Bolthole Index

Bee County, Texas

Building permits, zoning and septic rules in Beeville, Texas

Beeville, Texas requires building permits before covered construction, alterations and electrical, plumbing or mechanical work begins.1 Beeville has city zoning, and parked or stored RVs cannot be used for living on residential property.23 For a septic proposal inside the city in Bee County, ask Community Affairs to identify the permitting authority before applying; we could not confirm its jurisdiction inside city limits.4

At a glance

Building permits
Required for structures and covered electrical, plumbing and mechanical work1
Zoning
City zoning with district-specific uses and dimensions2
RV living
Prohibited in parked or stored RVs on residential property; RV parks have separate rules3
Minimum lot size
R-1 ordinarily requires 7,000 square feet and 60-foot average width; exceptions are conditional5
Minimum home size
R-5 requires at least 800 square feet of livable space6
Septic permits
Texas generally requires a septic permit; ask Community Affairs who administers a city-limit address74
Plan review
Required before city building permits are issued; contractors must register before construction8

Who to call

Building permits

City of Beeville Development Services

City building applications, plan review and planning/zoning application forms.

361-358-4641

[email protected]

400 N. Washington Room 106 Beeville, TX 78102

Online permits →

Septic permits

Bee County Community Affairs

County OSSF septic contact; ask which authority handles a property inside Beeville city limits before submitting a septic application.

361-621-1553

216 S FM 351 Beeville TX 78102

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 11, 2026.

Off-grid gear

Going off-grid in Beeville means bringing your own water and power. The kit we’d start with:

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Do you need a building permit in Beeville, TX?

Beeville requires a building permit to erect, alter or enlarge a structure, including fences and swimming pools, and for covered electrical wiring, plumbing and mechanical equipment work.1 Beeville also enforces adopted building and technical codes through the building official or designated representative.9

Beeville building-permit plans must be drawn to scale and show property lines, the building location, easements and setback lines.1 City plan review must happen before a building permit is issued, and contractors must be registered with Beeville before construction activities.8 A county development-permit answer therefore should not be used to decide whether a project inside Beeville needs a city building permit.1

Who is the Beeville building department, and how do you apply?

Contact City of Beeville Development Services for building applications and plan review; the city publishes building/demolition and planning/zoning application forms on its online forms page.10 Beeville requires inspections throughout construction to verify materials and construction methods, with the contractor responsible for requesting the proper inspection at the proper stage.11

Ask Development Services for the building-permit fee applicable to your project.10 Beeville publishes a $500 zoning-change fee, a $500 special-use-permit fee and a $50 zoning-compliance-letter fee, but those planning fees are not established as the complete building-permit fee schedule.12 Keep the building application and any zoning application separate in your budget.812

Does Beeville have zoning, lot-size rules and setbacks?

Beeville has municipal zoning, so the parcel’s district controls residential uses and dimensions.2 In Beeville’s R-1 First One-Family Dwelling District, the ordinary minimum lot area is 7,000 square feet with an average width of at least 60 feet; a conditional grandfathered exception exists.5 In R-2, the ordinary minimum is 6,000 square feet with a 50-foot average width, also subject to an exception for qualifying existing parcels.13

Beeville’s R-1 front yard must be at least 30 feet deep; the side yard is 10% of lot width, at least 5 feet and capped at 6 feet, while the rear yard is 30% of lot depth and need not exceed 40 feet.14 R-5 instead requires a 25-foot front setback and a 16-foot rear setback, with a 5-foot side setback and a 10-foot side-street requirement on corner lots.15 Ask Development Services to confirm the district and any applicable exception before designing the house.10

How do septic permits work inside Beeville?

Texas generally requires a permit and approved plan to construct, alter, repair, extend or operate an on-site sewage facility, or septic system.7 We could not confirm which authority administers septic permits for an address inside Beeville city limits; ask Bee County Community Affairs to identify the correct office, and ask city Development Services whether the proposed home must connect to public sewer.410

Texas’s 10-acre septic exemption is conditional: the tract must serve only a single-family dwelling, receive a licensed site evaluation, meet planning and installation standards, dispose of effluent on site, avoid nuisance or groundwater pollution, and keep all system parts at least 100 feet from property lines.7 Local requirements may be stricter, so acreage alone does not settle the permitting question.7 Bee County’s countywide soil figure is 22.7% rated not limited for conventional drain fields; a site evaluation remains necessary, and other lots may need an engineered system rather than being unsuitable for all septic systems.16

Can you live in an RV or tiny home in Beeville?

Beeville prohibits using parked or stored recreational vehicles for living or housekeeping on residential property and prohibits connecting those RVs to electricity, water or sanitary sewer facilities.3 The R-1 district allows travel trailers, campers and self-propelled motor homes on an improved surface for storage, not living or business purposes.3 Treat an RV used while building a home as an occupancy question, not simply a parking question.3

Beeville regulates RV parks separately, including a dump station connected to city sewage or a state-approved septic system with written confirmation; that park rule does not authorize RV living on a residential lot.173 We could not confirm a general tiny-home or independent accessory-dwelling rule; ask Development Services about the proposed design and district.10 Beeville’s R-5 district specifically requires at least 800 square feet of livable home space, so that district’s minimum must be considered for a small home.6

Building a home in Beeville: what are the steps, in order?

