Buying Land in Iosco County, Michigan

Zoning: townships administer their own rules, with the county in a coordinating role

Iosco County's zoning runs through its townships and cities rather than through a countywide ordinance. AuSable Township, Iosco Township, Wilber Township, and Plainfield Township each maintain and enforce their own posted zoning ordinances, consistent with how the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act lets any township adopt zoning independently of the county. The Iosco County Planning Commission's own stated purpose is to coordinate the zoning and planning activities of the county's townships and cities and to serve as an advisory board to the county Board of Commissioners on planning matters -- language that describes a coordinating and advisory role, not direct zoning authority over any specific parcel.

This page did not locate a published Iosco County zoning ordinance that fills gaps in townships without their own zoning, the way Isabella or Kalkaska Counties do explicitly. That doesn't rule one out -- it means the safest approach for a specific parcel is to contact both the township itself and the Iosco County Planning Commission directly to confirm which body, if either, actually administers zoning there, rather than assuming either a county fallback or a complete absence of zoning.

Real Lake Huron frontage means real EGLE exposure

Iosco County is one of the smaller number of Michigan counties in this batch with genuine Great Lakes frontage: its eastern edge runs along Lake Huron, including Tawas Bay, where Tawas Point State Park -- a 183-acre park on the sand spit that forms the bay, sometimes described as the "Cape Cod of the Midwest" -- sits in Baldwin Township near East Tawas. That frontage isn't just scenic; it's actively monitored for erosion, and a 2023-2024 EGLE study found parts of the county's shoreline receding at up to roughly 2.5 feet a year. A Lake Huron-frontage parcel here plays by a different, EGLE-administered set of setback and permitting rules than an inland Michigan lot -- see our dedicated page on shoreline erosion and flood-zone rules in Iosco County for the specific mechanism, the actual setback method, and the permit timeline.

Septic, wells, and other departments to know

Because Michigan has no statewide septic code, Iosco County's on-site sewage rules run through District Health Department No. 2, which also covers Alcona and Oscoda Counties. The district's Onsite Sewage Disposal Program requires a construction permit before installing or repairing a septic system, evaluated against the district's own environmental health regulations. The Iosco County office is located at the Iosco County Building Annex, 420 W. Lake St. (PO Box 98), Tawas City, MI 48764, (989) 362-6183. Wells follow the statewide Part 127 minimum-construction standard, administered locally by the same district office.

For deeds, parcel records, and GIS mapping, the Iosco County Register of Deeds and Equalization offices are the relevant starting points. Given the county's shoreline exposure, it's also worth checking with the county's Building/Zoning department and, if the parcel is on or near Lake Huron, with EGLE's district office directly, before assuming a straightforward inland-parcel due-diligence process applies.