Zoning, building permits and septic rules in the Village of Anna, Ohio

At a glance

Zoning

Village of Anna zoning applies to all incorporated territory, with an official zoning district map¹⁴

Building permit

Required; issued by the Shelby County Building/Electrical Department for residential and commercial work in Anna²

Building code

Residential Code of Ohio applies and is enforced in the village⁵

Septic

Sidney-Shelby County Health Department permits and inspects household systems³

Wells

Private well permits come from the health department where a well applies⁶

Owner-builder

Owners submit plans to the building department having jurisdiction before starting⁷

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 14, 2026.

Does the Village of Anna, Ohio have zoning?

Yes. The Village of Anna's zoning regulations apply to all of the village's incorporated territory and to land annexed later¹. The village's chapter 153 covers residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural and planned unit development districts, and the official zoning district map is part of those regulations⁴. Zoning is administered by the village's zoning administrator, planning commission, board of zoning appeals and village council¹.

We could not confirm district-by-district standards such as minimum lot size, setbacks, minimum home size, or whether RVs and tiny homes may be lived in. Ask the Village of Anna's zoning administrator, and check the zoning district map for the parcel, before relying on any of them.

Do you need a building permit in the Village of Anna, and who issues it?

Yes. Residential and commercial building work inside the Village of Anna falls under the Shelby County Building/Electrical Department, which holds jurisdiction there as well as in unincorporated Shelby County²⁸. The village adopted the Residential Code of Ohio and the Ohio Building Code, and its ordinance assigns the administrative and field work of enforcing them to the Shelby County building department⁵⁹.

In practice, residential applicants deal with the county's satellite office in Sidney, not a counter in Anna⁸. Permit fees are set by each certified building department's adopted schedule, and we could not confirm the amounts for Anna projects¹⁰.

How do septic permits work inside the Village of Anna?

Household sewage treatment systems for one-, two- and three-family dwellings in the Sidney-Shelby County Health District are permitted and inspected by the Sidney-Shelby County Health Department³¹¹. Ohio law requires a board of health permit for a new, replacement or altered system¹².

We could not confirm whether a given lot inside Anna must connect to public sewer instead. Statewide, connection is required when a public sewer is accessible and available, and a lot within 300 feet of a sewer right-of-way can fall under that rule¹³. Ask the Village of Anna and the health department which applies to the address before you plan a septic system.

Building a home in the Village of Anna: the steps, in order

1. Confirm the parcel's zoning district on the village's official zoning district map and with the zoning administrator⁴.
2. Settle sewer or septic: public sewer connection if available, otherwise a site evaluation and permit from the health department¹³³.
3. If you need a private well, apply for a well permit at the health department⁶.
4. Submit plans to the Shelby County Building/Electrical Department and wait for approval before starting; this applies to owner-builders too⁷².
5. Build to the Residential Code of Ohio and pass inspections⁵.
6. Obtain the certificate of occupancy from the building department after final inspections and approvals¹⁴.

What stays with Shelby County, and what to check before you buy in Anna

Inside Anna, the village sets zoning while Shelby County handles building permits and the health department handles septic and wells¹²³. Floodplain projects in Shelby County must contact the Shelby County Regional Planning Commission before a zoning permit¹⁵, and a new driveway may need a culvert permit from the township, county or Ohio Department of Transportation depending on the road¹⁶.

For land outside village limits, the rules differ; see the Shelby County page. Shelby County's effective property tax rate is about 1 percent, with a median property tax bill of about $1,919 a year¹⁷¹⁸.

Watch-outs

• Anna's district standards (lot size, setbacks, minimum home size) and any rules on RVs or tiny homes were not confirmed; ask the Village of Anna zoning administrator before buying⁴.
• The building department that issues permits inside Anna is the county's, in Sidney, so a village office may not be able to take a building permit application².
• Commercial projects are handled differently from residential ones: Shelby County's official page sends commercial projects to the Miami County Department of Development Building Regulations⁸.

Sources

1. Anna, OH Code of Ordinances, Chapter 153: Zoning, General Regulations (Village of Anna), quoted and re-checked
2. Development Departments Personnel Checklist Flowchart, quoted and re-checked
3. Sewage Treatment Systems, quoted and re-checked
4. Anna, OH Code of Ordinances, Chapter 153: Zoning, General Regulations (Village of Anna), quoted and re-checked
5. Anna, OH Code of Ordinances, Chapter 150: Building and Construction (Village of Anna), quoted and re-checked
6. Development Departments Personnel Checklist Flowchart, quoted and re-checked
7. Section 3791.04 | Submission of plan - approvals - prohibition - fine (Ohio statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
8. Shelby County Building/Electrical Department (Sidney satellite office) (co.shelby.oh.us)
9. Village of Anna Code of Ordinances, Chapter 150 (Building and Construction) (codelibrary.amlegal.com)
10. Chapter 4101:7-7 | Fees (Ohio statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
11. Sidney-Shelby County Health Department, Environmental Health (shelbycountyhealthdept.org)
12. Rule 3701-29-09 | Site review and permits for STS installation and operation (Ohio statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
13. Rule 3745-42-07 | Best available technology for connection into sanitary sewers and centralized collection and treatment (Ohio statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
14. Development Departments Personnel Checklist Flowchart, quoted and re-checked
15. Checklist for Various Developments in Shelby County, quoted and re-checked
16. Development Departments Personnel Checklist Flowchart, quoted and re-checked
17. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
18. Median property tax bill: Bolthole Index county data

Written October 14, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.