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Elkhart County

Elkhart County Planning and Development — Zoning Administrator

In short

Elkhart County Planning and Development — Zoning Administrator issues 2 permits we publish for Elkhart County, last verified 2026-10-15. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.

What this agency issues

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Improvement Location Permit (Elkhart County Zoning Administrator)only if it applies to youElkhart County Planning and Development — Zoning AdministratorThe application fee is charged by Elkhart County Planning and Development; contact the department for the amount that applies to a given project.work must commence within 6 months and be completed within 24 months of approval; up to two 30-day renewals (Elkhart County Development Ordinance 158.11(L)(5))2026-10-15
Day Care (Adult or Child) Zoning Use Approval (Elkhart County Development Ordinance)only if it applies to youElkhart County Planning and Development — Zoning AdministratorFiling fees for an Improvement Location Permit or a Special Use Permit are charged by Elkhart County Planning and Development; contact the department for the amount that applies to a given site.one-time land-use approval for the site2026-10-15

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

About each permit

Improvement Location Permit (Elkhart County Zoning Administrator)

Under the Elkhart County Development Ordinance, section 158.11(L)(1)(a), an Improvement Location Permit is required before the permanent erection, reconstruction, alteration, movement, conversion, extension or enlargement of a structure or improvement, and before establishing a new nonresidential land use or changing an existing one. An applicant must receive it before a Building Permit is issued, and it does not replace the building permit (158.11(L)(1)(b)–(c)). Small accessory structures of 120 square feet or less without a permanent foundation, landscaping, property maintenance, and a permitted home occupation without new construction need none (158.11(L)(2)). The Zoning Administrator approves, approves with conditions or denies the permit after checking the project against the ordinance, any approved plat, planned unit development, special use permit or variance, and the site's access to a public right-of-way. Work must start within 6 months and finish within 24 months, with at most two 30-day renewals. Under 158.11(P)(2)(c) the Certificate of Occupancy is applied for at the same time. Under 158.01(F) the ordinance covers all of Elkhart County except the planning jurisdictions of Goshen, Elkhart and Nappanee; a site inside those cities follows the city's own zoning process.

Day Care (Adult or Child) Zoning Use Approval (Elkhart County Development Ordinance)

The Elkhart County Development Ordinance, section 158.05(B)(4)(f), defines Day Care, Adult or Child as "A business that provides licensed care in a protective setting for children or elderly or disabled adults for less than 24 hours per day", including Class II child care homes as defined by IC 12-7-2 and excluding licensed Class I child care homes, "which are permitted in all districts with residential uses". The ordinance's use tables mark the use as a Special Use (S) in the R-3, R-4, M-1 and M-2 districts, as a Permitted Use (P) in the B-1, B-2 and B-3 districts, and as Permitted Subject to Conditions (C) in the E-3 district, where a child care center must be enclosed within the larger office building except for outdoor play areas; districts left blank in the table prohibit the use. A child care centre or Class II home in the area the ordinance covers (the county outside the planning jurisdictions of Goshen, Elkhart and Nappanee) therefore needs the zoning approval its district requires, plus the Improvement Location Permit of section 158.11(L) for a new or changed nonresidential use. Contact Elkhart County Planning and Development for filing fees and the hearing schedule.

Contact

Jurisdiction
Elkhart County
Phone
Not verified — use the website

Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.

Sources

Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.

  1. Elkhart County Development Ordinance (adopted April 22, 2024; effective June 1, 2024; amended May 18, 2026)Elkhart County Planning and Development · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-15

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Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.