Zoning/Codes for building new

Entertaining some more creative solutions too finding a home.

I'm still looking for something complete with garage for $100k, but every day that goes by there are fewer and fewer options. I have been in contact with a few manufacturers to maybe bring me a pre-built something.

I contacted two log home kit places since that is something I can do with some buddies. (I have some contractor friends and a frequent-shopper card at the beer store).

If that is the case, I'm looking for (hopefully) something with a tear-down house on a good foundation that already has utilities hooked up.

One of the things on the radar, then, is my original dream idea of a huge steel/pole building with a couple bedrooms/kitchen/bath built into one end. I've been told colloquially that there are some places around here that would allow it, but some won't. That doesn't narrow it down much. There are easily 200 municipalities in a 30 mile radius with up to 9 zoning districts each. They go by township, then each township has about a dozen towns/cities each with their own rules.

I'm getting tired of calling each one when I encounter a new property. Is there a way to find this out before? Instead of calling every single zoning office for every little burg and area?

I know there is a "blue book" for universal building codes, but that is kind of a baseline. That doesn't tell me if a person can live in a Quonset hut in Normaltown.

If you're lucky, the towns will have building code information on their website. However, in my experience that's kind of spotty, and they usually hide it somewhere on the site so it's hard to find - a good start is to go to the engineering section and then dig around there.

How difficult would it be to find an "Un-incorporated" town/township? They are out there.

Dr Ribs Revere wrote: How difficult would it be to find an "Un-incorporated" town/township? They are out there.

Plenty of them, but they all then default to the next higher municipality. (the township) So it doesn't really help me much. At least around here.

In reply to curtis73:

In Indiana this kind of thing was pretty common. I was told it's because it was taxed as a barn, not house, and therefore cheaper. I'd think if you have something similar out there that people would already be taking advantage of it? Even if not for a tax break, for the lower cost.

Zoning ordinances and building codes are completely different.

Building codes are more universal than most people think. Municipalities don't write codes- they adopt codes written by independent for-profit code organizations. There are variations in local areas, but they generally have more to do with which model code has been adopted (they don't vary much), and what additions the local authority has made. After that, its not about the code, its about how they choose to enforce it.

Zoning ordinances are different. They are very individualized, and define how each community wants various neighborhoods to function.

You are talking about a mixed use building, which would be restricted by most building codes AND zoning ordinances.

So, you are not looking to review local codes. You are looking for a community that is lax in its enforcement. Small rural community with only 1 building inspector covering a large geographic territory.

But don't expect anyone to rubber stamp what you are looking for. There are lots and lots of places where people live like that, but basically none where it is approved as a method of new construction.

...which also means you will be better off finding something existing and try to fly under the radar.

BTW, you will generally not find building codes online. They are privately owned intellectual property.

Local ordinances are online. Building codes are not.

Buy the land that you want, build the huge steel building with utility hookups and a small bathroom, then buy a travel trailer and park it inside and use the utility hook ups. Can it be that simple?

jimbob_racing wrote: Buy the land that you want, build the huge steel building with utility hookups and a small bathroom, then buy a travel trailer and park it inside and use the utility hook ups. Can it be that simple?

That is the point - no, it is not - as local ordinances usually don't allow it. At least in more populated areas. Out in the sticks, 100+ miles from anything, and you can get away with more or they don't care. Or maybe pay a fee and get a variance. My ex- had to get a variance to do the addition on her house in a historical zone. However, it was mostly a procedural thing due to the fact the entire house/property doesn't meet current zoning rules.

As SVreX mentioned, you can usually find local ordinances online by searching the township website. Codes generally are not - my company pays a significant subscription fee so we can search and print out the various Codes we work with on a daily basis. I'm more "old-school" and prefer paper copies (I have the latest NEC Handbook at my desk).

For better or worse Curtis, you are facing a common problem throughout the country - a general lack of inventory in the "starter home" price range. I've read a number of articles about the issue. While I'm sure it doesn't ease your frustration much, you are not alone.

You actually can get free access to nearly all of the International Building Codes. Select your year of issue, look for the code you want below, ignore the shopping cart icon, and click on the picture of the book.

That being said, yes, it is the local zoning ordinance that will govern whether or not you are allowed to do what you want to do. And they will go not by what you plan to do with the building, but by what you could do with the building. In other words, even if you only ever intend to keep and work on your various personal projects, if it looks like and could function like a commercial garage, they're going to assume it's a commercial garage.

In reply to Duke:

Good trick. Thanks. (Though I'm not sure it helps Curtis)

I have to do this at times as part of my work. I find that it is usually fastest to do what you seem to be doing, which is to talk to each one and ask them to refer you to the proper document/policy/law/guidance/etc. Even then we find that we have to do our own digging at times through the paperwork or guidance.

Many times when you are doing something a little off normal they default to their memory with doesn't always align with the actual legal paperwork for the area. We have avoided several issues by simply asking them directly for the referenced policy to which we have received the rather common, "Well, I thought there was a law requiring X." Nope, thanks, proceed with project.

Duke wrote: In other words, even if you only ever intend to keep and work on your various personal projects, if it looks like and could function like a commercial garage, they're going to assume it's a commercial garage.

A related thing to check is whether zoning ordinances permit you to live in a commercial garage. If so, it may make sense to start with one and remodel it slightly.

