Wisconsin
Buying Land in Dodge County, Wisconsin
Dodge County, seat Juneau, is dairy and row-crop country between Madison and Milwaukee, anchored by Horicon Marsh -- one of the largest freshwater cattail marshes in the country -- and, as of 2025-2026, the site of a $1 billion Meta hyperscale data center outside Beaver Dam. County zoning covers only the towns that formally adopted it; others run their own.
Zoning: county general zoning, adopted town by town
Dodge County's Land Resources and Parks Department (127 E. Oak Street, Juneau, WI 53039; (920) 386-3700, ext. 2) administers the county's Land Use Code and general zoning ordinance, but -- following Wisconsin's standard county/town zoning structure -- it applies only in the towns that have formally adopted it. The department's own materials name 13 towns as having done so: Ashippun, Calamus, Elba, Emmet, Fox Lake, Hustisford, Lebanon, Leroy, Lomira, Oak Grove, Rubicon, Shields, and Trenton.
Dodge County has roughly two dozen towns in total, so a meaningful number fall outside that adopted list -- and at least one, the Town of Beaver Dam, is confirmed to run its own independent zoning ordinance (Chapter 62, adopted under Wis. Stat. sec. 60.62, the general statewide town-zoning authority) rather than defaulting to no zoning at all. This research pass found similar evidence that the Town of Herman also administers zoning matters through its own town government rather than the county. Given this pattern, treat any Dodge County town not on the 13-town adopted list as a town to check individually -- it likely has its own zoning ordinance and building-permit process, administered by the town rather than the county, but this research pass could not produce a complete, confirmed list covering every non-adopting town.
A $1 billion Meta data center, and a county weighing a moratorium
Dodge County's most consequential recent land-use development sits just outside the city of Beaver Dam: in November 2025, Meta broke ground on a 520-acre, roughly 700,000-square-foot hyperscale data center campus ("Beaver Dam Commerce Park"), a project reported at more than $1 billion in investment with Mortenson as general contractor and Alliant Energy providing the power infrastructure, targeted to come online by 2027. Projects at this scale bring real local economic activity (construction jobs, tax base, utility infrastructure investment) but also real local concern about water use, power-grid strain, and land-use precedent for further large industrial development in a historically agricultural county.
That concern produced a concrete, current policy response: on June 16, 2026, the Dodge County Board of Supervisors approved Advisory Resolution 26-09, supporting a moratorium on further data center construction and directing the county's Land Resources and Parks Committee to hold a public hearing and draft a formal moratorium ordinance. As of this research pass, that was an advisory step toward a possible ordinance rather than a finalized moratorium already in effect -- if you're evaluating industrial-zoned or large rural land near Beaver Dam or elsewhere in the county with an eye toward this kind of use (or simply want to understand how a neighboring project might affect your land), confirm the moratorium ordinance's current status directly with Land Resources and Parks.
Horicon Marsh: a major wetland complex in the county's northeast
Horicon Marsh, spanning roughly 33,000 acres across northeastern Dodge County and southern Fond du Lac County, is one of the largest freshwater cattail marshes in the United States and a globally and state-recognized Important Bird Area, co-managed by the Wisconsin DNR (Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Horicon National Wildlife Refuge). Land near the marsh -- and near the smaller Theresa Marsh to its south -- is likely to intersect Wisconsin's statewide shoreland-wetland zoning under NR 115 (1,000 feet of a lake/pond/flowage, or the wetland/floodplain overlay administered by the county's Shoreland Protection and Floodplain Ordinances) on top of whatever general zoning otherwise applies to that town.
If you're evaluating a parcel anywhere near Horicon or Theresa Marsh, confirm both its shoreland-wetland zoning status and any applicable floodplain designation directly with Dodge County Land Resources and Parks before assuming ordinary agricultural or residential zoning rules apply without an overlay.
Septic, GIS, and other departments to know
Septic (POWTS) permitting, soil testing, and land-division review in Dodge County all run through the same Land Resources and Parks Department that handles zoning ((920) 386-3700, ext. 2), applying the statewide SPS 383 design standard alongside the county's own sanitary ordinance. For a private well, Wisconsin's NR 812 well-construction rules apply statewide through a licensed well driller rather than a county permit desk.
