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

Coke County does not require a residential building permit on unincorporated land¹. Separate county residential building standards, inspections and certificates of occupancy could not be confirmed; ask the County Judge's office before construction⁷. Inside Bronte and Robert Lee, Texas law adopts the International Residential Code as it existed on May 1, 2012 for residential construction and repairs, and the International Building Code of the same date for commercial buildings; municipalities may amend the residential code by ordinance after a public hearing². Bronte also publishes a Building Permit Application and residential building-code material⁸. Ask city hall for the applicable code amendments and building-permit procedures; septic permits remain with Coke County's On-Site Sewage Department³.

No county building department is listed, and Coke County does not require residential building permits on unincorporated land¹. For county building-inspection, certificate-of-occupancy or floodplain questions, contact the County Judge's office at 325-453-2641⁷. Bronte publishes a Building Permit Application; ask Bronte city hall about its fees, inspections and exceptions⁸. For a Robert Lee address, ask Robert Lee city hall about building-permit procedures: those remain unconfirmed even though the statutory municipal building codes apply². Septic applications and inspections throughout Coke County go to the On-Site Sewage Department; its published contact is 325-895-0395^3,5.

Unincorporated Coke County has no county zoning¹. Municipal zoning in Bronte and Robert Lee could not be confirmed; ask the relevant city hall about zoning approval, lot size and setbacks for a city parcel. The municipal residential and commercial building-code baseline applies inside those cities, but code adoption does not establish a city's zoning rules or building-permit procedures². Bronte separately publishes a building permit application and residential building-code material⁸. Septic permitting remains with Coke County's On-Site Sewage Department, including for city addresses³.

Coke County's On-Site Sewage Department handles OSSF permits and administration throughout the county, including addresses inside cities³. A county septic permit is generally required to construct, install, alter, extend or repair an OSSF⁴. The published septic permit fee is $250 for a single-family residence and $410 for a commercial facility⁵. The county has up to 30 days to review an application, and septic construction cannot begin until the applicant has the Authorization to Construct⁵. A permit to operate follows only after a successful inspection confirms compliance with state OSSF rules⁵. Texas allows a conditional septic permit exemption for a single-family home on at least 10 acres, requiring a licensed site evaluation, all system components at least 100 feet from property lines, on-site disposal, no other dwelling, no nuisance or groundwater pollution, and compliance with state standards⁴. Ask the county Designated Representative whether an exemption applies before relying on it, because Coke County instructions require an Authorization to Construct before construction without exceptions⁴. About 17.4% of Coke County soils are rated not limited for conventional drain fields; that rating makes an early site evaluation useful, rather than ruling out septic elsewhere⁹.

Unincorporated Coke County sets no county land-use restriction on RV, tiny-home, manufactured-home or temporary-camping occupancy, and no zoning-based minimum dwelling size, lot size, setback, lot coverage or building height⁶. Private on-site sewage systems still generally require county authorization before construction and a successful inspection before operation⁵. For a tiny home inside Bronte or Robert Lee, ask city hall how the municipal residential code applies to the proposed structure². City RV, tiny-home and manufactured-home occupancy rules could not be confirmed; ask the relevant city hall before relying on a city parcel for those uses.

1. Confirm whether the parcel is unincorporated or inside a city: the county residential building-permit answer applies only to unincorporated land¹.
2. For a Bronte or Robert Lee address, ask city hall about municipal code amendments and building-permit procedures; Texas law supplies the municipal building-code baseline².
3. For private sewage anywhere in Coke County, use the county OSSF forms, not TCEQ forms, and budget $250 for a single-family residence or $410 for commercial use⁵.
4. Mail completed forms and supporting materials to the county Designated Representative; review may take up to 30 days, and incomplete applications can take longer⁵.
5. Wait for the Authorization to Construct before starting the OSSF, then obtain a successful inspection before operation⁵.
6. For a new or modified state-highway driveway, submit TxDOT Form 1058 and obtain the executed driveway permit before work on the right of way¹⁰.

Soils: about 17.4% of Coke County soils are rated not limited for conventional septic drain fields; arrange a site evaluation, because that rating does not rule out septic on other soils⁹. Access: a new or modified driveway onto a state highway needs TxDOT Permit Form 1058¹¹. Flooding: a county floodplain-development permit process could not be confirmed, so ask the County Judge's office before building near a mapped flood hazard area⁷. Land division: an owner dividing qualifying agricultural, farm, ranch, wildlife-management or timber land outside a municipality may be exempt from county plat preparation, but the exemption ends if the qualifying use ends and does not remove separate septic, access or floodplain requirements¹². Taxes: Coke County's effective property tax rate is about 1.2%, with a median annual bill near $1,340⁹.