Building permits, zoning and land rules in Blanco County, Texas

Blanco County's Fire Code building permit applies to covered construction rather than every project. In unincorporated Blanco County, the code covers public buildings, commercial establishments and multifamily dwellings with four or more units; the cited provisions do not establish a general building-permit requirement for ordinary single-family construction¹. A covered project needs a building permit before construction or substantial improvement begins, and the application requires two complete sets of scaled construction and site plans plus the applicable fee¹. Texas exempts an owner from state trade licensing for specified electrical, plumbing, and air-conditioning or refrigeration work on the owner's own residence or homestead¹⁰. Those trade-license exemptions do not waive applicable county approvals¹⁰. Ask Blanco County Fire Marshal & Development Services to confirm the approvals for a specific single-family project before work begins¹¹.

Blanco County Fire Marshal & Development Services handles Fire Code building permits, subdivision plats, RV and tiny-home park approval, floodplain review, driveway applications and addressing¹¹. Its mailing address is PO Box 471, Johnson City, TX 78636, and its temporary office is at 200 North Ave. G in Johnson City¹¹. For a covered public, commercial or multifamily project, the permit holder must allow scheduled or unscheduled Fire Marshal inspections, and the contractor must arrange sufficient inspections by an engineer, architect or ICC-certified building official before requesting the final inspection¹. After a compliant final occupancy inspection, the Fire Marshal issues a Certificate of Compliance; a covered building found noncompliant may not be occupied until that certificate is issued¹. A change of occupancy or use requires an inspection and a new Certificate of Occupancy¹. The cited Fire Code provisions do not establish general inspection or occupancy-certificate requirements for ordinary single-family homes; ask Development Services about the specific project^1,11.

Unincorporated Blanco County has no county zoning ordinance, so no county rule sets minimum dwelling size, minimum lot size, lot coverage, building height or accessory dwellings there². The county does regulate subdivision platting under its development rules³. Municipal rules are separate: the City of Blanco has mapped zoning districts, and Johnson City has its own zoning ordinance and official map^4,5. Property in a city's extraterritorial jurisdiction may also fall under city jurisdiction rather than county jurisdiction, depending on the applicable arrangement⁶. Subdivision controls still matter: residential sites governed by the county subdivision rules have a 50-foot front setback and 10-foot side and rear setbacks, and recorded private covenants may require more³. Ask Development Services to confirm the parcel's jurisdiction and plat restrictions before designing around those limits¹¹.

Blanco County is the permitting authority for septic systems through its OSSF Program^6,11. County rules require connection to an approved community sewage system where possible; otherwise the property needs a properly located, designed, approved and operating OSSF, with a county septic permit obtained before construction³. A single-family application and construction permit costs $300, or $375 when a licensed professional design is required, and remains valid for one year⁷. Blanco County's application accommodates a qualifying homeowner self-install, but county approval, site evaluation, construction plans and the state eligibility conditions still apply^7,9. Only 0.8% of county soils are free of severe limitations for a conventional drain field, so arrange the site evaluation early¹². Texas's statewide 10-acre exemption applies only if every listed condition is met, including a site evaluation, one home on the tract, 100-foot property-line clearance and on-site effluent disposal⁹.

For a licensed RV, Tiny Home or campground park, yes, with real conditions: the owner needs an approved infrastructure development plan meeting county standards, submitted to the Commissioners' Court, and the park is capped at 15 units per acre with parking for at least five RVs at the park office⁶. The county specifically defines a Tiny Home as under 600 square feet; if it's on a mobile platform rather than a permanent foundation, it's treated as an RV and must follow RV park rules⁶. What the county's rules do not address is a single RV or tiny home on your own private land outside a licensed park — that scenario isn't covered by the park regulations, and no other official Blanco County source located for this guide states a rule either way, so ask before assuming it is unrestricted despite the county's lack of zoning. No county zoning rule limits a manufactured home or temporary camping on unincorporated land²; septic, floodplain and subdivision plat restrictions still apply.

1. Confirm whether the parcel is in unincorporated Blanco County, a city or a city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, because the responsible authority can change⁶.
2. If dividing land, submit the plat for Commissioners' Court approval and County Clerk recording unless an accepted exemption applies; an incomplete plat does not reach the court, and conditional approval does not authorize construction³.
3. Register a proposed well with the Blanco-Pedernales Groundwater Conservation District before drilling and arrange the septic site evaluation and county OSSF permit^7,8.
4. Obtain a county-road driveway permit or use TxDOT's process for state-highway access^3,13.
5. Ask Development Services to confirm the approvals for the specific home; covered public, commercial and multifamily construction needs its Fire Code building permit before work begins^1,11.

Water and septic deserve early due diligence: only 0.8% of county soils avoid severe limitations for a conventional drain field, severe drought occurs in 38% of years, and annual precipitation is about 33 inches¹². Confirm expected well yield and whether the proposed use crosses the groundwater district's 25,000-gallon-per-day operating-permit threshold⁸. Check the recorded plat, easements and private restrictions, especially if the tract came from an agricultural division whose qualifying use may later end³. For subdivision land in a special flood hazard area, the plat must show floodplain acreage, and fill or construction needs an engineer's certification that it will not raise base-flood levels³. Finally, budget around an effective property-tax rate near 1% and a median annual bill of about $4,134¹².