Buying rural land

Can You Build on Rural Land in Park County? What to Check First

The short answer is usually yes, but "usually" is doing some work in that sentence. Whether you can build on a given parcel, and what it takes, depends on a few specific things. Here is what to look at before you count on putting up a cabin or a home.

Start with zoning

Rural parcels in Park County are typically zoned for residential or agricultural rural use, which generally allows a single-family home. But zoning is set parcel by parcel, and it controls both what you can build and how you can use the land, so do not assume. Look up the parcel's zoning and confirm that your plans, a cabin, a full-time home, or living in an RV while you build, are allowed. The county planning department is the authority here, and a quick call can save you a lot of trouble.

Confirm legal access

A parcel you cannot legally reach is a parcel you cannot really build on. Confirm that the land has legal, recorded access, either frontage on a public or county-maintained road, or a recorded easement across neighboring land. "I can drive to it" is not the same as legal access. Landlocked parcels exist, and they are much harder to build on or to finance.

Figure out utilities

This is where rural land differs most from a city lot.

• Power: is there a utility line at or near the parcel, and what would it cost to connect? On many rural parcels, running grid power is expensive or impractical, and people go with solar instead.
• Water: most rural building means a drilled well, which requires a permit, or hauling water to a cistern.
• Septic: without a municipal sewer, you will need an approved on-site wastewater system, which also requires a permit and a soil evaluation.

We go deeper on all three in our off-grid basics guide.

Permits, setbacks, and the details

Building on rural land still means permits. Expect to deal with a building permit for the structure and a separate permit for the septic system, plus setback rules that dictate how far a structure must sit from property lines, roads, and water. These details are exactly the kind of thing that varies, so get them from the county rather than from a forum.

A quick pre-purchase checklist

Before you buy land you intend to build on, confirm:

• The zoning allows what you want to build
• There is legal, year-round access
• Power is either available or you have an off-grid plan
• The ground will support a well and a septic system
• You understand the permit and setback requirements