Frequently Asked Questions

FEMA Flood Maps can be viewed in the Middletown Department of Planning, Conservation, and Development or you can find the property or area in the City of Middletown that you are interested in and select the Flood Plain Map option on the City's Web GIS mapping system.

The City of Middletown can provide you unofficial maps of your property through the new Web GIS Mapping system. 

Official maps of your property may be found at the Town Clerk's office since they record any changes to boundary lines, if a map was recorded and submitted to them in the past. For more information please call the Town Clerk's office at 860-638-4910.

The Planning department does not maintain this kind of information. We can only help you determine what zone your property is located in and what changes you are allowed to make to your property. The Assessor's office can provide you with basic information about your property, including lot size and dimensions. 

For more information please call the Assesor's office at 860-638-4930.

Go the City's Web GIS Mapping System to locate properties and generate customized maps.

The Town Clerk may have an old map on file if it was filed by an owner of the property. To find if any such maps exist, you must visit the Town Clerks office and ask to see their listing of maps, by street address (the two three-hole binders near the micro-film viewers in the deeds room). 

For more information please call the Town Clerk's office at 860-638-4910.

A setback is the distance between a structure and a property line, a natural feature, a road right-of-way, and other improvements. In all residential and rural zoning districts, setbacks are required from all property lines and roadways.

View the Zoning Setback Brochure (PDF).

Setbacks vary with zoning but can also be affected by further restrictions recorded on subdivision maps.

The front property line is the side containing the road right-of-way or easement. The rear property line is the line opposite the front line.

Reading the appropriate Sections relating to the appropriate Zone of Middletown Zoning Code can assist in determining what the setback requirements for a property in a particular zone are:

• Section 21: RPZ, R-15, R-30, R-45, R-60 Residential (PDF)
• Section 21A: R-1 Residential (PDF)
• Section 22: M Multi-family Dwelling Unit (PDF)
• Section 23A: MX Mixed Use (PDF)
• Section 24- PRD (PDF)
• Section 24A: MR (PDF)
• Section 25: IT Interstate Trade (PDF)
• Section 26: PL Park Land (PDF)
• Section 27: None (PDF)
• Section 28: Neighborhood/Rural Commercial Development Zone (PDF)
• Section 29: IRA Industrial Redevelopment Area (PDF)
• Section 30: ID Institutional Development (PDF)
• Section 31: RF Riverfront Recreation (PDF)
• Section 32: B-1 Central Business (PDF)
• Section 33: B-2 General Business (PDF)
• Section 33A: B-3 Business Office/Transition (PDF)
• Section 34: IOP (PDF)
• Section 35: I-1 Service Industrial (PDF)
• Section 36: I-2 Restricted Industrial (PDF)
• Section 36A: I-4 Limited Industrial (PDF)
• Section 37: I-3 Special Industrial (PDF)
• Section 38: Newfield Street Planned Retail Business Commercial Zone (PDF)
• Section 39: TD Transitional Development (PDF)
• Section 39A: IM Interstate Mixed Use (PDF)
• Section 39B: PSUZ Public Service Utility (PDF)
• Section 39C: SMH Substance Abuse/Mental Health Floating (PDF)
• Section 39D: DVD Downtown Village District (PDF)

You can also look at the City's Web GIS Mapping System which allows you to search for your property and find the zone

There is a large detailed zoning map available to be viewed in the Middletown Department of Planning, Conservation and Development

You can also email Michiel Wackers your location and we can send you a reply as to your zone. Please provide the street, street number and any nearby cross streets, or recognizable buildings or features nearby.

To find out if you can subdivide your property, you must meet the criteria laid out in Middletown's Subdivision Regulations. A copy can be viewed and/or purchased at the Middletown Department of Planning, Conservation and Development.

It is also advisable that you consult with the Planning division staff as to whether or not your property is eligible for a subdivision. You must first know the exact dimensions and the zone designation of your property. Dimensions of your property can found at the Middletown Assessor's Office and a property's zone designation can be found at the Middletown Department of Planning, Conservation and Development.

When you are beginning to look at putting an addition or deck on your home or a pool on your property, you need to first know what zone your property is located in and the corresponding setbacks that are associated with that zone. If you do not know the zone of your property you can find out by call 860-638-4840 or come view the zoning map at the Department of Planning, Conservation, and Development in the Municipal Building of Middletown.

Setback Requirements

Once you know your zoning view check Section 21 of the Zoning Code to find what the setback requirements are for your property. If you are unfamiliar with setbacks, this is the distance from your property line that you are not allow to put a structure.

