Elkhart County zones unincorporated land through the Area Plan Commission. Front setbacks are measured from the street centerline; the R-1 Single-Family district requires a 50-foot front yard from centerline, 10-foot side yards, and a 15-foot rear yard under Zoning Ordinance Sec. 4.4.
Elkhart County exercises real zoning authority under Indiana's Advisory Planning Law (IC 36-7-4), and its Area Plan Commission administers the Zoning Ordinance across unincorporated land near Elkhart and Goshen. Setbacks here are distinctive: Sec. 4.3.5 measures the front setback from the center line of the traveled way, not the front property line. In the R-1 Single-Family Residential district (Sec. 4.4.4), a home needs a 50-foot front setback from centerline, 10-foot side yards, and a 15-foot rear yard. Federal or state highways and Major Roads require 120 feet from centerline; numbered county roads 75 feet. Cities like Elkhart and Goshen apply their own setbacks.
Building inside a required yard violates the Elkhart County Zoning Ordinance. Planning and Development can deny the improvement location permit and order correction. Building closer requires a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Elkhart County, IN
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See how Elkhart County's setback rules rules stack up against other locations.
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