  1. Ask Beeville Development Services to confirm the parcel’s zoning district and review the proposed use, lot dimensions and setbacks before committing to a house layout.210
  2. Resolve public-sewer availability with city Development Services; if proposing septic, ask Bee County Community Affairs to identify the authority for the city-limit address.104
  3. Prepare scaled plans showing property lines, building location, easements and setbacks, then submit the city building application for plan review before permit issuance.18
  4. Confirm contractor registration before construction and arrange inspections at the proper stages through the city.811

For land outside Beeville city limits, use the Bee County guide: unincorporated Bee County’s development-permit process addresses floodplain, septic and other county requirements rather than establishing a general building-code permit for every home.18

Watch-outs

  • Beeville’s planning and zoning fee page is marked updated in 2022; ask Development Services for current building-permit charges before budgeting.1210
  • We could not confirm Beeville-specific private-well requirements or mandatory public-water and sewer connection rules for a new home; ask city Development Services before choosing utility arrangements.10
  • Beeville’s R-5 minimum home size is district-specific, not a confirmed citywide minimum for every residential district.6

Sources

  1. City of Beeville Permit Requirements (Beeville), quoted and re-checked
  2. Sec. 56-116. R-1 First One-Family Dwelling District (Beeville), quoted and re-checked
  3. Sec. 56-64. Regulations applicable to all districts (Beeville), quoted and re-checked
  4. Bee County Community Affairs (beecounty.gov)
  5. Sec. 56-116. R-1 First One-Family Dwelling District (Beeville), quoted and re-checked
  6. Sec. 56-121. R-5 Patio/Garden One-Family Dwelling District (Beeville), quoted and re-checked
  7. Getting a Permit for an OSSF - Such as a Septic System (Texas statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
  8. Development Service Online Forms (Beeville), quoted and re-checked
  9. Sec. 10-1. Building and technical codes adopted (Beeville), quoted and re-checked
  10. City of Beeville Development Services (beevilletx.gov)
  11. City of Beeville Permit Requirements (Beeville), quoted and re-checked
  12. Planning and Zoning Fees (Beeville), quoted and re-checked
  13. Sec. 56-117. R-2 Second One-Family Dwelling District (Beeville), quoted and re-checked
  14. Sec. 56-116. R-1 First One-Family Dwelling District (Beeville), quoted and re-checked
  15. Sec. 56-121. R-5 Patio/Garden One-Family Dwelling District (Beeville), quoted and re-checked
  16. Share of soils USDA rates "not limited" for a conventional septic drain field (SSURGO). A strict rating: the median county is about 6% and a tenth of counties are 0%, so a low figure means most lots need a site evaluation or an engineered system, not that septic is impossible. Cite it only with that caveat: Bolthole Index county data
  17. Sec. 40-5. Recreational vehicle park regulations (Beeville), quoted and re-checked
  18. Bee County Development Permit Instructions, quoted and re-checked

Written October 11, 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.

Answers from the rulebook for Beeville

Beeville’s own rules

  • Building permitRequired

    Erecting, altering, or enlarging structures and installing, altering, repairing, or replacing electrical, plumbing, or mechanical equipment inside Beeville city limits.

    • A permit is required before the covered work proceeds.
    • Plans must be drawn to scale and show property lines, building location, easements, and setback lines.
    “Permits are required to erect, alter or enlarge any structure, including swimming pools and fences, and install, alter, repair or replace any electrical wiring, plumbing or mechanical equipment.”
  • Building code adoptedAdopted (with conditions)

    Construction inside Beeville city limits.

    • The building official or designated representative enforces the adopted codes.
    “The following codes are hereby adopted by reference as though they were copied herein fully:”
  • InspectionsRequired

    Construction inside Beeville city limits.

    • The contractor must request the proper inspection at the proper stage.
    • Requests by 4:00 p.m. are scheduled for the next business day; later requests are scheduled for the next two business days.
    “Inspections are required throughout the course of construction to verify proper materials and construction methods are being used.”
  • Local zoningPresent

    Land inside Beeville city limits; the city code contains a Chapter 56 Zoning with residential district regulations.

    • District-specific use, dimensional, and occupancy rules apply.
    “The following regulations shall apply to the "R-1" First One-Family Dwelling District.”
  • Zoning districtsPublished

    Zoning districts inside Beeville city limits.

    • The opened code contains published regulations for R-1, R-2, and R-5 residential districts, including uses, height, yards, lot size, and related requirements.
    “The following regulations shall apply to the "R-1" First One-Family Dwelling District.”
  • Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

    R-5 Patio/Garden One-Family Dwelling District inside Beeville city limits.

    • The minimum applies to livable space in the R-5 district.

    minimum livable home area: >= 800 square feet

    “Home, 800 square-foot minimum of livable space.”
  • Minimum lot sizeSpecified

    R-1 First One-Family Dwelling District inside Beeville city limits.

