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

Barndominium Builders in Ellis County, Kansas

Building a barndominium in unincorporated Ellis County starts at the county's Division of Environmental Services on West 55th Street in Hays, which handles planning and zoning, wastewater permits and water well permits under one roof. Before any structure goes up, the county asks for a zoning certificate, a document it describes as similar to a building permit, and that application also asks whether a wastewater system will be installed. We design and supply barndominiums, shouses and metal building homes for rural land across Ellis County, from farm ground near Victoria and Ellis to acreages on the edge of Hays. Some owners want a complete turnkey build; others hire us for plans and a barndominium kit and bring in local barndominium contractors for the erection and finish work, with licensed trade contractors handling plumbing, electrical and HVAC. Because the county's agricultural district sets a minimum lot size, a density cap and road setbacks, we check the parcel against the zoning regulations before drawing anything. Land inside the three-mile area around Hays follows the city's extraterritorial process instead. Start the survey with the legal description or parcel number and we will tell you which rules the site falls under.

Ellis County at a glance

County: Ellis County
Building permit: County (unincorporated land)
Local facts on this page: 6, each linked to its source

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Before you build in Ellis County

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.

County-issued permitWho issues the permit

Ellis County Division of Environmental Services (Planning & Zoning), Hays

In unincorporated Ellis County the Planning & Zoning office issues a zoning certificate before any structure is erected or altered; the county calls it similar to a building permit. The same Environmental Office permits septic systems and water wells. Inside the Hays extraterritorial area the City of Hays ETJ application applies instead, and cities such as Hays permit separately within their limits.

Source: Planning & Zoning | Ellis County, KS - Official Website (ellisco.net)

Zoning certificate: Ellis County requires an application for a Zoning Certificate before any structure is erected or altered, and states that a Zoning Certificate is similar to a building permit. The application form asks for setbacks from property lines and whether a wastewater system will be installed.
A-1 district lot size: The Ellis County Zoning Regulations (August 2021 edition) set a 5-acre minimum lot for a single-family dwelling in the A-1 Agricultural District, reducible to two acres with a public water supply, with 300-foot minimum width and depth and a cap of two dwelling units per quarter section unless a conditional use permit is granted.
Agricultural lot split: Any division of land needs the County Zoning Administrator's approval. An agricultural lot split requires a parent tract of at least 40 acres, and the new lot must be at least 2 acres with public water or 3 acres with a private well.
Septic permit: The Ellis County Environmental Office requires a permit before a wastewater system is constructed or modified, and the county Environmental Code requires the system to be inspected when ownership of the property is transferred.
Water well permit: The Environmental Office permits and supervises the construction of new water supply wells, and Ellis County Code requires every private water supply to be inspected when property ownership is transferred within the county's jurisdiction.
Near Hays: ETJ application: Structures outside Hays but within its extraterritorial jurisdiction use the City of Hays ETJ building application, which may be filed with either the city or the Ellis County Environmental Office; the city checks floodplain, zoning and setbacks, and the county checks well and wastewater requirements.

Building on land near Ellis County

Rural Ellis County land is mostly zoned A-1, and the numbers there matter more than the view. A home site needs five acres unless a public water supply serves it, a lot must be 300 feet wide and deep, and a quarter section can carry only two dwellings without a conditional use permit. Every yard setback is measured as 63 feet from the center of a county road or 30 feet from the right of way, whichever is greater. Post frame homes and pole barn homes fit this country well, though a shop bay with floor drains needs its wastewater planned apart from the house septic system. Ask the Environmental Office about the soils and floodplain maps before you close.

Where we build in this part of Kansas

Garden City, Dodge City, Hays & Western Kansas

What we build in Ellis County

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 Ellis County? Tell us about the parcel and what you want to build, and we will check it against the local rules before anything is drawn.

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Building in Ellis County: questions

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How much does it cost to build a barndominium in Ellis County?

On rural ground the site work weighs heavily: a well or a rural water tap, a permitted septic system, a road entrance and a long driveway all come before the building itself. The shell size, interior finish and the share given to shop space follow. Our barndominium cost guide lays out sourced ranges and what pushes a project up or down, and the survey lets us price against your parcel.

Do I need a building permit for a barndominium in Ellis County?

On unincorporated land you need a zoning certificate from the county before building, which the county treats as its equivalent of a building permit, plus separate county permits for a new septic system and a new well. Near Hays, the city's ETJ application applies, and inside any city limits that city's own permit is required. See our permitting service for how we prepare the paperwork.

Can I split off a few acres of farm ground for a barndominium?

Often, through the county's agricultural lot split. The parent tract has to be 40 acres or more, the new lot needs two acres with public water or three with a private well, and a recorded covenant limits further division without full platting. The home itself then has to meet the A-1 district rules. Tell us about your land and we will check it against both.

Can a barndominium share a septic system with a working shop?

The house can, but shop wastewater cannot: KDHE Bulletin 4-2 bars shop and commercial wastewater from an onsite soil-absorption system. Plan floor drains in the shop bay separately. Browse our floor plans to see layouts that keep the living wing and the shop apart.

Keep reading

What usually comes next once you know what Ellis County 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 Ellis County facts above. Rules change, so check the current version with the office before you rely on it.

Barndominium builders near Ellis County

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.

Hays

Ellis County, Kansas

Saline County

Kansas county

Ford County

Kansas county

Building in Ellis County?

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