Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Swan Valley, Idaho

Swan Valley’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Swan Valley city limits. The city's documents page lists its own zoning ordinance, Ordinance 98 - Zoning.

  • Ordinance 98 text was not opened: its PDF link is not exposed to the harness and guessed PDF paths returned HTTP 404. Dimensional, district and occupancy rules are therefore unknown.

  “ordinance 98 - zoning by admin september 24, 2023 ordinance-98-zoning-recorded-signed download”

• Living in an RVLimited

  Living or sleeping in a recreational vehicle on residential property inside Swan Valley city limits

  • One RV per property actively used for sleeping or living, owned by the property owner.
  • Visitor RVs allowed up to 40 RV visitor days per calendar year; owner may not exceed 4 RVs on the property at one time.
  • Occupation of the owner's RV for more than 30 consecutive days in a calendar year requires a permit (Section 5); extended permit fee $50.00, valid up to one year, approved by city council.
  • Location: only in rear yards, side yards, or directly adjacent and parallel with an existing driveway; setback 3 feet from property line; paved, graveled or dirt area.
  • Violations: first offense infraction fine $150; second in the same calendar year $300; third a misdemeanor with fine up to $1,000 and up to six months.
  • Ordinance 75 passed and approved on 20 April 2019; no separate effective date stated beyond passage, execution and publication.

  RV visitor days per calendar year: <= 40 days (visitor RVs; permit required beyond this) · RVs on property at one time: <= 4 count · consecutive days before permit: > 30 days (owner RV occupation) · setback from property line: >= 3 feet · extended RV permit fee: 50 USD

  “it shall be lawful to continually park or place only one (1) rv on each property that is actively in use as sleeping or living accommodates, provided the rv is owned by the property owner.”

Rules another office applies inside Swan Valley

Swan Valley 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 septicMixed (with conditions)

  On-site wastewater (septic) systems on land inside Swan Valley city limits. Eastern Idaho Public Health, a multi-county health district, sets the disposal guidelines the city ordinance points to.

  • The city's Ordinance 75 section 7 refers on-site disposal to Eastern Idaho Public Health guidelines. The EIPH packet lists Bonneville County contacts. Value is mixed because the city ordinance defers to the health district's guidelines and the building permit runs through the city.

  “any on-site wastewater disposal shall comply with individual and subsurface sewage disposal guidelines as determined by the eastern idaho public health department.”

• Septic permitRequired

  On-site septic system for a new home inside Swan Valley city limits, issued by Eastern Idaho Public Health

  • Permit must be emailed to the applicant, copied with the plot plan to the licensed installer, and the system built to the permit. Permit valid two years; renewal costs $50.00.
  • Per the EIPH packet, for further information contact the environmental health specialist for the county in which you live (Bonneville County).
  • The packet does not name Swan Valley city; applicability relies on Ordinance 75 section 7 deferring to EIPH.

  permit validity: 2 years · renewal fee: 50 USD (renewal)

  “the septic permit will be required to get a building permit from planning and zoning.”

• Septic inspectionRequired

  On-site septic system installed inside Swan Valley city limits

  • Inspection must occur before the system is covered; inspection by an environmental health specialist.

  “final inspection mandatory: it is necessary to have the system inspected by an environmental health specialist prior to covering”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Swan Valley or Bonneville County directly.

• Building permit — New construction inside Swan Valley city limits
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder construction inside Swan Valley city limits
• Building code adopted — Construction inside Swan Valley city limits
• Inspections — New construction inside Swan Valley city limits
• Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy of new homes inside Swan Valley 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.