Ford County, Kansas Garden City, Dodge City, Hays & Western Kansas

Barndominium Builders in Dodge City, Kansas

A barndominium project in Dodge City starts with one question: is the land inside the city limits or out in Ford County? Inside town, the city's Development Services Department handles planning, zoning, building inspections and code enforcement, and it has adopted the 2018 International Residential Code among its building codes. Outside town, the county's Planning, Zoning and Environmental Health Department takes over, with its own zoning certificate, septic permit and acreage rules. Our work on either side of that line covers barndominiums, shop houses and metal building homes, on anything from an infill lot to a section of farm ground near Dodge City. A client can have the house delivered finished, or order one of our barndominium kits and let a hometown crew close it in, while plumbing, electrical and HVAC stay with licensed trade contractors. The city's residential application lists steel-engineered construction as its own category, so a steel-framed design is a routine submission here. Start the survey with your address or legal description and we will tell you which office reviews it and what it will ask for.

Dodge City at a glance

Principal county: Ford County
Building permit: City building department
Local facts on this page: 5, each linked to its source

Tell us about your land

Before you build in Dodge City

The local answers that shape a build here, each taken from the office or document that publishes it. Rules change, so we confirm them again against your parcel before drawing.

City-issued permitWho issues the permit

City of Dodge City Development Services Department (Building Inspections Division)

Development Services issues residential building permits and inspects construction inside Dodge City. Its general residential application asks for a site plan, floor plan and legal description, and names the licensed contractor, plumber, electrician and mechanical contractor on the job. Land outside the city limits is handled instead by Ford County's Planning, Zoning and Environmental Health Department.

Source: General Residential application, City of Dodge City (dodgecity.org)

Residential code: The City of Dodge City lists the 2018 International Residential Code among its existing building codes, together with the 2018 International Building Code, the 2017 National Electrical Code and the 2018 plumbing, mechanical and fuel gas codes.
Licensed trades on the permit: Dodge City's general residential permit application has lines for a licensed contractor, licensed plumber, licensed electrician and licensed mechanical contractor, and offers "Engineered (steel)" as a construction type.
One city department: The city's Development Services & Inspections department is in charge of planning, zoning, building inspections and code enforcement, and staffs the Dodge City Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals.
Agricultural zoning outside town: In Ford County's "AG" Agricultural district every lot must be at least 40 acres (a quarter-quarter section qualifies), with no more than two dwellings per forty acres and at least one acre and 165 feet of width for each dwelling.
Septic lot size outside town: The Ford County Environmental Code, which applies to the unincorporated county, will not approve an on-site wastewater site of less than two acres, reduced to one acre where an approved public water supply serves the property.

Building on land near Dodge City

Inside Dodge City a lot comes with city water and sewer, and the work is mostly zoning, setbacks and the permit set. Just past the city limits the picture changes quickly. Ford County's agricultural zoning asks for forty acres per lot, and its environmental code wants at least two acres before it will approve a septic site, or one acre with public water. That makes land near the edge of town, already split into rural residential tracts, the most sought-after ground for pole barn homes and shop houses. Before you buy, ask the county for the zoning district and whether a percolation test has been done.

Where we build in this part of Kansas

Garden City, Dodge City, Hays & Western Kansas

What we build in Dodge City

Kits, custom plans and turnkey builds. The parcel decides the budget more than the floor area does, so we price against your land rather than a rate card.

Custom Plans

Custom barndominium floor plans for your Kansas parcel: septic sized to bedroom count, the well sited clear of it, and the values your county publishes.

Barndominium Kits

Barndominium kits for Kansas land: steel or post-frame shell packages sized to the snow, wind and frost values your own city or county publishes.

Turnkey Builds

Turnkey barndominium builds in Kansas: one contract from land check and septic permit through shell, finish and move-in, with licensed trades.

See every service

Have land in or near Dodge City? Tell us about the parcel and what you want to build, and we will check it against the local rules before anything is drawn.

Start your build survey

Building in Dodge City: questions

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What does it cost to build a barndominium in Dodge City?

Start with the site. A lot in town with utilities at the curb is a very different budget from rural ground that needs a well, a septic field and a driveway, and the shop size and finish level come after that. Our barndominium cost guide sets out sourced ranges, and the survey lets us price your parcel specifically.

Do I need a building permit for a barndominium in Dodge City?

Yes. Inside the city a new home is permitted and inspected by Development Services, under the 2018 International Residential Code, and the application needs a site plan, floor plan and legal description. Outside the city limits, Ford County requires a zoning certificate for construction instead. Our permitting service covers both submissions.

Can I build post frame homes on land outside Dodge City?

Yes, provided the parcel meets the county's zoning and wastewater rules. Post frame homes are common on this ground, but the framing does not change the arithmetic: the agricultural district needs forty acres per lot and a septic site needs two acres, or one with public water. Tell us about your land and we will check the district and the likely septic route first.

Do you work alongside other barndominium contractors?

Often. Some owners take our building package and hand it to barndominium contractors or framers they already use, others split the shell and the interior, and some hire us for the whole job. Look through the floor plans for a starting layout.

Keep reading

What usually comes next once you know what Dodge City allows.

Barndominium Cost Guide

Sourced per-square-foot ranges by tier and size, and what moves the number on your land.

Read it

Is a Barndominium Legal in Kansas?

Zoning, septic and who inspects, before you buy the land.

Read it

How Long Does It Take?

From parcel to move-in, and which steps set the clock.

Read it

Sources for this page

The published pages behind the Dodge City facts above. Rules change, so check the current version with the office before you rely on it.

Barndominium builders near Dodge City

Nearby places we also build in. Across a city limit or a county line the permit office, zoning and septic rules can change, so each has its own page.

Ford County

Kansas county

Garden City

Finney County, Kansas

Finney County

Kansas county

Building in Dodge City?

Start with the survey. Tell us where the land is and what you want on it, and we will come back with which office permits it, what it will allow, and a plan to fit.

Start the survey