Building permits, zoning and land rules in Glenn County, California

Yes. Unincorporated Glenn County requires a building permit, and the county's Building Inspector division screens and approves permit applications before construction¹. California's current building standards apply to buildings and structures whose permit applications are dated on or after January 1, 2026¹¹. The statewide rule also requires a separate permit before a building or structure is constructed, enlarged, altered, repaired, moved, improved, removed, converted or demolished¹². The county materials do not establish a simple exemption list for sheds, agricultural buildings or minor rural work, so ask the Glenn County Building Inspector about the exact project before ordering materials. California's owner-builder exemption can remove the contractor-license requirement when the owner personally performs the work, uses wage-paid employees, or contracts directly with properly licensed trades, subject to the conditions for the chosen route; it does not waive Glenn County's building permit or inspection requirements⁹.

The Glenn County Building Inspector division issues building permits and enforces the California Building Standards Code¹. County planning staff administer zoning for unincorporated Glenn County and review development proposals against permitting requirements and performance standards². Before submitting a building permit application, contact Planning staff at planning@countyofglenn.net to learn whether the property is zoned for the project and what fees apply, and contact Environmental Health at environmental@countyofglenn.net for the regulations and fees that affect the project¹³. We could not confirm a reliable published contact for the Building Inspector, so use the Building Department page linked from Glenn County's official website rather than relying on a third-party directory. Glenn County recognizes owner-as-worker, owner-as-contractor and owner-as-employer arrangements, but the property owner must complete, sign and return the county acknowledgment before the permit can be issued; an agent needs prior approval from the permitting authority to execute it⁸. The owner-builder remains legally and financially responsible for the construction and for checking contractor licenses and workers' compensation coverage⁸.

Yes. Glenn County administers zoning under Title 15 in unincorporated areas, while the incorporated cities of Willows and Orland administer their own land-use rules^2,3. Orland sets its own zoning under its Title 17 ordinance¹⁴. That boundary matters: a Willows or Orland address does not automatically mean county zoning controls the parcel³. Allowed uses, setbacks, lot coverage, height and minimum lot size depend on the responsible jurisdiction and the parcel's zoning district; California reserves ordinary setback rules to local jurisdictions rather than imposing one statewide number¹⁵. We could not confirm one countywide minimum dwelling size, setback, height or lot-size rule for every unincorporated parcel, so ask county Planning for a parcel-specific zoning check before selecting a house plan. California permits a local ordinance to allow an efficiency unit with at least 150 square feet, but the available record does not confirm that Glenn County adopted that option¹⁶. Accessory dwelling units are the one housing question state law settles: California requires Glenn County to approve an accessory dwelling unit ministerially, under objective standards and without a hearing, though local zoning, building, health and wastewater requirements still apply^17,18.

Glenn County Environmental Health operates the local Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems program, reviews test data and designs, and inspects system construction and installation^4,19. The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board has approved the county's local program under the statewide OWTS Policy, so the county, not the state, issues the permit^4,6. State tiers add oversight in some cases: low-risk new and replacement systems up to 3,500 gallons per day fall under Tier 1, and sites near impaired water bodies can face supplemental treatment and monitoring²⁰. Inside the city of Orland, septic tank requests are decided case by case through the city, not Environmental Health⁷. Under the county's sewage disposal regulations, the owner must apply for a septic permit before installation, on forms provided by the health officer, and the application must be complete before any action on the permit⁴. The application needs soil test data covering soil profiles, permeability and percolation, plus a scaled plot plan and plans drawn to scale, with at least 3 copies⁴. Where ordinary site conditions do not permit a standard system, an alternative system needs the health officer's approval⁴. Every new or repaired system must be inspected by the Glenn County Health Department or Building Department, the Building Department needs at least 24 hours' notice, and a copy of the approved permit must be on site⁴. Only about 3% of Glenn County soils avoid a severe USDA limitation for a conventional drain field, so make septic feasibility a purchase contingency and complete site testing before fixing the building location²¹. We could not confirm whether public sewer connection is required at a particular site, so ask Environmental Health before committing to an off-grid sanitation plan.

An RV is not intended to be a permanent dwelling in California, and unless a local ordinance allows otherwise, RV occupancy generally belongs in a mobilehome park or special occupancy park⁵. We could not confirm a Glenn County ordinance that broadly allows residential RV occupancy or private-land camping, so ask county Planning about the parcel and intended duration before moving an RV onsite. A tiny home may be occupied only when it complies with and is approved as a recognized type, such as a code-built home, manufactured home, factory-built home, recreational vehicle, park trailer or camping cabin⁵. The location must also be approved for that classification, and a noncomplying tiny home cannot be legally occupied and may face enforcement^5,22. A qualifying manufactured home may be occupied inside or outside a mobilehome park, but its installation and approval for occupancy remain governed by California's Mobilehome Parks Act framework⁵.

1. Confirm whether the parcel is in unincorporated Glenn County, Willows or Orland, because the zoning authority changes with location³.
2. Ask the responsible planning office to verify the proposed dwelling use, zoning district, setbacks and other parcel standards^2,15.
3. Apply to Glenn County Environmental Health for the septic permit before installation, with soil test data and a scaled plot plan, whenever the property will use onsite wastewater⁴.
4. Obtain the local permit before constructing, modifying or destroying a water well, and use a licensed well-drilling contractor; an owner-builder may not personally perform work covered by California's well-drilling contractor classification^9,10.
5. Contact Planning and Environmental Health about zoning, regulations and fees, then submit the building plans and permit application to the Glenn County Building Inspector before construction^1,13.
6. If using the owner-builder route, choose the applicable California licensing-exemption pathway and file Glenn County's signed acknowledgment before permit issuance^8,9.
7. Obtain a county encroachment permit for driveway work in a county-road right-of-way, or a Caltrans encroachment permit for access within a state-highway right-of-way^23,24.

Start with jurisdiction and zoning: unincorporated Glenn County, Willows and Orland have different land-use authorities³. Verify legal road access because driveway work within a county-road right-of-way requires a county encroachment permit, while a state-highway connection requires Caltrans approval^23,24. Treat septic suitability as a major contingency because only about 3% of county soils avoid severe limits for a conventional drain field²¹. Confirm the well permit path and water availability before purchase, since Glenn County permits well construction, modification and destruction and severe drought occurs in about 39% of years^10,21. Ask Public Works or the county's floodplain administrator to review the parcel because we could not confirm the applicable development rule from the available county materials. For carrying costs, Glenn County's effective property-tax rate is about 0.6%, and the median annual property-tax bill is about $2,190²¹.