Building permits, zoning and land rules in Grant County, Arkansas

Grant County requires a permit for construction, repairs, additions, digging, fences, fill and tree removal when the project is in a floodplain; the County Floodplain Administrator issues that permit¹. For a project in a FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Area, obtain the Floodplain Development Permit before work begins; a Compliance Certificate is required before the development may be used or occupied¹. We could not confirm a general residential building-permit requirement outside floodplain areas, so ask the County Judge's Office about the parcel and scope of work before ordering materials. The Arkansas Fire Prevention Code applies statewide and includes building and residential code volumes⁹. The current state code list identifies the 2021 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, but that does not establish that Grant County runs a general permit or inspection program⁴.

The County Floodplain Administrator issues permits for construction and other development in Grant County floodplain areas¹. We could not confirm a separate general building or inspection office for work outside floodplains, so start with the County Judge's Office for a parcel-specific answer. Septic applications go to the Arkansas Department of Health or its authorized agent, with the Grant County Health Unit serving as the local contact^3,10,11. A driveway built or changed on state highway right-of-way requires an Arkansas Department of Transportation permit issued through the District Engineer¹². We could not confirm whether Grant County requires a driveway-access permit for county-maintained roads; ask the County Judge's Office before changing an entrance. Inside Sheridan and the county's other cities, the city may add its own building and zoning requirements, but septic permits for every address in Grant County still come from the Arkansas Department of Health, not the city^3,13.

Grant County is listed as having no countywide zoning, but the county's current official ordinance and department pages do not expressly establish that unincorporated Grant County has no zoning². Ask the County Judge's Office whether a parcel is subject to a county land-development ordinance, and ask the relevant city before relying on the county answer for land inside municipal limits. We could not confirm a county minimum dwelling size, minimum lot size, general building setback, lot-coverage limit or building-height limit for unincorporated land. Subdivision plats are not unrestricted: before an unincorporated-area plat can be recorded, the county court must accept roads for perpetual maintenance and any land dedicated for public purposes¹⁴. A nonresidential farm building has a state exemption from specified electrical licensing and code-authority requirements, but that exemption does not erase floodplain, septic, zoning or other approvals¹⁵.

Before building or installing an onsite wastewater system in Grant County, obtain construction approval and a construction permit from the Arkansas Department of Health or its authorized agent; operation also requires inspection, approval and a separate operating permit³. The Grant County Health Unit is the local contact^10,11. Review fees are $30 for a structure of 1,500 square feet or less, $45 through 2,000 square feet, $90 through 3,000 square feet, $120 through 4,000 square feet, $150 above 4,000 square feet, and $30 for an alteration, repair or extension¹⁶. No mapped county soil is rated free of severe limitations for a conventional drain field, so make the site evaluation an early purchase contingency rather than assuming a standard system will work¹⁷. If an available sanitary sewer is within 300 feet of the building's sewer exit and connection does not cross another person's property, connection is required instead of septic¹⁶. A tract of 10 acres or larger is exempt from the Arkansas Sewage Disposal Systems Act if the field line sits no closer than 200 feet to the property line, though other state and federal requirements and nuisance rules still apply¹⁸. If you plan composting or incinerating toilets, only pre-manufactured units authorized by the Department may be used, and the system stays subject to onsite wastewater permitting³.

We could not confirm whether Grant County allows, limits or prohibits living in one RV or tiny home on ordinary private land outside a regulated park; ask the County Judge's Office and the municipality if the parcel lies inside city limits. Arkansas treats a site with three or more paid spaces receiving placement or maintenance services as a regulated mobile-home or recreational-vehicle park⁷. A regulated RV park is for transient stays, typically by the night or week, and its plans require Arkansas Department of Health approval⁶. In that setting, a tiny house on wheels is treated as a mobile home when plumbed and inspected under the Arkansas Plumbing Code and as an RV when it is not⁶. RVs in a regulated park must remain movable and sit at least 15 feet from other RVs and structures¹⁹. A manufactured home installed in Arkansas must be anchored under the applicable standard²⁰.

1. Confirm whether the parcel is unincorporated and ask the County Judge's Office whether permits beyond floodplain approval apply; we could not confirm a general residential permit outside floodplain areas.

1. Check flood status before design; construction and other development in a floodplain require a permit from the County Floodplain Administrator¹.

1. Arrange the septic site evaluation early because no mapped county soil is rated free of severe limits for a conventional drain field¹⁷.

1. Apply through the Grant County Health Unit for the required septic construction approval and permit, and budget the state review fee for the building size^3,10,16.

1. Use a licensed Arkansas well contractor if the parcel needs a private well⁸.

1. Obtain ARDOT approval before working on a driveway within state highway right-of-way¹².

1. Follow the statewide Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, then obtain the septic operating permit and any floodplain compliance approval before occupancy^1,3,4.

Make septic feasibility the first contingency because 0% of mapped Grant County soils are rated without severe limits for a conventional drain field¹⁷. Check flood status and access next: development in a designated flood hazard area needs county approval, while work on state highway right-of-way needs ARDOT approval^1,12. Confirm whether the deed describes an existing legal parcel or a proposed subdivision because an unincorporated-area plat cannot be recorded until the county court accepts roads and public-purpose dedications¹⁴. The land is heavily wooded and mostly gentle, with 86.3% forest cover and 94.7% at a slope of 15% or less, so clearing may matter more than major grading on many parcels¹⁷. The effective property-tax rate is about 0.5%, and the median annual tax bill is about $840¹⁷.