Building permits, zoning and land rules in Boone County, Indiana

Yes. The Boone County Area Plan Commission requires an Improvement Location Permit before covered alterations to land or structures begin, including new construction in unincorporated Boone County; fences under 6 feet high are exempt from that permit¹. Every permit or petition administered through the Area Plan Office is subject to at least one site inspection before approval, and individual projects may require scheduled inspections with 24-hour notice². Indiana's current residential code is the state-amended code for one- and two-family dwellings, while Boone County's local permitting and zoning requirements still apply⁸. A building used only for an agricultural purpose on the land where that activity occurs, and not for retail trade, is outside the state's Class 1 design-release classification; that narrow exemption does not erase local zoning, permit or inspection requirements⁹.

The Boone County Area Plan Commission is the first stop for building permits, zoning and floodplain questions in unincorporated Boone County². The office also serves the incorporated Town of Advance². Call 765-482-3821 or visit the Boone County Office Building, 116 W. Washington St., Suite 101, Lebanon, IN 46052². Area Plan issues improvement location permits for new construction under the county zoning, building and subdivision-control ordinances². The county publishes its Improvement Location Permit fee schedule⁶. The schedule separately lists a $90 final inspection for projects requiring a Certificate of Occupancy¹⁰.

Yes. Boone County administers zoning in the unincorporated county and the Town of Advance, while other incorporated municipalities may have their own ordinances². The county publishes zoning maps and district tables, so a parcel's mapped district controls the standards that apply⁴. Single-family dwellings have a 35-foot maximum height, and one-story minimum ground-floor areas range from 900 to 1,200 square feet by district⁶. Residential setbacks generally include a 20-foot primary-structure rear yard and 5-foot side yard outside the Agricultural District; front setbacks depend on the right-of-way and road centerline⁶. Maximum lot coverage in the single-family residential districts runs from 50% to 70%, depending on the district⁶. Lots without public sewer generally require 2 acres, while the RE district requires 3 acres⁶. Subdivision plats and replats require written Area Plan Commission or Plat Committee approval before recording, and subdivision lots cannot receive an Improvement Location Permit until the required recording, improvements, certifications and surety steps are complete¹¹.

The Boone County Health Department's Environmental Health Division regulates, permits and inspects onsite sewage systems throughout Boone County³. Call 765-483-4458 or visit Suite B202 at 116 W. Washington St. in Lebanon¹². A residential septic-permit application requires a soil report, floor plans, certified plot plan and fee³. A registered soil scientist determines the soil loading rate during a site inspection, and a field tile used as a perimeter-drain outlet must be uncovered for inspection³. If that outlet lies off the property, record the required easement before permit issuance³. USDA data rates 0% of Boone County soils as free of severe limitations for a conventional drain field, so settle septic feasibility before choosing a house site¹³. Indiana requires a compliant septic tank and soil absorption system where a dwelling cannot connect to sewer¹⁴.

We could not confirm a general Boone County rule allowing or prohibiting long-term RV living or temporary camping on a private parcel; ask the Boone County Area Plan Commission whether the proposed use is allowed in the parcel's district². Indiana's campground rule does not answer the private-lot question because it governs qualifying campgrounds and distinguishes individually deeded lots¹⁵. Boone County's ordinance never uses the words tiny home, so a tiny dwelling must clear the county's building-permit, district-specific minimum-area and setback rules^1,6. The one clear pathway is as an accessory dwelling: it needs a special exception before the building permit, a lawfully built structure of at least 400 square feet, an existing primary home on the parcel, and an owner who lives in one of the two homes, and it cannot be an RV or travel trailer¹⁶. Only one accessory dwelling is allowed per parcel, and it may not exceed the lesser of 1,500 square feet or 50% of the primary dwelling footprint¹⁶. It may use the primary home's driveway⁶. Off-grid sanitation is not a shortcut; an Indiana dwelling without sewer service must use a compliant onsite sewage system¹⁴.

1. Ask the Boone County Area Plan Commission to confirm jurisdiction, the mapped zoning district, flood-hazard status and required approvals^2,4,17.
2. Start the septic permit with Environmental Health by submitting the application, soil report, floor plans, fee and certified plot plan³.
3. Obtain and post the county well permit before covered well or pump work begins; emergency drilling has a narrow notice-and-permit exception⁵.
4. Secure water, sewage and driveway approvals (a private-access driveway may run no more than 1,320 feet from the public right-of-way and needs a cleared width of at least 36 feet⁶), then submit, then submit the site plan and code-certified construction plans with the Improvement Location Permit application¹.
5. Complete required building inspections².
6. Obtain a Certificate of Occupancy before use or occupancy; temporary uses follow separate rules, and some require both an Improvement Location Permit and Certificate of Occupancy while others require one or neither⁶.

Start with septic feasibility: USDA soil data rates 0% of Boone County soils as free of severe limits for a conventional drain field, so obtain the required soil report before committing to a house site^12,13. Check the parcel's zoning district, minimum lot area, utility availability and legal access; smaller lots may require public water and sewer, and major residential subdivisions with 15 lots or more require utility connections⁶. Ask Area Plan about mapped flood hazards because development in mapped areas may require a floodplain development permit¹⁷. Boone County is mostly gentle terrain, with about 99.6% of land at a 15% slope or less, but only about 10.1% is wooded¹³. For carrying costs, the effective property-tax rate is about 0.8%, the median property-tax bill is about $2,725 per year, and the typical home-insurance premium is about $1,577 per year¹³.