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

Unincorporated Howard County requires a building permit before covered construction, alteration, repair or extension work costing more than $100 begins; the requirement includes building systems such as plumbing, electrical and HVAC work¹. The Building Commissioner may require detailed plans and specifications¹. Howard County has adopted construction codes for unincorporated areas, but the county code compilation references older editions¹. Residential construction and accessory structures must comply with the 2020 Indiana Residential Code, based on the 2018 International Residential Code with Indiana amendments⁸. New-home Improvement Location Permit applications require approved-lot verification, a legal description, scaled plot plan, owner signature, septic or sewer documentation, an MS4 permit and a driveway permit².

Start with the Kokomo-Howard County Plan Commission at 224 N. Main Street, Kokomo, IN 46901; call 765-456-2330 or email khcpc@cityofkokomo.org³. Howard County's code establishes a Department of Buildings and Building Commissioner to administer and enforce county construction codes⁹. We could not confirm the current residential inspection office or schedule for unincorporated Howard County; ask the Plan Commission which office inspects your project^3,10. Inside Kokomo, the City Civil Engineer issues general building permits for covered work; Greentown also issues its own building permits^11,12. Septic permitting remains with Howard County Environmental Health throughout the county⁴. Call Environmental Health at 765-456-2406 for septic, the Surveyor's Office at 765-456-2217 for the new-home MS4 permit, and the Highway Department at 765-456-2802 for the new-home driveway permit^2,4.

Howard County zoning applies outside the legally established planning jurisdictions of cities and towns, with uses and development standards determined by the parcel's district¹. Kokomo and Greentown have their own zoning; Howard County Environmental Health still handles septic permitting^4,5,6. For subdivisions under county jurisdiction, lots must be at least 60 feet wide at the building setback line and at least 7,200 square feet, but district and health requirements can demand more land¹. Subdivision lots without community water and sanitary sewer must meet Board of Health lot-width and area requirements; lots with those services must meet the applicable zoning district's single-family standards¹. Subdivision building lines follow the zoning code, rather than a single countywide setback¹. The published district table varies front setbacks by road type, side setbacks by lot width and rear setbacks by district². In AZ, A1, RS1 and RS2, the table limits combined principal and accessory building coverage to 30 percent and principal building height to 40 feet, with additional height restrictions possible². Ask the Plan Commission for current district dimensions before designing the site³.

The Howard County Health Department Environmental Health Office issues local septic permits⁴. Prior approval and a permit are required before an on-site sewage system is built or repaired, and a soil test is required to size the absorption field⁴. Howard County's soil data make that early test especially important: only about 0.8% of mapped soils lack severe limitations for a conventional septic drain field¹³. The permittee must request final inspection and give at least 48 hours, or two working days, of notice before subsurface portions are covered; the system cannot enter service before Health Officer acceptance¹. Howard County off-grid sanitation using an on-site sewage system still requires soil testing, plan approval, permitting, inspection and final acceptance; drywells and cesspools cannot be used as sewage treatment^4,14. A homeowner may install a system on their own property after passing the required regulations exam, but the exemption covers installer license fees and insurance rather than the septic permit itself¹. Contact Environmental Health at 765-456-2406 or environmental@howardcountyin.gov⁴.

We could not confirm a Howard County rule that generally allows or prohibits living in an RV on a private parcel, so ask the Kokomo-Howard County Plan Commission how the parcel's zoning district treats RV occupancy^3,7. Indiana's campground rule does not settle that private-land question because it governs regulated campgrounds rather than individually deeded lots¹⁵. We also could not confirm a county rule aimed specifically at tiny homes⁷. A tiny home used as a principal dwelling still faces the published district standards: principal dwellings in AZ, A1, RS1 and RS2 have a 720-square-foot minimum ground-floor area². Ask the Plan Commission whether the proposed unit is a permitted dwelling type in the parcel's district and which setbacks, foundation rules and permits apply³.

Confirm the parcel's jurisdiction, zoning district and approved-lot status with the Plan Commission; unapproved lots may require subdivision approval, and subdivision plats or replats cannot be recorded before written Commission approval^1,2,3.

For a new home, obtain either a Howard County septic-system permit or a City of Kokomo sanitary-sewer tap permit, plus the Surveyor's MS4 permit and Highway Department driveway permit². The checklist does not establish a universal water or sewer hookup requirement for every parcel².

Submit the owner-signed Improvement Location Permit application with a complete legal description and scaled plot plan showing existing and proposed buildings, rights-of-way, utility easements and drainage easements². The published fee is $1 per $1,000 of improvement cost, with a $15 minimum and $1,000 maximum; an after-the-fact permit adds $10 per $1,000². The fee sheet is dated 2008, so confirm the current charge with the Plan Commission before applying^2,3.

Confirm zoning, legal-lot status and current dimensional standards with the Plan Commission before treating a parcel as buildable^1,7. Test the soil before assuming a conventional septic system will work because only about 0.8% of Howard County's mapped soils lack severe drain-field limitations¹³. If the property needs a private well, Howard County requires a permit for installation, alteration or major repair, and the application must come from a licensed installer¹. Check the flood map too: Howard County requires an Improvement Location Permit before development in a special flood hazard area, and floodway work requires state authorization before the local building permit¹. Howard County floodway-fringe structures must meet Flood Protection Grade requirements, and the zoning administrator inspects special-flood-hazard-area construction before, during and after construction¹. A driveway onto an INDOT-controlled roadway needs an INDOT permit¹⁶. Typical local carrying costs include an effective property-tax rate near 0.7% and a median annual tax bill around $1,110¹³.