Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Little Flock, Arkansas

Little Flock’s own rules

• Building code adoptedAdopted

  Construction inside Little Flock city limits

  • Sec. 11.08.01 lists: 2012 international building code; 2012 international residential code for one & two family dwellings; 2012 international fire code; 2012 NFPA 101 life safety code; 2014 Arkansas energy code; 2018 Arkansas plumbing code; 2018 Arkansas fuel/gas code; 2020 NFPA National Electric Code; 2021 IMC mechanical code; 2021 Arkansas fire prevention code; 2018 manufactured home construction and safety standards (with supplements through 2024).
  • Adopted by ord. no. 2013-405, amended by ord. no. 2017-013, ord. no. 2023-003 and ord. no. 2024-006 as shown in the code text; the list still shows 2012 editions of the building, residential and fire codes, which should be reconciled with the current codification.
  • Sec. 11.08.05 separately adopts CABO 1 and 2 family dwelling code, state plumbing code, national electrical code and standard fire code by ord. no. 91-71 (as amended).

  “the following codes have been adopted by reference as though they were copied herein in full”

• InspectionsRequired

  Permitted construction inside Little Flock city limits

  • All inspections mentioned, suggested, or provided in the adopted codes are mandatory.
  • The landowner or building permit holder must notify the Little Flock building inspector at appropriate times.
  • Failure to notify or to comply with inspection requirements is a code violation subject to the code's civil and criminal remedies.

  “all of the inspections mentioned, suggested, or provided in any of the codes adopted by ord. no. 71 shall be mandatory and the landowner or building permit holder shall notify the little flock building inspector at appropriate times”

• Certificate of occupancyRequired

  Buildings, additions and expansions inside Little Flock city limits, and all new residential units

  • Occupancy permit is issued by the Little Flock building inspector only if the building or addition has complied with and passed all inspections (sec. 11.08.05 c).
  • For new residential units, the owner or builder must pay the development impact fee before the certificate of occupancy is issued (sec. 11.20.03).

  “any building constructed in the city limits of little flock shall not be occupied until the little flock building inspector has issued an occupancy permit for the building”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Little Flock city limits, under the city's own zoning regulations

  • The city code recognizes zoning regulations of the city (Chapter 11.24 refers to them); the zoning ordinance text (Chapter 14.04, dated August 15, 2022) could not be text-extracted in this run, so district rules are not verified here.

  “the city council has determined that there are parcels of land within the city of little flock that are smaller than currently allowed by the zoning regulations of the city”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  Building permit fees and development impact fee for construction inside Little Flock city limits

  • Fee schedule as printed in sec. 11.04.01 (ord. no. 2010-341); the valuation tiers above $3,000 are set as shown and are based on the ICC Building Valuation Data table.
  • Sec. 11.04.02 lists other fees (plan review, site inspection, electrical and plumbing inspection, additions inspection, final inspection, re-inspection, certificate of occupancy, moving and demolition) but the text extraction does not reliably pair each amount with its fee, so those amounts are not recorded here.
  • Sec. 11.20.02 development impact fee applies per new residential unit; sec. 11.20.06 exempts units with building permits issued on or before May 19, 2004.

  building permit fee for valuation $3,001 to $50,000 (base portion): 50 USD (plus $5.00 for each additional thousand or fraction thereof, to and include $50,000.00) · development impact fee per new residential unit: 944.04 USD (single-family residence counts as one unit; duplex two units; triplex three units (sec. 11.20.02))

  “there is hereby assessed a development impact fee of $944.04 for each new residential unit”

Rules another office applies inside Little Flock

Little Flock does not set these itself; the county, a health district or the state does, and they apply to every address inside its limits.

• Who permits septicState (with conditions)

  Onsite septic systems for land inside Little Flock city limits

  • The city's residential checklist says septic approval is issued by the Arkansas Department of Health; it directs applicants to the health department for septic at 479-986-1300 (Benton County).
  • No Little Flock city sewer or septic ordinance was found in the code opened.

  “septic approval: issued by the arkansas department of health. please submit the full permit, including the septic layout plan.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Little Flock or Benton County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit exemption inside Little Flock city limits
• Zoning districts — Zoning district schedule for Little Flock city
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum dwelling size inside Little Flock city limits
• Setbacks — Yard setbacks for single-family residential districts inside Little Flock city limits
• Lot coverage — Maximum lot coverage inside Little Flock city limits

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.