    • The ordinary minimum is 7,000 square feet and 60-foot average width.
    • A grandfathered exception allows certain parcels existing on the ordinance's effective date to be used for a single-family dwelling if at least 6,000 square feet and 50-foot average width and ownership has not changed.

    minimum lot area: >= 7000 square feet (Grandfathered exception described in the source) · minimum average lot width: >= 60 feet (Grandfathered exception described in the source)

    “Every lot or tract of land shall have an area of not less than 7,000 square feet and an average width of not less than 60 feet”
    One more reviewed finding on this topic
    • Specified — R-2 Second One-Family Dwelling District inside Beeville city limits.
      “Every lot or tract of land shall have an area of not less than 6,000 square feet, and an average width of not less than 50 feet”
  • SetbacksSpecified

    R-1 First One-Family Dwelling District inside Beeville city limits.

    • Side yard is 10 percent of lot width, capped at 6 feet and not less than 5 feet.
    • Rear yard is 30 percent of lot depth, capped at 40 feet.

    front yard depth: >= 30 feet · side yard: 10% of lot width, 5 to 6 feet (Capped at 6 feet and not less than 5 feet) · rear yard: 30% of lot depth, up to 40 feet (Need not exceed 40 feet)

    “The minimum depth of such front yard shall be 30 feet.”
    One more reviewed finding on this topic
    • Specified — R-5 Patio/Garden One-Family Dwelling District inside Beeville city limits.
      “Rear. 16 feet minimum. 3. Side yard. Five feet, minimum, with exception of corner lots which shall allow a ten feet minimum from the building to the side street right-of-way.”
  • Building heightSpecified

    R-1 First One-Family Dwelling District inside Beeville city limits.

    • Section 56-64 provides additional use, height, and area regulations and exceptions.

    maximum building height: <= 35 feet (Except as provided in section 56-64) · maximum stories: <= 2.5 stories (Except as provided in section 56-64)

    “No building shall exceed 2½ stories or 35 feet in height except as provided in section 56-64 .”
    One more reviewed finding on this topic
  • Living in an RVLimited

    Recreational vehicles on residentially zoned private property and in licensed recreational vehicle parks inside Beeville city limits.

    • In residential districts, recreational vehicles may not be used for living or housekeeping purposes and may not be connected to electricity, water, or sanitary sewer facilities.
    • R-1 permits travel trailers, campers, and self-propelled motor homes on an improved surface only, and not for living or business purposes.
    • RV parks are separately regulated under Chapter 40.
    “Parked or stored recreational vehicles shall not be connected to electricity, water, or sanitary sewer facilities; and at no time shall such vehicle be used for living or housekeeping purposes while on the premises in any zoning districts.”
  • Camping on your landLimited

    Camping on public property inside Beeville city limits.

    • The prohibition applies to public property and has a consent exception for the municipal officer or agency with legal duty or authority to manage the public place.
    • The opened source does not establish a general private-property camping prohibition.
    “A person commits an offense if the person intentionally or knowingly camps on public property without the consent of the municipal officer or agency having the legal duty or authority to manage the public place.”
  • Off-grid sanitationLimited

    Recreational vehicle parks inside Beeville city limits.

    • Each recreational vehicle park must provide a dump station discharging into the city sewage system or a state-approved septic system with written confirmation.
    “Each recreational vehicle park shall provide, at minimum, one sanitary disposal site (dump station) which discharges into the city sewage system or a state approved septic system with provided written confirmation.”
  • Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

    Subdivision review inside Beeville city limits.

    • The city publishes separate preliminary and final subdivision-review fees; the opened material does not provide the complete substantive subdivision ordinance.

    preliminary subdivision review fee: 500 USD plus $10 per lot · final subdivision review fee: 500 USD plus $10 per lot

    “Subdivision Review - Preliminary$500 + $10 per lot”
  • Permit feesPublished

    Planning, zoning, subdivision, and related development applications inside Beeville city limits.

    • The page is marked Updated 11/2022.
    • The opened source does not establish that the listed planning and zoning fees are the complete building-permit fee schedule.

    zoning change: 500 USD · special use permit: 500 USD · zoning compliance letter: 50 USD

    “Zoning Change | $500 [...] Special Use Permit | $500 [...] Zoning Compliance Letter | $50”
  • Permit processPublished (with conditions)

    Building and development permits inside Beeville city limits.

    • All permits require plan review before issuance.
    • The city provides online building-permit forms.
    • Contractors must be registered with the city before construction activities.
    “All permits require plan review before permits may be issued”

Still unanswered

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

  • Tiny homes — Tiny-home occupancy inside Beeville city limits.
  • Accessory dwellings — Accessory dwelling units inside Beeville city limits.
  • Who permits septic — On-site sewage facilities inside Beeville city limits.
  • Septic permit — On-site sewage facilities inside Beeville city limits.
  • Septic inspection — On-site sewage facilities inside Beeville city limits.
5 more unanswered
  • Well permit
  • Mandatory utility hookup
  • Agricultural exemption
  • Driveway access
  • Short-term rentals

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.

Unanswered questions are usually a sign that Beeville publishes no rule on the point, not that none exists. Bee County’s page lists the county offices to call.

← All of Bee County: county rules, score and offices