In reply to MadScientistMatt:

I can almost guarantee they do not.

You are deep into the territory of "easier to ask forgiveness than to ask for permission".

We have some townships that have no zoning but I'll bet they all have some sort of building code.

We don't have no stinking townships.

We also don't have no stinking zoning.

In reply to Duke:

Cool link - thanks for posting.

It is simple the code will tell you how to do what you want to do and what is required to do it. It all has to do with usage groups. That is the simple part. It is the local zoning / ordinances that are what will trip you up as they may specifically forbid various things. I deal with this all the time. Then there is Zoning. This is what you really need to pay attention to. Are you building a "shop" and is it for commercial gain or is it simply a "garage" that has a very small house attached. Whre things might actaully get the most sticky is when you go to get insurance as they don't have to deal with the "law" they can make up there own rules and charge accordingly.

I would as a Realtor. It is there job to know about things like this. You also may want to at least talk with a real-estate lawyer as they should know the limitations (or lack there of) of various city's and towns.

If it was me I would look at a large piece of property and put a small home on it and then add a "barn" that is connected to the "house" with a breezeway. What I have found is that it is all in what you call something. People like barns. People don't line automotive shops. How you use your barn is up to you.

If I remember correctly from my years working in local government, I seem to recall some municipalities having restrictions on accessory buildings without "main" building in residential areas. So you couldn't build a garage without first having a house, and a metal pole barn was not considered a house.

They didn't want people buying a piece of land in a residentially zoned area and building a garage on it. They wanted people to build houses in residential areas, otherwise they wanted you in Ag, Commercial or Residential areas.

I don't ever remember encountering what constituted a house though, for instance, if you had a one bedroom studio above a 4 car frame on foundation garage, I think that still counted as a house.

If I was going to build new, I'd definitely go that route; that is a small apartment above a large garage.

I just asked my sister who built such a thing. You have to be very clear and insistent with the local zoning board that you are building a "barn with a warm room". Apparently this is the magical phrase that allows you to construct a big ole barn with a luxury apartment inside it. She lived in it for 5 years before building the house on the other side of the driveway.

jimbob_racing wrote: Buy the land that you want, build the huge steel building with utility hookups and a small bathroom, then buy a travel trailer and park it inside and use the utility hook ups. Can it be that simple?

Nope. Some places won't let you do residential steel, even if it looks like a house. Around here, most areas you can't even do manufactured housing. If you're going to build, it has to be traditional stick-built or masonry. RVs as residences are a massive no-no. Mom and dad usually get a visit from the township every time they park their travel trailer in the driveway just to pack it the day before they leave for a trip.

I have looked into buying a commercial property like a warehouse or large shop, but aside from the 10x pricetag and $16,000/yr taxes, there is commercial insurance at $1800/mo and tax redtape from the municipality. I'm also limited to C1 and C2 zoned properties.

I should have stayed in TX. Build first, permits later, and no one cared what it was.

MadScientistMatt wrote:

Duke wrote: In other words, even if you only ever intend to keep and work on your various personal projects, if it looks like and could function like a commercial garage, they're going to assume it's a commercial garage.

A related thing to check is whether zoning ordinances permit you to live in a commercial garage. If so, it may make sense to start with one and remodel it slightly.

Looked into it. See my last post above. I went to an auction of a 600 sf auto glass repair shop. Basically a 1-car garage. I was thinking a 600 sf residential place should start at 50k and maybe go to 100k, so that means it might start at 100k and go to 150k, right?

I was wrong. It started at 1.2M.

But in general (very general), C1 or C2 will allow permanent residence. C3 and C4 will as well, but only if they are actual residences like apartment complexes or townhouse communities. So I can technically live in a C1 or C2 even if its a business setting like a shop or warehouse. But if its C3 or C4 and a warehouse, I can't. I and M zoning are a big no-no.

See also taxes and insurance above

I didn't think of it, but Dean's idea of hiring out the research may be a way to get you out of some of the phone calls to localities. I also agree with Dean in the idea of looking deeper into the zoning to see if you can build a two story home with the first story your garage.

I find in facility projects that many times people assume they can't do most things when the zoning and building codes allow them to do most things with some accommodation. We had to do a elevated parking garage. Zoning didn't matter but there was a local add on to the zoning adjacent to one of the abutting roads. The purpose was to limit the business look of the zone but the only limitation was that one side of it had to look like similar apartment buildings in the area. A false facade, otherwise we could do a parking garage as normal. In terms of code we didn't have any changes necessary to meet building code other than validating the false windows could be unframed.

Think of how to get what you want within the zoning of the area you are interested in. Rather than trying to find a zone and codes combination that fits your log cabin or sheet steel ideas.

pheller wrote: They didn't want people buying a piece of land in a residentially zoned area and building a garage on it. They wanted people to build houses in residential areas, otherwise they wanted you in Ag, Commercial or Residential areas. I don't ever remember encountering what constituted a house though, for instance, if you had a one bedroom studio above a 4 car frame on foundation garage, I think that still counted as a house. If I was going to build new, I'd definitely go that route; that is a small apartment above a large garage.

I would love that as well, but most ordinances prohibit new construction from putting a living area above a garage. Something about how X% of house fires start in garages, so they don't want you living on top of one.