|
| Author |
Message |
yuanggitssac
Member
|
# Posted: 17 May 2012 01:21am
Reply
hi everyone this is my first post but have wanted to build a cabin since seeing solarhomesteading cabin he built. i bought his ebook and seem something me and my brother could do since he is a carpenter.
so i bought some land in Frederic Michigan about a acre out in the middle of nowhere other than 1 house about 1000 feet away, it is completly wooded for miles.
my question is i want to build it 16x16 and when i talked to the township they said any structer has to be 800SQ minimum.
i know the cabin will be completly hidden in the woods and a barbed wire fence around property with a wooden drive way gate.
can the township do anything if they find my cabin such as tare it down? it will run on solar power, sand point well.
i want to live off the grid and it seems really messed up that they can basicaly say you can unless you big a big house, which is pointless and would not be able to afford it. any advice would help.
|
|
doo-drew
|
# Posted: 17 May 2012 07:14am
Reply
Nice! Where at? We just bought land not too far from ya. We're in Mancelona by Starvation lake. It depends on what county your in. I'm in kalkaska and zoned recreational forest. I can build less than 500sqft as long as its called a hunting cabin and I do not use it more than 120 days per year. Call your zoning dept and not the building dept. MI new building code says you can build any out structure up to 120sqft without a permit and my zoning said for them it is 200sqft. The building dept didn't even know the difference. To have a residence in my area it has to be 750sqft or larger. If they have no provision for a hunting cabin just pull a permit for a shed for that size, build it, have them inspect it, and after their gone make a cabin out of it. They could make you take it down if its found.
|
|
doo-drew
|
# Posted: 17 May 2012 09:10am
Reply
I just looked up and your in Crawford county and their a b**ch. Sorry. Tons of rules and regs. You have to have 5+ acres to build any shed or out-building without having a home on the property first. Also, you can't camp on it more than 3 weeks in a year. How much land do you have? It says you can have a garage with living space above as long as you have a fire rating of 1+ hours, the out-building has to be 24x24 or larger. Although, it says to check your zoning area first... maybe that will be a little better?
http://www.crawfordco.org/pdfs/garagessheds.pdf
|
|
MtnDon
Member
|
# Posted: 17 May 2012 10:54am
Reply
Quoting: yuanggitssac can the township do anything if they find my cabin such as tare it down?
Local zoning and building departments usually have the right to make the local rules more restrictive than the rules laid down at the state level. They can not make the local rules more relaxed than those adopted by the state.
For them to enforce a tear down might be an extreme action; here they make the owner-builder pay double for a permit and then go over everything with a fine tooth comb.
|
|
yuanggitssac
Member
|
# Posted: 17 May 2012 04:42pm
Reply
its in maple forest Frederic MI, it seemed like a good pice of land to buy cause its all woods for miles. its almost 1 acre. ill call the zonig dept. and ask about a hunting cabin! if not i might have to look for another pice of land elsewhere and just hang on to this pice.
anyone know of any countys in norther MI that dont mind cabins? 
|
|
yuanggitssac
Member
|
# Posted: 17 May 2012 08:14pm
Reply
doo-drew
so in Mancelona township i could build a 16x16 hunting cabin? or kalkaska? thanks
|
|
larry
Member
|
# Posted: 18 May 2012 12:05am - Edited by: larry
Reply
i built mine in ogemaw and never told a single person...so far so good. i almost forgot , welcome to the addiction
|
|
doo-drew
|
# Posted: 18 May 2012 05:45am
Reply
Yes. Actually its Coldsprings Twp in Kalkaska County. Mancelona is the mailing address. Anything done building wise is done through the county. My zoning area is Recreational/Forest which makes all the difference. I think they have 5 different zoning areas.
|
|
|
Anonymous
|
# Posted: 18 May 2012 04:07pm
Reply
thanks for the info! im going to look around for some more land, before i buy im going to ask the seller and township questions. really like northern MI so ill probly look around there. mancelona is close to lake michigan which i love to fish!
|
|
yuanggitssac
Member
|
# Posted: 18 May 2012 04:09pm
Reply
that was me that just posted forgot to sign in
|
|
fastsled
Member
|
# Posted: 19 May 2012 08:52pm
Reply
I'm in Mecosta County, 200 sf and no permit, anything over that you need one.
|
|
evrmc1
Member
|
# Posted: 20 May 2012 12:08am
Reply
I think I would build a shell of a cabin then get it inspected after that I would go inside and finish what and how much I wanted to live in use the rest for dry storage
|
|
mcw4rosy
Member
|
# Posted: 15 Jul 2012 09:15pm
Reply
New to the Forum. I'm looking to purchase 40 acres in Iron County (Crystal Falls) Michigan. Property is Rural Residential. I've read through the Zoning Regs and it's quite a bit of info. I think I can build without a permit if the Cabin is under 200 sq ft. If anyone has information that can help me, I'd appreciate it.
|
|
flyrdr
Member
|
# Posted: 18 Jul 2012 09:56pm
Reply
Quoting: yuanggitssac when i talked to the township they said any structer has to be 800SQ minimum.
If I was the Lord of the Universe building codes would have Maximum square ft requirements for a number of good (environmental) reasons. Way too many God awful looking cookie cutter McMansions out there particularly on our lake shores that to me are horrendous eyesores. But hey, they're big and expensive so they are accepted as something desirable. I don't mean to say a home is ugly just because it's large as that truly not the case. I just don't understand why something is not allowed simply because it's small.
Just my .02
|
|
biggdanbear
Member
|
# Posted: 21 Jul 2021 11:17am
Reply
Ok, you want a small cabin. To be frank. Code is there for a reason. Just do it right. 800 sq ft is not that much. Ask for a variance. Play nice and it might happen.
Now here is the bigger question they will ask.
Septic and water.
Poop has to go someplace and you must have a potable water supply. A well or trucked in. Your choice.
I think the 800 sq ft rule is foolish but after having lived in a tiny home of sorts, I get it.
Good luck.
|
|
|
