Building permits, zoning and land rules in Uinta County, Wyoming

Unincorporated Uinta County requires a Land Use Certificate for new construction or alteration of a structure¹. The county charges $50 when a dwelling needs an address assignment and $25 for a barn or shop without an address⁷. Grazing, crop production, timber harvesting, and certain utilities can avoid a Use Certificate, but a utility structure or a change in land coverage or enclosure requires one¹. The agricultural allowance covers specified uses, such as grazing and crops, within carrying-capacity and conservation limits; it does not cover structures, so a barn or shop without an address still carries the $25 Land Use Certificate fee¹. Those rules stop at city limits: inside Lyman, the town issues its own building permits⁵. Wyoming does not license general contractors statewide, but local licensing and approvals may apply and electrical work remains subject to separate requirements⁹. We could not confirm a general county building code, structural inspection program, or certificate of occupancy; ask Planning & Zoning what construction review applies¹.

Uinta County Planning & Zoning / GIS handles the Land Use Certificate process at 225 9th Street, Evanston, WY 82930-3415, and the office phone is 307-783-0318¹. Applications for new construction or structural alterations use county forms and may be approved by the Planning Department¹. The same department handles address assignment and zoning questions¹. For a new entrance onto a county road or county right-of-way, submit an Access Permit to Planning & Zoning¹¹. A county access permit costs $25; agricultural or residential access is limited to 24 feet wide, while commercial, industrial, or subdivision-road access is limited to 40 feet at the Road and Bridge Foreman's discretion¹⁰.

Uinta County zoning applies to private land in the unincorporated county and to legally subject public land there, while city zoning governs inside city limits: Evanston has its own zoning chapter and extraterritorial zoning powers, and Lyman has its own zoning districts^2,3,4. The county publishes Agriculture/Resource Development, Residential, Commercial, and Industrial base districts plus flood-hazard, airport and other overlays; in an overlay, the base district and the overlay both apply, and district standards vary^2,8. Dwelling units governed by the county’s Chapter 5 residential standards need at least 650 square feet of gross floor area, plus 90 square feet for each bedroom beyond one². Residential detached-home lots generally require a 20-foot front yard, 5-foot interior side yards, and a 10-foot rear yard, with specific exceptions for corner and alley-served lots². A detached single-family residential lot in the under-half-acre context needs at least 7,500 square feet per dwelling unit, except in cluster development, and lots under one-half acre require community water and community sewage systems². Residential lots must retain at least 1,000 square feet of net open space per dwelling unit²; the resolution also refers to a maximum lot coverage whose number we could not confirm, so ask Planning & Zoning². Commercial lots on a street need a 20-foot front setback². Residential structures are limited to 45 feet above average finished grade, with exceptions for certain non-occupiable vertical projections; airport-overlay limits require a separate check².

Uinta County Planning & Zoning administers permits and inspections for small wastewater systems⁶. Construction, installation, or modification cannot begin without a county permit, and the application fee is $150⁶. The sequence is to obtain the application, conduct groundwater observation and percolation tests, submit the design, receive the permit, install to the approved design, and arrange inspection before backfill⁷. Off-grid septic systems need the same county permit and pre-backfill inspection; installation requires a licensed installer unless the owner installs under the county resolution and wastewater engineer’s guidance⁷. In a subdivision, connection may be required when public sanitary sewer is within 500 feet or the commission finds it close enough and feasible; otherwise an approved central or individual disposal system is needed¹². A residence on a commercial lot must use a county- or DEQ-approved sewage system, but that does not establish a countywide municipal-utility connection rule². Only about 25% of county soils avoid a severe conventional-drain-field limitation, so a parcel-specific evaluation matters¹³.

Uinta County confirms only a narrow travel-trailer allowance for a night watchman, dispatcher, full-time employee, or proprietor under the applicable district provisions; that does not establish a general right to live in an RV on private land². Ask Planning & Zoning before using an RV as long-term housing or for temporary camping¹. A mobile home on an individually owned lot is treated as a single-family dwelling and must meet residential standards². Manufactured homes cannot be placed in a floodway, and those in the specified mapped flood zone must be elevated on a permanent foundation and anchored². We could not confirm a rule written specifically for tiny homes, but a tiny home subject to the county’s residential dwelling standards would face the 650-square-foot minimum plus 90 square feet for every bedroom beyond one².

1. Ask Uinta County Planning & Zoning to identify the base district and any overlay, then confirm lot size, setbacks, open space, and height².
2. File the U.W. 5 groundwater application with Wyoming’s State Engineer and receive approval before drilling a domestic well; the filing fee is $50, and drilling and pump installation require appropriately licensed contractors¹⁴.
3. Complete groundwater observation and percolation testing, submit the septic design, and obtain the county permit before installation^6,7.
4. Apply for the Land Use Certificate on county forms; a dwelling needing an address carries a $50 fee¹.
5. Obtain the $25 access permit before constructing a new entrance onto a county road or right-of-way¹⁰.
6. Arrange the county septic inspection before backfilling⁷.
7. For a subdivision, schedule the required pre-application conference and follow county review for access, utilities, sewage, and water supply^2,7.

Check jurisdiction and the county's interactive zoning map first because county rules govern unincorporated land while incorporated-city or extraterritorial zoning may apply elsewhere^2,8. Confirm the district and development type before relying on a seller’s building envelope: lot and yard minimums vary, and existing lots cannot be reduced below the applicable minimum². Verify legal access and driveway approval because a new entrance onto county right-of-way requires a permit¹⁰. If land is being divided, county subdivision regulations generally do not apply to parcels of 35 acres or more, while smaller divisions may require review¹⁵. Large exempt parcels still generally need a binding, recordable access and utility easement at least 40 feet wide to a public road unless properly waived¹⁶. Only about 25% of county soils avoid severe conventional-septic limitations, and about 75.4% of the land has a slope of 15% or less¹³.