Building permits, zoning and land rules in Fillmore County, Nebraska

Fillmore County requires a building permit and zoning approval for all new construction and structures larger than 100 square feet in the county zoning jurisdiction^1,2. Structures under 100 square feet do not need a zoning permit but still must meet setbacks¹. A building-permit application requires two identical plan sets, including a plot plan, footing detail, wall detail, roof detail and floor plan; construction cannot begin before approval¹. The zoning permit fee is $25 per parcel or location, and the published full-subdivision fee is $50⁷. Covered buildings, structures and land uses also need a certificate of occupancy, with an exception for primarily agricultural use². The Zoning Administrator examines the site for zoning compliance before issuing that certificate, but a separate residential building-code inspection schedule could not be confirmed².

Fillmore County Planning and Zoning issues county building and zoning permits in the county's rural jurisdiction^1,8. Reach the office at 402-759-4982 or zoning@fillmorecountyne.gov, or visit 1320 G Street, Geneva, Nebraska 68361⁸. The Zoning Administrator must decide a complete application within 30 days, and a written appeal is due within 10 days after the determination is filed². Fillmore County does not administer zoning inside Geneva, and other incorporated communities may administer their own building permits and zoning; confirm the parcel's jurisdiction before applying³. Septic permits do not shift to a city building office: the Nebraska Onsite Wastewater Program administers the state rules throughout Fillmore County^4,9. The County Highway Superintendent's office separately approves county-road driveway access before installation⁶.

Fillmore County zoning applies in its rural and unincorporated planning jurisdiction, excluding the one-mile planning jurisdictions of Exeter, Fairmont, Geneva, Grafton, Milligan, Ohiowa and Shickley; county jurisdiction reaches Strang's corporate limits². The official zoning map is maintained by the County Clerk, and district-specific rules control each parcel². An AG-1 single-family home generally needs a 3-acre lot and has separation requirements from other single-family homes². An R-2 single-family lot may be 5,000 square feet with public or community water and sewer, but the minimum rises to 3 acres when both systems are private². Setbacks are district-specific; the AG-1 front yard is 25 feet from the established road right-of-way¹. R-1 single-family dwellings have a 35-foot height limit, while AG-1 lists no height limit for its table categories, subject to supplemental rules².

Nebraska's Onsite Wastewater Program administers statewide Title 124 requirements for systems throughout Fillmore County, including addresses inside cities and villages; additional local requirements may apply⁴. Many ordinary systems proceed under state compliance and registration rules, while systems with large size, non-domestic waste or siting issues can require site-specific review^9,10. When a Title 124 permit application is required, obtain the septic construction permit before building; registration, applicable fees and engineer certification must precede the operating permit, which is required before discharge or use⁴. State representatives may inspect, sample and monitor affected areas, but we could not confirm a routine pre-occupancy septic inspection for every system¹¹. Only about 3.1% of Fillmore County soils are rated without severe limitations for a conventional drain field, so arrange a parcel-specific evaluation before fixing the house and drain-field locations¹².

We could not confirm a Fillmore County rule that plainly allows or prohibits long-term RV occupancy, temporary camping on private land or tiny-home occupancy. Ask Planning and Zoning whether the proposed use is allowed in the parcel's district and whether it needs zoning approval or a certificate of occupancy⁸. Nebraska classifies tiny houses as manufactured homes, modular housing units or recreational vehicles, but classification does not override local land-use approval¹³. A park-model recreational vehicle is designed for temporary living and cannot be permanently affixed as a permanent dwelling¹³. County regulations impose standards on manufactured homes outside mobile-home parks, but the available material does not resolve all of those standards². The confirmed 900-square-foot minimum applies specifically to manufactured homes outside mobile-home parks, not every dwelling type². Ask Planning and Zoning for a written district-specific answer before buying a small-home site⁸.

1. Confirm whether the parcel is in Fillmore County's rural zoning jurisdiction or a community's planning area^2,3.
2. Ask Fillmore County Planning and Zoning at 402-759-4982 to confirm the district, allowed use, lot size, setbacks and height rules^2,8.
3. Have an onsite professional evaluate the wastewater site, then ask the Nebraska Onsite Wastewater Program whether the design needs septic construction and operating permits^4,9.
4. Obtain a floodplain development permit before work in a covered floodplain area¹⁴.
5. Obtain county driveway approval before installing access from the county highway road system⁶.
6. Submit the building-permit plans and zoning-approval materials, pay the zoning permit fee and wait for approval before construction^1,7.
7. Obtain the required certificate of occupancy before initial or continued occupancy or use².

Start with jurisdiction, zoning district, lot size, legal access, floodplain status and wastewater feasibility before committing to a Fillmore County parcel^2,3,6,12. A division into multiple building lots may trigger subdivision review, so discuss the proposed split with Planning and Zoning before closing^8,15. Fillmore County is sparsely settled at about 9.6 people per square mile, and the nearest city of 100,000 or more is about 52 miles from the county center¹². Farmland averages about $7,359 per acre in the cited agricultural data, while the typical home value is about $188,645¹². A licensed water-well contractor generally must register wells with the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, but a separate construction permit for every domestic well could not be confirmed¹⁶.