Building permits/zoning for earthhomes

Anyone have experience navigating through zoning and building permits process with their local county when trying to build an earth home on their property?

Any wisdom and direction is appreciated. I'm trying to see if it's worth the process or just buy an old fixer upper and work with what I got. Thanks.

Rad,

What do you consider to be an earth home?

Cristobal has asks a great question and they answer would folks help with the permits question.

What county do you live in and are permits require out in the county or just in the city?

Some area might require blueprints drawn up by an engineer. Do you have blueprints?

Cristobal Cristo wrote:Rad,

What do you consider to be an earth home?

Earthbag, stick build with hemp crete or lime crete, earthen floors and plaster finish. Primarily earthbag, or wattle and daub, with a stone foundation.

I don't have any plans or blueprints yet. I been hunting for land, and was wondering how feasibly it is to build something without too much process.

I really it would be a cabin size wattle and daub home with a stone foundation. Something small.

Is it hard to pull permits for these to build them?

My buddy built a somewhat custom home recently, it was a type of fireproof recycle Styrofoam, and the county gave him a lot of hassle because it's never been done before and never been seen built before in that area.

I'd like to know if this is something worth investing time and money into in northern CA or just stick with a fixer upper? I'm plan to call the county. Thanks Anne.

I can advise on a compressed earth block home that I have built in California. Since it's custom and masonry it has seismic design. You need a good structural engineer that will understand your needs. Then you need Title-24 document (energy calculations) done by some third party office. It's cheap and quick. Then they will want you to have interior sprinklers design (completely nonsensical in my house where all walls and even kitchen and bathroom cabinets are build from bricks and stone). Nowadays they may require you to have solar panel system and they may want to decide how much you need. Since Northern California is under populated, things may be easier that it sounds.

Ok thanks that's helps tremendously. So it sounds like they need engineers proof of holding up structurally and yea I agree the sprinklers are overkill.
I'm sure there's engineers that specialize in this type of work.

How about septic and water. Are you able to do it yourself or do you need to hire someone via pulling permits? I know in West Virginia you could pull your own permits for most things.

As stated, adhering to codes....not just building but septic, water, etc... will vary county to county.  Here in GA we have 159 counties.   Lots of variation.

The OP could be best helped by some homework, literally, and decide on a  location.   Otherwise time and energy will be squandered

I already had a well on the land. Drilling companies get the permit themselves. Septic with the leach field was installed by the earth moving guy that graded the building pads. He got permit himself.

In Broome County in New York State, it is required to have an approved permit to install a septic system, but you can take a short training and be an approved installer to DIY. You have to hire an engineer to design your system. When I built 40 years ago, I could do the perc test with the county engineer, and he gave me a spec for the system which I could build myself as long as it passed inspection. Things have changed, though they could be a lot worse.

The city, county, state and fed governments loose almost all their ability to permit to you when you build out of sight out of mind and with NO intention of hooking up to their resource grids! The way they lock you in to permits is by controlling your ability to get electricity and water. When you provide your own they loose almost all their power to control you and your life. Of course they do not like loosing their total dominance over you so often it is better to just do what you want then ask forgiveness if and only if you ever have too! I had people complain about us and the county and health department showed up scratched their heads and said we weren't breaking any laws but maybe bending a few but they had no power to control us since we didn't require their power or water infrastructure. That was about 15 years ago never saw them again.

Often starting out with a camper or "hunting" cabin makes this process a bit easier. But you may want to quietly see what the regs are in your area. They are almost universally tied to getting power and water hookups!

I have worked places with zero permits required, places that needed a simple permit (just to let them know to raise your taxes), to full on engineered plans with seventeen different inspections along the way. All those were within twenty miles of each other.

Most areas require permits for earth homes, just like conventional builds. Check with your local zoning and building department first—rules vary by location. Some places (like parts of NM, AZ, CO) are more earth-home-friendly, but you’ll still need to meet code for safety, plumbing, etc. Always submit proper plans to avoid fines or issues later.

Hi zabi,

Welcome to Permies.

Yes, I think Zabi hit the nail squarely on the head.  Please consider carefully.

 Have a friend who went the "out.of .sight.out .of .mind" route and paid a bitter price, he had to pull down the framed house and start over.  Please realize that aerial maps and drones are easy to use, and local governments are savvy enough to find you.....in my experience.  Be careful.  Around this area, a permitted septic must be in place before building anything, or even parking a camper on your land over 30 days.  Yes, it seems harsh, but it relates directly to established  wells and water quality in the county.  

And this county is 80 %  forest or farm.....