Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Arlington, Oregon

Arlington’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent

  All land inside Arlington city limits (Gilliam County, OR)

  • Ordinance No. 443, dated May 2025, posted on the city's Forms & Ordinances page

  “all development within the city of arlington shall comply with this ordinance and be consistent with the arlington comprehensive plan.”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts inside Arlington city

  • Zones: LD-R, R-1, R-2, C, M-1, M-2, GH combining, AD airport, O/S
  • A zoning map PDF is also posted on the city site

  “section 3.2 - low-density residential zone "ld-r" 19 section 3.3 - residential 1 zone "r-1" 22 section 3.4 - residential 2 zone "r-2" 24”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Residential 2 (R-2) zone inside Arlington city

  • Minimum average lot width 50 ft; townhome width may be reduced to 25 ft by ministerial variance
  • Apartments: one unit per 2,500 net sq ft; townhomes 2,500 sq ft

  single-family lot area: >= 5000 sq ft · duplex/triplex/fourplex lot area: >= 10000 sq ft

  “every lot shall have the following minimum lot area: single-family dwelling 5,000 square feet duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes 10,000 square feet”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Residential 1 (R-1) zone inside Arlington city

  • Stairs, decks and porches may encroach up to 5 ft into the front yard, keeping 15 ft from the front lot line
  • Corner lot street side yard not less than 10 ft

  front yard: >= 20 ft · side yard interior: >= 5 ft · rear yard: >= 5 ft

  “there shall be a front yard of not less than 20 feet in depth.”

• Building heightSpecified

  Residential 1 (R-1) zone inside Arlington city

  • Detached accessory buildings limited to 14 ft in height unless a ministerial conditional use permit allows more
  • Chimneys, spires and similar projections exempt (Section 6.3)

  max height: <= 35 ft (or 2.5 stories, whichever is less)

  “buildings, structures, or portions thereof shall not be erected to exceed a height of two and one-half stories or 35 feet, whichever is less.”

• Manufactured homesAllowed (with conditions)

  Single-family dwellings including manufactured homes in the R-1 zone inside Arlington city

  • Must meet criteria of Section 4.20 (not reviewed)
  • Same use language appears in LD-R and R-2

  “single family dwellings, including manufactured homes, meeting the criteria of section 4.20.”

• Mandatory utility hookupSewer (with conditions)

  Dwellings in the low-density residential (LD-R) zone inside Arlington city

  • Applies when the city sewer system becomes available to the property
  • Appears in Section 3.2 LD-R; whether R-1/R-2 repeat it was not confirmed

  “before any dwelling is occupied, it must be connected to the city sewer system at such time as the city sewer system becomes available to the property on which the dwelling is located.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Arlington or Gilliam County directly.

• Building permit — Building permits inside Arlington city
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builders inside Arlington city
• Building code adopted — Building code inside Arlington city
• Inspections — Inspections inside Arlington city
• Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy certificates inside Arlington city

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.