Building permits, zoning and septic rules in Logan County, Colorado

Yes. Logan County requires a building permit for construction in unincorporated areas through the county's Planning, Zoning and Building Department in Sterling¹. The only size exemption is for structures of 10 by 12 feet (120 square feet) or smaller, and agricultural storage buildings and animal barns on parcels of 35 acres or more may qualify for an Agriculture Permit in place of a building permit; electrical and plumbing permits come from the State of Colorado, not the county⁴. Logan County enforces the 2006 International Residential and Building Codes⁴. Work started without a permit can draw investigation fees of up to double the permit fee⁴. Site-built work receives footer, foundation, framing, drywall and final inspections². County inspections are not required for agricultural buildings, oil and gas operations, and some utilities, though inspection is available on request; state inspectors handle electrical and plumbing work, and county inspection requests generally need at least 24 hours' notice². A new building generally cannot be occupied until the county completes its final inspection and issues a Certificate of Occupancy; accessory structures are excepted³. Colorado's owner licensing exemption covers repair or maintenance on the owner's own property, not a general exemption from permits or contractor rules for constructing a new home¹². Reach the department at 970-522-7879 or visit 315 Main Street, Suite 2, in Sterling¹.

The Logan County Planning, Zoning and Building Department is at 315 Main Street, Suite 2, in Sterling¹. Office hours are 8 to 5 Monday through Friday except holidays¹. Call 970-522-7879¹. The department publishes building, zoning, inspection, floodplain, subdivision and land-use forms, but we could not confirm the complete building-permit workflow from those materials¹³. The application needs one set of building plans and a scaled site map, plus a Rescheck energy compliance report for a house⁴. Building permits carry a $16.00 review fee and a 1% county use tax on materials other than plumbing and electrical; a permit is valid for one year, and an application becomes void if the fee goes unpaid for 180 days⁴. New construction in the 100-year flood plain also needs a floodplain development permit and an elevation certificate first⁴. Logan County publishes a current planning and zoning fee schedule, although the reviewed information does not provide its individual charges¹⁴. The county right-of-way application lists a $50 driveway-access fee and goes through Planning and Zoning to the Board of County Commissioners; starting before approval doubles the fee except in an approved emergency⁸. Some zoning-use applications require submission at least 20 days before the Board of Adjustment hearing, plus public, posted and nearby-owner notice, so ask the department which review path applies before setting a construction schedule¹⁵.

Yes. Logan County zoning applies outside incorporated cities and regulates unincorporated land by district; the county's rules stop at city limits³. Inside Sterling, the city sets its own zoning¹⁶; septic permits for Sterling addresses still come from the Northeast Colorado Health Department⁵. The published districts are EP, A, RE, RS, RM, CH, CC and I, and the use grid classifies uses as by right, conditional or subject to a special-use permit¹⁷. Minimum lot size, setbacks, lot coverage and height limits depend on the district and use³. The Atwood provisions, for example, require a 45-foot front setback for farm-related buildings and 20 feet for other permitted uses, measured from the edge of the public-road easement, and a 35-acre minimum lot in the Atwood Agricultural District³. Pre-existing lots may be built on if they meet setbacks of 30 feet front, 20 feet back and 10 feet side, or the setbacks in the lot's recorded deed covenants³. A zoning permit is required before a utility is built, installed, hooked up or placed in service unless the Board of Adjustment has granted a variance³. Ask the Planning, Zoning and Building Department to identify the parcel's district and standards before fixing a site plan¹.

Any Logan County building that creates wastewater flow and is not connected to city sewer needs an onsite wastewater treatment system (OWTS), or septic, permit from the Northeast Colorado Health Department; installing, altering, expanding or repairing a system requires approval before work begins^5,6. NCHD serves Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington and Yuma Counties, and the county page says revised OWTS regulations took effect in June 2026^5,18. NCHD's office for this program is at 700 Columbine Street in Sterling, reachable at (877) 795-0646⁵. NCHD generally cannot issue an OWTS permit where public sewer service from a municipality or special district is available and feasible⁶. About 43.9% of Logan County soils are rated without severe limitations for a conventional septic drain field, leaving more than half where a standard system may not work and a site evaluation matters¹⁹. Colorado requires a final inspection before an OWTS can be used²⁰. An OWTS permit expires one year after issuance if construction has not started, and a change in plans voids it unless NCHD approves the change in writing⁵. A home not served by sewage treatment works cannot receive building approval until its OWTS permit is issued, and occupancy approval waits on the final septic inspection, so apply early²⁰.

Colorado permits a Division of Housing-approved tiny home to be used as a long-term residence only after its plans receive state approval and the home complies with local zoning¹¹. We could not confirm a Logan County rule that clearly resolves tiny-home or private-land RV occupancy, so ask the Planning, Zoning and Building Department about the parcel's district before placing either unit¹. Logan County has district-specific manufactured-home rules³. In the Agricultural District, a manufactured home for an employee and family requires a farm of 40 acres or more with no space offered for rent³. A manufactured home used as temporary quarters while a permitted house is built must be removed within 30 days after the house receives its Certificate of Occupancy; its permit expires after 365 days but may be renewed in exceptional circumstances³. In mapped flood-hazard zones (A1-30, AH and AE), an RV must stay on the site fewer than 180 consecutive days, be fully licensed and ready for highway use, or meet the permit and elevation rules for manufactured homes; that rule does not set an RV standard outside those zones³. County rules limit a permitted camping area to travel trailers and campers of no more than 40 feet by 8 feet, for stays of 3 months, but that provision does not establish a general right to camp or live in an RV on any private parcel³. Any utility hookup to a structure needs a zoning permit first³.

1. Confirm the parcel's zoning district, allowed residential use, minimum lot size, setbacks and lot-coverage limit with the Logan County Planning, Zoning and Building Department at 970-522-7879^1,3.

1. Apply to the Northeast Colorado Health Department for an OWTS permit if the home will not connect to municipal sewer; building approval and occupancy depend on septic approval and final inspection^6,20.

1. Apply to the Colorado Division of Water Resources if the project needs a new groundwater well¹⁰.

1. Submit the county building-permit application and ask which review steps and published fees apply^1,13,14. Determine whether development in a flood-hazard area also needs county floodplain approval²¹.

1. Submit a county-right-of-way driveway request through Planning and Zoning; for state-highway access, contact CDOT Region 4 to learn where to file^8,9.

1. Schedule county inspections and the final OWTS inspection, then obtain the Certificate of Occupancy before moving in^2,20.

Confirm the zoning district and allowed use before buying because Logan County applies district-specific use, setback, lot-coverage, height and minimum-lot-size standards³. A proposed land split may require county subdivision review, and the county publishes both subdivision and subdivision-exemption procedures¹³. One cited exemption route for an additional lot under 35 acres requires the remaining lot to exceed 35 acres and filing at least 60 days before the hearing²². Arrange a septic evaluation because only 43.9% of county soils are rated without severe limitations for a conventional drain field¹⁹. Check the flood map because floodway development needs no-rise evidence or a Conditional Letter of Map Revision before a local permit can issue²¹. Confirm access because county-right-of-way driveways need county approval, while state-highway access is routed through CDOT Region 4^8,9. Logan County receives about 16.2 inches of precipitation annually and experiences severe drought in about 19.3% of years, making water planning especially important¹⁹.