Building permits, zoning and land rules in Gunnison County, Colorado

Yes. Unincorporated Gunnison County requires a building permit to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move or change the occupancy of a building or structure, and regulated work must be permitted before it begins¹. The county administers amended 2021 International Codes in unincorporated territory; cities and towns have separate building-code jurisdictions².

A narrow exemption may apply to a one-story detached accessory structure without utilities that is under 200 square feet and accessory to a dwelling on the same parcel¹. A qualifying agricultural structure may request an exemption only when it meets the county definitions for both an agricultural structure and an agricultural operation⁸. Do not assume a shed, barn or owner-built house is automatically exempt: Colorado law lets an owner repair or maintain their own property without a contractor license, but that does not exempt new construction from a county building permit⁹, and we could not confirm any owner-builder exemption on the county's own pages. Ask the Building Office before you start.

Gunnison County Community and Economic Development is the building, planning and environmental-health contact at 221 N. Wisconsin St., Gunnison, CO 81230, phone (970) 641-0360 and email planning@gunnisoncounty.org¹⁰. The department issues building, onsite wastewater treatment system and land-use-change permits, and its online database shows pending and issued permits in those categories¹⁰.

The Building Office routes construction documents through Planning, Building, Environmental Health, Wildlife Conservation and Public Works; those reviews cover permitted uses, setbacks, lighting, height, construction, septic design, sage-grouse habitat, reclamation and driveways¹⁰. Gunnison County publishes fee schedules, and charges vary by permit type and project⁸. For a parcel inside a city or town, contact that municipality because the county building-code claim is limited to unincorporated Gunnison County².

Gunnison County has no zoning³. Inside the Town of Crested Butte, the town sets its own zoning¹¹; we could not confirm who issues building permits there, so ask the town. The county rules on this page apply to unincorporated Gunnison County. The county has no zoning districts, but unincorporated land is not unrestricted: parcel changes and uses generally require a Land Use Change Permit approving the specific use³. Because the county has no zoning ordinance, it sets no zoning-based lot-coverage, building-height or tiny-home occupancy limit³. Building permits, adopted codes, setbacks and use-specific approvals still apply^1,7.

The general minimum permitted lot size is 35 acres unless a smaller lot qualifies under a listed exception or is authorized through a Land Use Change Permit; new residential subdivisions generally require one-acre lots unless served by public wastewater treatment⁷. For a single-family residence, the standard setbacks are 25 feet at the front and 15 feet at the sides and rear, subject to exemptions, variances and project-specific rules⁷. The county sets no separate numeric minimum dwelling floor area in the cited provision; the adopted building code supplies the minimum⁷.

Gunnison County Environmental Health administers onsite wastewater rules in unincorporated areas; Pitkin and Marble use their own municipal OWTS regulations⁴. In unincorporated Gunnison County, Environmental Health must issue a permit before a septic system is constructed or repaired⁵. A building permit also requires either an OWTS permit or an agreement from the wastewater-treatment provider serving the parcel⁶.

The county's OWTS rule generally requires a contiguous parcel of at least one acre, subject to its stated exceptions⁵. Sewage or wastewater from a camping shelter may be disposed of only under an OWTS permit and applicable standards, and compliance may require a long-term OWTS on the parcel⁷. The county inspects the site before construction to confirm the system can be built to Colorado and county rules, and inspects the completed system afterward¹². Only about 1.6% of Gunnison County soils are rated without severe limits for a conventional drain field, so make septic feasibility an early purchase contingency¹³. A new groundwater well requires a Colorado permit, subject to statutory exceptions and basin-specific rules¹⁴.

On an individual parcel in unincorporated Gunnison County, an RV or other camping shelter may be used for no more than 14 total days during any consecutive three months without a Long-Term Camping Permit⁷. Longer camping requires that permit, which may run for no more than 180 days, and only one may be issued per calendar year⁷. Camping cannot occupy a public road or right-of-way, must comply with covenants, and must use lawful wastewater disposal^7,15.

Unincorporated Gunnison County has no zoning-based restriction on tiny-home occupancy, but a tiny home still must meet applicable building, wastewater, setback and land-use requirements^1,3,6,7. A state-regulated tiny home intended for long-term residence must also meet Colorado approval, construction and site-certification requirements¹⁶. Gunnison County also allows a secondary detached residence or sleeping structure on a parcel if it is smaller than the primary residence, and an integrated secondary residence may not exceed 1,200 square feet⁷. Gunnison County allows a manufactured home on an individual parcel if it is at least 24 feet wide and 36 feet long, uses an engineered permanent foundation, has qualifying siding and a pitched roof, and carries the required federal certification¹⁷. The engineered foundation must be certified by a Colorado-licensed professional engineer and approved by the Building Inspector, and both building and onsite wastewater permits are required⁷.

1. Ask Community and Economic Development to confirm legal-lot status, the proposed use, the applicable setbacks and any Land Use Change Permit^3,7,10.

1. Establish wastewater service by obtaining an OWTS permit or an agreement from the wastewater-treatment provider before the building permit can issue⁶.

1. Obtain the county access permit or written waiver before the building permit, and do not begin driveway excavation or construction first⁶. Public Works handles county-road access permits¹⁸.

1. Submit the building application and construction documents before regulated work begins^1,8.

1. If the site lies in the 100-year floodplain, submit the floodplain application before excavation, filling, stream work, fencing or construction¹⁹.

1. Ask the Building Office which inspections and final occupancy approval apply, because the complete county inspection sequence and a general certificate-of-occupancy rule could not be confirmed¹⁰.

Start with the buildable envelope: only about 17.5% of Gunnison County land has a slope of 15% or less, and only about 1.6% of soils are rated without severe limits for a conventional septic drain field¹³. Confirm legal-lot status, use approval, setbacks, wastewater feasibility and driveway access before assuming an advertised homesite can be developed^3,6,7.

About 79.7% of the county is federal land, so map parcel boundaries and legal access rather than assuming neighboring open ground is part of the tract¹³. Development in the 100-year floodplain may require a county permit before structures, excavation, filling, stream alteration or fences, and regulatory-floodway work requires an engineer's no-rise certificate¹⁹. Direct access from a house to a state highway requires a Colorado access permit²⁰. Gunnison County's effective property-tax rate is about 0.3%, with a median annual property-tax bill of about $1,683¹³.