When you have this information you can decide on the design and location of your addition, deck, or pool and plot this on a map (sample maps (PDF)). Fill out an application (PDF) and submit it with the correct fee. The Planning Division will contact you when it has been approved or needs further information.

Once you have your approval from the Planning division, you can go to the Building Department and request a building permit.

Helpful Resources

For more information, the follow resources can be helpful:

• Middletown's Developer's Guide
• Middletown's Site Plan Review
• Middletown's Zoning Code

Committees & Commissions

Also the following Committees and Commissions that make decisions relating to certain planning issues:

• Design Review and Preservation Board
• Planning and Zoning Commission
• Zoning Board of Appeals

Regulations concerning fences are governed by Section 12 and Section 13 of the Zoning Code.

The appropriate sections from the Zoning Code are as follows:

• 12.01 Visibility at Intersections in Residential Zones: On a corner lot in any Residential Zone, no planting shall be placed or maintained, and no fence, building wall other structure other than necessary retaining wall shall be constructed after the effective date of this section, if such planting or structure thereby obstructs vision at any point between a height of two and one-half (2 ½) feet and a height of ten (10) feet above the upper face of the nearest curb and within the triangular area bounded on two sides by the two street lines, or by projections of such lines to their point of intersection and the third side by straight line connecting points on such street lines (or their projections), each of which points is twenty-five (25) feet distant from the point of intersection of the two street lines. Poles, posts and guys for street lights and for other utility services and tree trunks, exclusive of leaves and branches, shall not be considered obstructions to vision within the meaning of this provision.
• 12.02 Fences, Walls and Hedges:  Notwithstanding other provisions of this Code, fences, walls and hedges may be permitted in any required yard, or along the edge of any yard, provided that no fence, wall or hedge along the sides or front edge of any front yard shall be over two and one-half (2 ½) feet in height.
• 13.04.04 Fences: Fences, up to six (6) feet in height, may be erected along the rear boundary, side boundary (from building line to rear boundary only) and front building line of a lot, and such fences shall not be deemed "structures" or "obstructions" for the purposes of this Code.

To know how high or how large you can build your house, you must know what zoning designation your property has. 

When you know the zone, you can use the following as a guide:

Section 60 (PDF) of the Zoning Code can show what kind of uses can be operated on a site within a residential zone. Most other commercial zones, acceptable uses can be found in Section 61 (PDF) of the Zoning Code.

In order to find out information concerning public housing or Section 8 in Middletown, please contact the Housing Authority at:
40 Broad Street
Middletown, CT 06457-3249
Phone: 860-346-8671
Fax: 860-347-0534

When you suspect that a zoning violation has occurred in your neighborhood, the best thing you can do is contact and explain the situation to the zoning enforcement officer in the Middletown Department of Planning, Conservation, and Development.

The Zoning Enforcement Office can be reached by calling 860-638-4840.

The following are frequent inquiries to our office and our normal procedures for deal with them:

• Drainage and Runoff
• Noise
• Poor Property Maintenance
• Unregistered Vehicles

To learn about what kind of permits are needed for different building projects, please review the Permits page and the Residential Permits page for more information.

Zoning Code Section 12.14: Accessory Apartment

Intent: To fulfill an increasing need for smaller, more affordable housing units in owner occupied, single-family homes while preserving the quality of Middletown's housing stock character of its neighborhoods.

Definition and Applicability: An accessory apartment is herein defined as a second dwelling unit within or attached to a single-family residence. An accessory apartment will be allowed as a permitted use in all areas zoned for single-family homes.

The accessory apartment will be approved only if the applicant has demonstrated that the proposed unit meets the following standards:

• The principal unit and the accessory apartment shall remain under common and ownership and shall be owner occupied at all times
• The accessory apartment shall be within or attached to the single-family residence with a common wall of at least 8 feet in width
• The accessory apartment shall not alter the basic character of the building as a single-family dwelling
• The accessory apartment must connect to the primary unit via an interior doorway. Additional front entrances are prohibited
• The accessory apartment must use existing unit's utilities and meters
• One driveway shall service both dwelling units. Off-street parking for both units must be provided with 3 spaces for the principal dwelling unit and 1 space for the accessory apartment
• The accessory apartment shall include its own kitchen, three-fixture bath and one bathroom
• The floor area of the apartment must be at least 425 square feet and cannot exceed 800 square feet and 33% of the floor area of the existing home
• The apartment shall comply with the Middletown Housing Code and all other applicable codes and ordinances
• The accessory apartment cannot be converted from a garage or other auxiliary building
• The home and apartment shall have only 1 street number