Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Village of Combined Locks, Wisconsin

Village of Combined Locks’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  New construction, moving, enlargement, alteration, demolition, razing, or use of buildings and structures inside Combined Locks village limits.

  • Owner or authorized agent must first obtain the permit from the Building Inspector or designee.
  • Re-roofing, interior finishing, cabinetry, and minor repair deemed by the Building Inspector are exempt.
  • Normal repairs to electrical, HVAC, or plumbing work are exempt.

  “No building of any kind shall be moved within or into the Village and no new building or structure, or any part thereof, shall hereafter be erected, or ground broken for the same, or enlarged, altered, moved, demolished, razed or used within the Village, except as herein provided, until a permit therefor shall first have been obtained by the owner, or his authorized agent, from the Building Inspector or his/her designee.”

• Building code adoptedAdopted (with conditions)

  Buildings inside Combined Locks village limits.

  • The incorporated administrative-code revisions are adopted for municipal enforcement.
  • The Village also incorporates Wisconsin commercial-building, existing-building, and pre-1914-building code provisions listed in the ordinance.

  “The following Wisconsin Administrative Codes and subsequent revisions are adopted for municipal enforcement: Chs. SPS 320 to 325, Uniform Dwelling Code Chs. SPS 361 to 366, Commercial Building Code Chs. SPS 366, Existing Buildings Chs. SPS 375 to 379, Buildings Constructed Prior to 1914”

• Certificate of occupancyLimited

  Buildings for which sewer, water, electrical utilities, grading, and graveling are required to service the property inside Combined Locks village limits.

  • No person may occupy until the stated utilities, grading, and graveling are installed in streets necessary to service the property.
  • A certificate cannot issue until those utilities are available.

  “a certificate of occupancy shall not be issued”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Combined Locks village limits.

  • Chapter 580 was adopted by the Village Board as Title 13, Chapter 1, of the 1997 Code of Ordinances; amendments are noted where applicable.

  “Chapter 580 Zoning [HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Combined Locks as Title 13, Ch. 1, of the 1997 Code of Ordinances. Amendments noted where applicable.]”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Land inside Combined Locks village limits subject to Chapter 580.

  • The published chapter contents list residential, commercial, business-park, institutional, industrial, conservancy, mobile-home, and floodplain districts.

  “Article III Zoning Districts § 580-15 Establishment of districts; interpretation and organization. § 580-16 RSF Residential Single-Family District. § 580-17 RNC Residential Neighborhood Conservation District. § 580-18 RTF Residential Two-Family District. § 580-19 RMF Residential Multifamily District. § 580-20 RTU Residential Temporary Unclassified District.”

• Mandatory utility hookupWater and sewer (with conditions)

  Construction and occupancy of buildings inside Combined Locks village limits.

  • A residential-building permit cannot issue until sewer, water, grading, and graveling are installed in streets necessary to service the property, and electrical-hookup payment receipt is presented.
  • A nonresidential permit cannot issue until contracts have been let for sewer, water, grading, and graveling in streets necessary to service the property.
  • Occupancy and a certificate of occupancy also depend on availability of the listed utilities.

  “until sewer, water, grading and graveling are installed”

• Permit processPublished (with conditions)

  Building-permit applications inside Combined Locks village limits.

  • Application must be written on the Building Inspector's form and include the listed ownership, land, designer, and use information.
  • Construction, reconstruction, expansion, or conversion applications require an approved site plan.
  • A permit denial may be appealed to the Board of Appeals by notice to the Village Administrator within 10 days.

  appeal filing deadline: <= 10 days (after denial of a building permit)

  “Application for a building permit shall be made in writing upon a form furnished by the Building Inspector or his/her designee and shall state the name and address of the owner of the land and also the owner of the building if different, the legal description of the land upon which the building is to be located, the name and address of the designer, the use to which said building is to be put and such other information as the Building Inspector may require.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-built residential work inside Combined Locks village limits.
• Minimum dwelling size — Residential districts inside Combined Locks village limits.
• Minimum lot size — Residential districts inside Combined Locks village limits.
• Setbacks — Residential districts inside Combined Locks village limits.
• Lot coverage — Residential districts inside Combined Locks village 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 Village of Combined Locks 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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