Dane County building department

The Dane County Planning and Development Department’s Zoning Division issues zoning permits for land under county zoning: the unincorporated towns of Dane County that have adopted county zoning. It is not a building department. The county checks land use, setbacks, height, and shoreland and floodplain rules. Construction permits and the Uniform Dwelling Code inspections that go with them come from the town where the property sits. Incorporated cities and villages, such as Madison and Sun Prairie, run their own zoning and building permits, so the county is not involved there.

The two-permit sequence in rural Dane County

The county is clear about the order:

1. Check with the town first. Some towns require their own approval before the county will issue a zoning permit. Your Town Clerk can tell you about local requirements.
2. Get the Dane County zoning permit.
3. Get the town building permit. Most towns require one, and you need the approved county zoning permit before the town will issue it.

Rural land within 1½ miles of a city or village, or within 3 miles of Madison or Sun Prairie, falls inside that municipality’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ). Land divisions and rezonings there may need the municipality’s review as well. See also city or county: who issues your building permit.

When a county zoning permit is required

A Dane County zoning permit is required to:

• Build a new structure
• Build a deck or pool
• Alter or add to a building
• Make structural repairs
• Repair a nonconforming building
• Keep domestic fowl or bees

Under the county zoning ordinance, every building larger than 120 square feet needs a zoning permit. Non-permanent accessory buildings under 120 sq ft that are not on a foundation, slab, pilings, or footings are exempt. Accessory buildings are generally limited to 12 feet in height.

What to submit

Apply by email to [email protected], by mail, or in person at Room 116. After review you can ask for a Square invoice to pay by credit card online, or mail a check payable to Dane County Zoning. The application needs:

• A scaled site plan showing lot lines and dimensions, every existing and proposed structure or addition, and distances to lot lines
• The location of any on-site septic system and the well
• Building plans and elevations

Zoning permit fees

From Chapter 12 of the Dane County Code (Zoning Fee Ordinance, rev. 09/30/21):

Permit	Fee
New single-family, duplex, or mobile home	$50 plus $0.10/sq ft of floor area, including basements and attached garages
Additions, alterations, and buildings accessory to those residences	$50 plus $0.10/sq ft of added floor area
Commercial and multifamily (new, additions, alterations, accessory)	$250 plus $2.00 per $1,000 of construction cost
Construction needing a permit only because of Board of Adjustment locational requirements	$80
Conditional use permit	$450, plus $45 digital mapping fee
Variance or appeal	$500 each
Rezoning petition	$500 (commercial, manufacturing, industrial districts); $350 (all others)
Floodplain status determination	$125
Domestic fowl enclosure	$15

If work starts before the permit is issued, the fee is doubled. Fees are measured on outside dimensions. Agricultural accessory buildings on zoning lots over 35 acres used in farm operation are exempt from the permit fee.

Shoreland, floodplain, erosion control, and septic

• Shoreland zoning permit: needed for work within 300 feet of a navigable lake, pond, river, or stream. It comes from the Zoning Division under Chapter 11.
• Floodplain: handled through the Zoning Division’s floodplain program.
• Erosion control permit (Chapter 14): issued by Dane County Land and Water Resources. It is required for land disturbance over 4,000 sq ft, more than 400 cubic yards of excavation or fill, disturbing more than 100 linear feet of road ditch or grassed waterway, a new road or access drive longer than 125 feet, or recording a subdivision plat. Smaller sites can still need a permit if they are high-risk. Land disturbance inside the shoreland zone needs a separate shoreland erosion control permit. Land and Water Resources: (608) 224-3730.
• Septic (sanitary) permit: issued by Environmental Health, (608) 242-6515. Your zoning site plan must show the septic system location.

County zoning inspections

Dane County usually inspects a zoning permit twice: once at the start of construction and again when the project is substantially complete. A location survey may be accepted instead of the first inspection. If the project meets the ordinance, zoning staff issue a certificate of compliance. These are zoning inspections only. Footing, framing, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and final building inspections are done by the town’s building inspector under the town building permit.

Contact

• Dane County Zoning: City-County Building, 210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Room 116, Madison, WI 53703
• Phone: (608) 266-4266
• Fax: (608) 267-1540
• Email: [email protected] (applications); [email protected] (department)
• Hours: Monday–Friday, 7:45 a.m.–4:30 p.m., except holidays