Zoning in Dunn County, Wisconsin: 16 Towns In, 6 Towns Out

The six towns, and what this research pass could confirm about each

• Town of Eau Galle -- confirmed excluded from Chapter 13; this research pass could not confirm whether the town has adopted its own separate zoning ordinance or relies solely on the state Uniform Dwelling Code for building permits.
• Town of Elk Mound -- confirmed excluded from Chapter 13, and confirmed to have adopted its own separate town zoning ordinance, administered through the town's own building-permit process (contacts differ for house permits versus outbuilding permits).
• Town of New Haven -- confirmed excluded from Chapter 13; the town withdrew from county zoning (a decision reported as dated to around October 2014) and instead requires a town building permit under its own Ordinance 00-02 for new one- or two-family dwellings. This reads as a building-permit ordinance rather than a confirmed comprehensive zoning ordinance covering use districts, setbacks, or lot sizes.
• Town of Rock Creek -- confirmed excluded from Chapter 13; this research pass found no further detail on the town's own zoning or building-permit arrangement.
• Town of Sand Creek -- confirmed excluded from Chapter 13; a search-indexed source describes the town as having no zoning review body of its own, with the Wisconsin DNR the only reviewing agency for certain activities there -- closer to "no general zoning at all" than to an independently zoned town.
• Town of Springbrook -- confirmed excluded from Chapter 13; this research pass found no further detail on the town's own zoning or building-permit arrangement.

The pattern across these six is genuinely mixed, not a single alternative arrangement: at least one town (Elk Mound) runs its own real zoning ordinance; at least one (New Haven) appears to run a building-permit process without a full zoning ordinance of its own, similar in spirit to how towns operate in Crawford County (also covered in this project, where no comprehensive zoning exists anywhere in the county); and at least one (Sand Creek) may have no town-level zoning or building-permit review body at all beyond state DNR review for specific activities. Don't assume any one of these three patterns applies to a given town in this list without confirming directly.

What still applies in all six towns regardless of the zoning gap

Wisconsin's statewide shoreland zoning standard (NR 115), implemented locally through Dunn County's Chapter 14 Shoreland Zoning Ordinance, applies to land within 1,000 feet of a lake/pond/flowage or 300 feet of a navigable river/stream regardless of whether the underlying town is under county general zoning -- towns cannot opt out of this layer. Wisconsin's Uniform Dwelling Code (UDC) building-permit and inspection process also applies statewide for one- and two-family dwellings, administered either by the county or the specific town's own UDC-certified inspector depending on local arrangement. And, as with the rest of Wisconsin, POWTS (septic) permitting under state SPS 383 standards and NR 812 private-well construction rules apply the same way regardless of the general-zoning picture.

What to actually do before buying in one of these six towns

1. Call the specific town clerk first, not just Dunn County Planning & Zoning ((715) 231-6520) -- ask directly whether the town has its own zoning ordinance, only a building-permit process, or neither.
2. Separately confirm shoreland-zoning status with Dunn County if the parcel is anywhere near a lake, pond, flowage, river, or stream -- this applies in all six towns regardless of their general-zoning status.
3. If buying in New Haven or a town with only a building-permit process (not a full zoning ordinance), don't assume there are lot-size, setback, or use-district restrictions beyond the state UDC and any deed restrictions -- ask what actually governs, since the absence of zoning doesn't necessarily mean the absence of any rules at all.
4. For Elk Mound specifically, get the town's own zoning ordinance and map directly from the town rather than assuming Dunn County's Chapter 13 districts apply.