Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Grants Pass, Oregon

Grants Pass’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent

  Land inside Grants Pass city limits (Josephine/Jackson County portions per city zoning map)

  • Article 12 shows last revision 1/8/26; a 2026 amendment to Articles 2, 3, 12, 17, 27 and 28 on manufactured home land division was noticed and its adoption was not checked.

  “the location and boundaries of the zoning districts designated in this article are hereby established as shown on the zoning district map of the grants pass urban growth boundary area.”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  R-1-6 single-family residential district inside Grants Pass city, single detached dwelling

  • Minimum lot area does not apply to single detached units and duplexes on existing lots of record.
  • Other residential districts have different values (R-1-8 6,000; R-1-10 8,000; R-1-12 10,000 sq ft).

  minimum lot area, single detached unit, R-1-6: >= 4500 sq ft (existing lots of record exempt) · minimum lot width, R-1-6: >= 50 ft

  “r-1-8 6,000 6,000 n/a 60 20 r-1-6 4,500 4,500 n/a 50 20 r-2 3,500 3,500 3,500 35-50 20”

• Building heightSpecified

  R-1-6 and other R-1, R-2, R-3 residential districts inside Grants Pass city

  • Gabled or hipped roof features with pitch over 5:12 may exceed the maximum height by additional feet, up to 16 additional feet.
  • R-4, R-4-2 and R-5 allow 45 ft.

  maximum building height: <= 35 ft (roof pitch allowance)

  “maximum building or structure height schedule 12-6 zone feet* r-1-12 r-1-10 r-1-8 r-1-6 r-2 r-3 35 35 35 35 35 35 r-4 r-4-2 r-5 45 45 45”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Grants Pass or Josephine County directly.

• Building permit — Building permits inside Grants Pass city
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemptions inside Grants Pass city
• Building code adopted — Building code inside Grants Pass city
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Grants Pass city
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificates of occupancy inside Grants Pass 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.