsRequired

  Permitted construction of buildings, structures, or equipment inside Greendale village.

  • Inspections are made upon notification from the permit holder or agent.
  • The excerpt expressly identifies a location inspection; the code's full inspection sequence was not extracted.

  “Upon notification from the permit holder or his agent, required inspections of the construction of any buildings, structures or equipment shall be made as follows:”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Greendale village limits.

  • Chapter 17 is adopted by the Village Board; individual uses remain subject to district and ordinance requirements.

  “[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Greendale as Ch. 17 of the Code of Ordinances. Amendments noted where applicable.]”

• Septic permitRequired

  A one- or two-family dwelling inside Greendale village that requires a private sewage system.

  • No building permit may issue until a sanitary permit has issued.

  “No building permit shall be issued for a one- or two-family dwelling requiring a private sewage system until such time that a sanitary permit has been issued.”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  A building inside Greendale village after connection to a sewer main under § 13.15.

  • After sewer connection, a privy or waterless toilet may not be used in connection with the building.
  • This finding does not determine rules for a property without a sewer connection.

  “After connection of any building to a sewer main hereunder, no privy or waterless toilet shall be used in connection with such building.”

• Mandatory utility hookupWater and sewer (with conditions)

  Buildings used for human habitation and public, commercial, or business buildings inside Greendale village when public sewer and/or water becomes available.

  • The Plumbing Inspector provides written notice to connect required facilities.
  • Failure to comply within 10 days permits the Plumbing Inspector to make the connection and assess the cost as a special tax.
  • When public water is available, water service must be installed and connected when the building sanitary sewer is installed.
  • After a building connects to a sewer main, no privy or waterless toilet may be used with that building.

  compliance after written notice: <= 10 days (If the notified person fails to comply, the Plumbing Inspector may cause the connections to be made and assess the expense.)

  “Whenever the public sewer and/or water becomes available to any public, commercial or business building or any building used for human habitation, the Plumbing Inspector shall notify in writing the owner, agent or occupant thereof to connect thereto all facilities required by the Plumbing Inspector.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Subdivision of land inside Greendale village.

  • The Village Board may not approve a final subdivision plat unless the subdivider separately agrees to provide required utility and street improvements and comply with stated requirements.
  • For non-subdivision divisions creating four or fewer parcels, a certified survey map is required; Village review and approval process applies.

  “No final plat for the subdivision of land as defined in § 236.02(12), Wis. Stats., in the Village shall be approved by the Village Board unless the subdivider shall by a separate agreement provide the following utility and street improvements and comply with the following provisions and requirements:”

• Permit feesVariable (with conditions)

  Building permits issued by Greendale village.

  • The fee is set by the Village Board's fee schedule on file at the Village Clerk's office.
  • The Village Board may amend building-permit fees from time to time by resolution.
  • Physical value of work is determined by the Director of Inspection Services on current costs or as local ordinances provide; charges per unit include fractions.

  “Before receiving a building permit, the owner or his agent shall pay the fee as set by the Village Board in the fee schedule on file at the office of the Village Clerk. The Village Board may amend the building permit fees from time to time through the passage of a resolution.”

• Permit processPublished (with conditions)

  Building-permit applications inside Greendale village.

  • Application is written on the Director's form and must state specified owner, designer, parcel, building-location, and house-number information.
  • Applicant submits three complete sets of plans and specifications and three copies of a survey.
  • At the Director's option, plans, data, specifications, and survey may be waived for sufficiently described minor alterations and repairs.
  • No work may commence before permit issuance.

  complete plan sets: 3 sets · survey copies: 3 copies

  “Application for a building permit shall be made in writing upon a form to be furnished by the Director of Inspection Services and shall state the name and address of the owner of the building and the owner of the land on which it is to be erected and the name and address of the designer and shall set forth a legal description of the land on which the building is to be located, the location of the building, the house number thereof and such other information as the Director of Inspection Services may require.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-built residential construction inside Greendale village.
• Minimum dwelling size — Residential zoning districts inside Greendale village.
• Minimum lot size — Residential and agricultural zoning districts inside Greendale village.
• Setbacks — Buildings in Greendale village zoning districts.
• Lot coverage — Zoning districts inside Greendale village.

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 Village of Greendale 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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