Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Village of Hales Corners, Wisconsin

Village of Hales Corners’s own rules

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Land within Hales Corners village.

  • The official zoning map is kept on file in the Village Administrator's office.

  “Official Zoning Map. The Village of Hales Corners is hereby divided into zoning districts as shown upon a map designated as the Official Zoning Map of the Village of Hales Corners, dated May 11, 1957, and made a part of this chapter.”

Rules another office applies inside Village of Hales Corners

Village of Hales Corners does not set these itself; the county, a health district or the state does, and they apply to every address inside its limits.

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  R-1 Residence District within Hales Corners village.

  • Minimum frontage is 75 feet.
  • Per-family density also requires at least 5,000 square feet of land area and 40 feet of lot width per family or housekeeping unit.

  minimum lot or building site area: >= 10000 square feet (R-1 Residence District.) · minimum frontage: >= 75 feet (R-1 Residence District.)

  “Building site area required. The minimum lot or building site area shall be 10,000 square feet. The minimum frontage shall be 75 feet.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  R-1 Residence District within Hales Corners village.

  • For unplatted property with no recorded street or lot line, the front wall may not be nearer than 65 feet to the street or highway center line.
  • Detached-garage or accessory-structure side-yard provision applies when the accessory structure exceeds 100 square feet.

  front setback: >= 35 feet (From street line or front lot line.) · side setback: >= 10 feet (Attached garage; also detached garage or accessory structure over 100 square feet.) · rear setback: >= 40 feet (R-1 Residence District.)

  “Front yard requirements. No building or other structure shall be erected or structurally altered whose front wall is closer than 35 feet to a street line or front lot line. If the property is unplatted and no street or lot line is of record, then no building shall be erected or structurally altered whose front wall is nearer than 65 feet to the center line of the street or highway upon which the building site fronts.”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  R-1 Residence District within Hales Corners village.

  • Accessory buildings may not exceed 10% of the area of an interior or corner lot.

  interior-lot building coverage: <= 35 percent (R-1 Residence District.) · corner-lot building coverage: <= 40 percent (R-1 Residence District.)

  “No building shall occupy in excess of 35% of the area of an interior lot, nor in excess of 40% of the area of a corner lot. Accessory buildings may not exceed 10% of the area of an interior or a corner lot.”

• Building heightSpecified

  R-1 Residence District within Hales Corners village.

  maximum building height: <= 30 feet (R-1 Residence District.)

  “Building height limitations. Not to exceed 30 feet.”

• Camping on your landLimited

  Camping units in campgrounds within the Village's floodplain-wetland district.

  • Camping units remaining more than 30 days require a limited authorization issued by the campground operator and retained on file.
  • The authorization must ensure compliance with § 445-5.2F(6).

  limited-authorization threshold: > 30 days (Camping units remaining on site more than 30 days.)

  “All camping units that remain on site for more than 30 days shall be issued a limited authorization by the campground operator, a written copy of which is kept on file at the campground.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  New, replacement, and substantially improved manufactured homes outside existing manufactured-home parks in the Village's floodfringe district.

  • The manufactured home must meet the residential-development standards for the floodfringe in § 445-5.4C(1).

  “Outside of existing manufactured home parks, including new manufactured home parks and all single units outside of existing parks, all new, replacement and substantially improved manufactured homes shall meet the residential development standards for the floodfringe in § 445-5.4C(1).”

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Development in the Village's General Floodplain District.

  • The proposed use must be located in the floodway or floodfringe and meet the applicable district standards.
  • All required permits or certificates under § 445-5.7B must have been issued.

  “A land use permit shall be obtained before any development”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — Building work within Hales Corners village.
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-built residential construction within Hales Corners village.
• Building code adopted — Construction within Hales Corners village.
• Inspections — Permitted construction within Hales Corners village.
• Certificate of occupancy — Completed construction within Hales Corners 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 Hales Corners 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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