Dodge County's Land Information/GIS office ((920) 386-3772) and Property Lister ((920) 386-3951) maintain parcel mapping and ownership records; the Register of Deeds ((920) 386-3720) holds recorded deeds and plats, and the Treasurer ((920) 386-3782) handles property tax payment -- as elsewhere in Wisconsin, property assessment itself is a municipal (town/city), not county, function. UW-Madison Division of Extension's Dodge County office ((920) 386-3790) supports the county's substantial dairy and row-crop economy (147 dairy farms as of a recent industry count, among the state's more significant dairy counties by farm number) with agronomy, dairy, and farmland-preservation resources.
Who to Call Before Buying Land in Dodge County
Direct WebFetch access to co.dodge.wi.gov and townofbeaverdam.org was blocked by a network egress restriction throughout this research pass, so department details reflect search-indexed content rather than a full verbatim read -- confirm current staff, hours, fees, and a specific town's zoning-adoption status before relying on this page for a specific parcel.
Planning & Zoning
Dodge County Land Resources and Parks Department
Zoning district lookups, confirming whether a specific town has adopted county zoning, rezoning, and conditional-use permits.
Building & Permitting
Your Town's Building/Zoning Administrator
Building permits and any local zoning ordinance in a town that has not adopted Dodge County zoning (e.g., the Town of Beaver Dam, which administers its own Chapter 62 zoning ordinance).
Septic / Onsite Wastewater
Dodge County Land Resources and Parks Department
POWTS (septic) sanitary permits, soil evaluations, and inspections under the county sanitary ordinance and state SPS 383 standards.
Floodplain / Stormwater
Dodge County Land Resources and Parks Department
Floodplain and shoreland-wetland zoning questions, especially near Horicon Marsh, Theresa Marsh, or other waterways.
Wells / Private Water
Wisconsin DNR -- Wells Program
Private well construction rules (NR 812) and certified well-driller lookups statewide, including Dodge County.
GIS / Parcel Records
Dodge County Land Information Office
Parcel mapping, GIS data, and property listing records.
Assessor / Property Tax
Dodge County Treasurer
Property tax payment and records; note that in Wisconsin, property assessment itself is generally a municipal (town/city), not county, function.
Recorder / Clerk / Land Records
Dodge County Register of Deeds
Recorded deed, easement, and plat history for a specific parcel.
Agricultural Extension
UW-Madison Division of Extension, Dodge County
Dairy, crop, and farmland-preservation guidance.
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Get local guidanceSources
- Code Administration - Permits, Zoning, Septic, Land Divisions — Dodge County, Wisconsin Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Permits and Zoning — Dodge County, Wisconsin Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Town of Beaver Dam, Dodge County, Wisconsin -- Chapter 62 Zoning Code — Town of Beaver Dam, Dodge County, Wisconsin (accessed 2026-09)
- Zoning | Town of Herman — Town of Herman, Dodge County, Wisconsin (accessed 2026-09)
- Category:Towns in Dodge County, Wisconsin — Wikipedia (accessed 2026-09)
- About Dodge County — Dodge County, Wisconsin Government (accessed 2026-09)
- 520-acre data center campus planned in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin — Data Center Dynamics (accessed 2026-09)
- Meta, state and local officials announce $1 billion data center investment in Beaver Dam project — Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (accessed 2026-09)
- Alliant Energy - Meta announces $1 billion Data Center Investment in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin Project — Alliant Energy (accessed 2026-09)
- Dodge County is considering a data centers moratorium — WiscNews (accessed 2026-09)
- Dodge County Committee Advances Discussion On Possible Data Center Moratorium — Daily Dodge (accessed 2026-09)
- Horicon Marsh — Wikipedia (accessed 2026-09)
- Horicon Marsh Wildlife Area — Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (accessed 2026-09)
- Wisconsin farm numbers fall to 5,661 — Dairy Star (accessed 2026-09)
- Extension Dodge County — University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension (accessed 2026-09)
Last reviewed 2026-09