Building permits, zoning and land rules in Burleigh County, North Dakota

The county-zoned portions of unincorporated Burleigh County require a permit before a residential, commercial or industrial structure is built, altered or moved¹. Routine maintenance or repair that does not alter structural strength, the plan or mechanical installations does not require that permit¹. Burleigh County has adopted the North Dakota State Building Code within its zoning jurisdiction, with state law controlling a conflict and county zoning rules controlling a conflict with the adopted building-code article¹. A building used for usual farming purposes on a farm of at least 10 acres may qualify for the agricultural permit exemption, but the exemption does not apply to non-farmers¹. The county's published fee schedule lists $300 for a special-use application, $300 for a variance application and $200 for a stormwater plan review and permit; ask the Building/Planning/Zoning Department for the building permit fee itself¹. A new building cannot be occupied until the Building Official issues a Certificate of Occupancy after final inspection, and temporary certificates are not issued⁵.

The Burleigh County Building/Planning/Zoning Department administers county building permits and publishes separate applications for residential building, septic, plumbing, manufactured-home, commercial-building and floodplain work⁶. Reach the department at 221 N 5th St in Bismarck, ND 58501, by phone at (701) 221-3727, or by email at burleighcobuilding@nd.gov⁷. Applicants can use the Permit and Inspection Portal to apply, search permit data, upload documents, schedule inspections and review inspection reports⁶. Paper applications may also be delivered in person or sent by mail, fax or email⁶. An online permit is normally reviewed and issued within 24 to 48 hours, but online payment is not accepted⁶. The county office is the right starting point only where Burleigh County has jurisdiction; incorporated cities and townships retaining zoning authority may administer their own rules³.

Burleigh County zoning is present throughout unincorporated land in Burnt Creek, Glenview, Menoken, Crofte, Hay Creek, Phoenix, Fort Rice, Riverview, Lyman, Gibbs, Florence Lake and Canfield townships, but the county ordinance does not cover every unincorporated township¹. The county publishes a zoning map, and lot size, setbacks, lot coverage and height vary by district and use^1,3. In the R3 Residential District, a permitted structure and its accessory buildings need a lot of at least 20,000 square feet¹. The county ordinance requires a single-family dwelling to have at least 900 square feet of main-floor living space, including a qualifying manufactured home¹. An accessory dwelling is conditional on a special-use permit in the Rural Residential and Agricultural districts and must meet owner-occupancy, parking, utility, septic and building-code requirements¹.

A new septic system or repair in Burleigh County requires a drainfield application, and a soils report is required when one was not filed before August 2007⁸. Septic authority is shared: before work begins, the installer must secure a permit from the applicable local public health unit and hold a North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality installer license². In the county-zoned area, covered septic and drainfield work also requires county approval and inspection; ordinary plumbing repairs are excluded¹. The county inspects drainfield location, tank size and materials and checks engineered systems against their design before covering⁵. About 57% of Burleigh County soils are rated without severe limits for a conventional drain field, but that countywide figure does not replace parcel-specific soils documentation^8,9. Ask the Building/Planning/Zoning Department which local public health unit serves the parcel and whether both approvals apply^1,2.

We could not confirm a general Burleigh County rule allowing long-term RV occupancy or temporary camping on private land. In a Special Flood Hazard Area, an RV must remain on site for less than 180 consecutive days and be fully licensed and highway ready¹. We also could not confirm a separate tiny-home occupancy rule. A house under the county ordinance must provide at least 900 square feet of main-floor living space, so many tiny-home designs will not qualify¹. Manufactured homes without permanent foundations are permitted in the R5 Mobile Home Park Residential District when located in a mobile or manufactured-home park; other manufactured homes remain subject to their district and building-code requirements¹. An accessory dwelling must connect to public utilities when available or demonstrate adequate onsite septic capacity¹. Ask the authority for the parcel before buying or placing any of these homes because county zoning covers only specified townships¹.

1. Identify whether Burleigh County, a township or a city controls the parcel, then confirm its district, minimum lot size, setbacks, lot coverage and height rules^1,3.
2. If the land is being divided outside a city or its extraterritorial area, complete the county subdivision process before treating the proposed tract as buildable¹.
3. Check the effective flood map and use the county's floodplain application when developing or building in a designated floodplain⁸.
4. Obtain the County Engineer's road-approach approval before a county residential building permit can issue¹.
5. Submit the correct application and documents through the county portal or an accepted paper method, then confirm and pay the project-based fee^1,6.
6. Secure the local public-health septic permit, county approval where applicable, soils documentation and a state-licensed installer before septic work begins^1,2,8.
7. Request the final inspection when the whole project is complete, then obtain the Certificate of Occupancy before anyone lives in the home; the county does not issue temporary certificates^4,5.

Confirm the zoning authority and district before assuming a rural parcel follows county rules^1,3. Verify that the tract was legally created, because Burleigh County regulates subdivision outside incorporated cities and their extraterritorial areas¹. Use the county floodplain application if the parcel is in a designated floodplain or Special Flood Hazard Area⁸. Confirm a buildable driveway location early because the County Engineer's approach approval is a condition of a county residential building permit¹. A state water-appropriation permit is required for any industrial use, irrigation of at least 5 acres, or specified uses exceeding 12.5 acre-feet per year; smaller qualifying uses still must be reported¹⁰. About 57% of county soils are rated without severe limits for conventional drain fields, but a parcel may still need a soils report^8,9. Burleigh County's effective property-tax rate is about 0.9%, and the median annual tax bill is about $2,764⁹.