Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Cooper, Texas

Cooper’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Erection, alteration or construction of buildings inside Cooper city

  • Plan in duplicate drawn to scale showing lot location and dimensions must be filed with the building official

  “no permit for the erection, alteration, construction, reconstruction, use or maintenance of any building, or the use of any premises shall be issued by the building official unless there shall first be filed in this office by the applicant therefore a plan in duplicate”

• Building code adoptedAdopted

  Construction inside Cooper city

  • Passed February 10, 2025 per signature block

  IBC: 2018 edition · IRC: 2018 edition · NEC: 2017 edition

  “international building code (ibc) - 2018 edition national electrical code (nec) - 2017 edition international residential code (irc) - 2018 edition”

• Certificate of occupancyRequired

  New, converted or structurally altered buildings inside Cooper city

  • Applied for with the building permit application

  “a certificate of occupancy and compliance shall be applied for coincident with the application for a building permit”

• Local zoningPresent

  Land inside Cooper city limits, Delta County, Texas

  • Ordinance dated March 1999; later amendments not reviewed

  “is hereby divided into ten (10) zoning distrlcts. the use, height, and area regulations as set out herein are uniform in each distrlct.”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts inside Cooper city

  • Zoning map not reviewed

  “article 7 - r-i, single family dwelling district 21 article 8 - r-2, two family dwelling district 23 article 9 - sf-a, single-family attached dwelling 23”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  LZ Lake Zone district inside Cooper city

  • Lake zone only; R-1 and other districts' minimums not found

  minimum living area: >= 1500 sq ft

  “30.402 minimum size of development - no residential building shall contain less than 1,500 square feet ofliving area.”

• Living in an RVProhibited

  LZ Lake Zone district inside Cooper city

  • Applies only to the lake zone; other districts' RV occupancy rules not established
  • In R-1 and R-2 an RV may be parked or stored on the residential lot subject to Article 25 limits (not fully read)

  “30.401 no mobile home, modular home, prefinished home, camper, orrecreational vehicle shall be allowed within the lake zone.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builders inside Cooper city
• Inspections — Inspections of construction inside Cooper city
• Lot coverage — Lot coverage inside Cooper city
• Building height — Building height inside Cooper city
• Camping on your land — Temporary camping inside Cooper 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.