Zoning, building permits and septic rules in McCall, Idaho

McCall’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside McCall city limits. McCall city adopts and administers its own zoning in Title III Planning and Zoning, Chapter 3 (Residential Zones and Standards).

  • Only the residential zone chapter (Chapter 3) was read; commercial zone chapter 4 and the zoning map were not read.

  “the following property development standards shall apply to all land and permitted or conditionally permitted buildings located within their respective residential zones.”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Residential zoning districts inside McCall city: RR, RE, R1, R4, R8, R16.

  • Commercial districts (Chapter 4, Table 3.4.02) and the zoning map were not read.

  “table 3.3.03 dimensional standards by residential zone dimensional standard rr re r1 r4 r8 r16”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  R1 residential zone inside McCall city limits (treated as the main single-family district; the use-table row for single-family dwellings was not read beyond its opening).

  • Minimum property size per unit as shown in Table 3.3.03; street frontage minimum also applies.

  minimum property size per unit: >= 40000 square feet · street frontage, minimum: >= 100 feet

  “minimum property size per unit (square feet) 360,000 180,000 40,000 10,000 5,000 2,500 street frontage, minimum (in feet) 1 300 200 100 75 50 25”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Rural Residential (RR) zone inside McCall city limits (agricultural or rural-residential district).

    “minimum property size per unit (square feet) 360,000 180,000 40,000 10,000 5,000 2,500 street frontage, minimum (in feet) 1 300 200 100 75 50 25”

• Building heightSpecified

  R1 residential zone inside McCall city limits.

  • Maximum height in feet per Table 3.3.03; footnote 5 not read.

  maximum building height: <= 35 feet (footnote 5 not read)

  “maximum height (in feet) 35 35 35 35 35 50 5”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Rural Residential (RR) zone inside McCall city limits.

    “maximum height (in feet) 35 35 35 35 35 50 5”

• Accessory dwellingsAllowed

  Accessory dwelling units (guesthouses) in the RR, RE, R1, R4, R8 and R16 residential zones inside McCall city limits.

  • Table 3.3.02 marks the use p in all six residential zones; the table's legend text for p was not captured, and size, setback and owner-occupancy conditions for accessory units were not read.

  “dwelling unit, accessory (including guesthouses) p p p p p p”

• Short-term rentalsLimited

  Short-term rentals in the RR, RE, R1, R4, R8 and R16 residential zones inside McCall city limits.

  • Occupancy of fewer than 11 persons is marked a in the table (administrative permit); occupancy of 11 or more persons is marked c (conditional use permit).
  • Footnote 5 of Table 3.3.02 was not read in full.
  • Pending Ordinance 1038 would amend this table and the definition of short-term rental; it is not yet in the codified code.

  “dwelling, short term rental, occupancy fewer than 11 persons 5 a a a a a a dwelling, short term rental, occupancy 11 or more persons c c c c c c”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — Building permit for new residential construction inside McCall city limits.
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption inside McCall city limits.
• Building code adopted — Building code adoption for construction inside McCall city limits.
• Inspections — Building inspection inside McCall city limits.
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy inside McCall 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.

Off-grid gear

Going off-grid in McCall means bringing your own water and power. The kit we’d start with:

• Water Crystal Quest Filter any source — well, rain, or creek — to drinking-clean.
• Power Bluetti Solar generators and home battery backup for living off the grid.
• Septic Soil percolation test kit Run your own perc test before paying an engineer — the first thing a septic office asks about.
• Water Well water test kit Bacteria, nitrates, hardness — know what the well on a parcel is really pumping.

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