McLeod County, Minnesota Building Permit Guide

McLeod County Environmental Services, at 1065 5th Avenue SE in Hutchinson, issues the land use permit needed to build, enlarge or move a structure anywhere outside city limits, plus septic and feedlot permits. A dwelling permit is $400 under the fee schedule the County Board adopted on December 16, 2025, split between the county and the township, and the office asks owners to call 320-484-4300 before starting to check setbacks, floodplain, shoreland and feedlot distances.

What requires a permit in McLeod County?

Section 21 of the Zoning Ordinance requires a land use permit before anyone erects a structure, makes exterior alterations that change its bulk or size, moves a building, or excavates a basement for an existing or new structure. Separate permits are required for signs and billboards, for installing, altering, repairing or extending a septic system, and for owning or operating a livestock feedlot, including a change of ownership, improvement or expansion. Extracting gravel or other materials needs a conditional use permit.

Before applying, the county asks owners to confirm building eligibility, setbacks, whether the site is in a floodplain, within a quarter-mile of a permitted feedlot or in shoreland (1,000 feet from a lake or 300 feet from a river, creek or stream), and whether the project needs a new address, a driveway access permit or a septic inspection.

What the county decides and what the state holds

The ordinance covers all of McLeod County outside the incorporated limits of municipalities, and its districts are Agricultural, Rural Residential, Urban Expansion, Highway Business, Industrial, Floodplain, Shoreland and Conservation. The county’s permit pages describe zoning review, not building-code plan review or inspections, although it posts the Department of Labor and Industry’s fact sheet stating that barndominiums and shouses are dwellings under the Minnesota Residential Code. Electrical work falls to the state unless a local program applies, and McLeod is not among the Minnesota Department of Health’s delegated well programs.

McLeod County building department: who handles permitting

Environmental Services runs planning and zoning, septic systems, feedlots, solid waste and household hazardous waste; Marc Telecky is the director. The county works with its 14 townships: Acoma, Bergen, Collins, Glencoe, Hale, Hassan Valley, Helen, Hutchinson, Lynn, Penn, Rich Valley, Round Grove, Sumter and Winsted. Land use permits carry a county and a township signature line, several permit fees are split between the two, and township zoning offices complete land use applications for farm accessory buildings and additions that do not house livestock. Public Works issues access, right-of-way and oversize moving permits, all through its online ePermitting site.

Cities in McLeod County

Cities zone and permit inside their own limits, where the county Zoning Ordinance does not apply. The flood-program column is from FEMA’s Community Status Book.

McLeod County permit types

The county posts applications for land use permits, conditional use permits (with an information packet), mining conditional use permits, variances (with a booklet), sketch plans, preliminary and final plats, and administrative land splits. Septic permits start with the land use permit application.

Residential permits

The land use application asks for the structure’s size and height, estimated cost of the structure and septic, the building and septic contractors, and a site sketch showing the structure and septic system, setbacks to lot lines and to the road centerline, nearby water and the driveway. The form lists the standard setbacks: 130 feet from the front to a county road, county state-aid highway or state highway and 100 feet to a township road, or 40 feet from the right of way of a minor street in a residential subdivision; 40 feet at the rear for a principal building and 20 feet for an accessory one; and 20 feet at the sides. Lots must be at least 150 feet wide and 250 feet deep.

From the ordinary high water level, structures stand 75 feet from a General Development lake, 100 feet from Recreational lakes and rivers and from streams, and 200 feet from a Natural Environment lake. Any change after the permit is approved must be reapproved by the zoning administrator before construction starts.

The shoreland section adds a 30-foot setback from the top of a bluff and 50 feet from an unplatted cemetery, keeps everything but stairways and landings out of bluff impact zones, and requires the lowest floor on a lake lot to sit at least 3 feet above the highest known water level or the ordinary high water level, whichever is higher. A conditional use permit is needed to move more than 10 cubic yards of material on steep slopes or in the shore or bluff impact zones, or more than 50 cubic yards elsewhere in shoreland.

Building or remodeling a home here? Alliance handles residential permit applications, so the crew isn't waiting on the counter.

Commercial and other permits

Commercial and industrial buildings and additions have their own land use fees with a value-based surcharge, and the schedule adds lines for solar arrays of 0.5 MW or more, wind generators, antenna co-location and upgrades with engineering review, signs, and transfer of development rights. Conditional uses, plats and ordinance amendments go to the Planning Advisory Commission, which recommends to the County Board; a recent example was a home business in an accessory building over 2,400 square feet in Winsted Township.

What comes before the permit

• Feedlot distance. Check whether the site is within a quarter-mile of a permitted feedlot; McLeod has been an MPCA-delegated feedlot county since 1998 and enforces the state feedlot rules through its Feedlot Management Ordinance.
• Septic. A design signed by the licensed designer and installer, county soil verification and a management plan.
• Access. A new driveway onto a county road needs an access permit through the Highway Department’s ePermitting site.
• Address. A new address is prepaid at the zoning office.
• Township. For a variance, attend the town board meeting and get its written recommendation.

McLeod County permit fees

The County Board adopted the current fee schedule on December 16, 2025, effective January 1, 2026. Where the schedule splits a land use fee, the county and township shares are shown.

Worked example from the schedule: a new house with a standard septic system, a new address and a residential entrance onto a county road comes to $400 + $500 + $220 + $125 = $1,245. The septic page still lists older figures, such as $350 plus $100 for soil verification on a Type I system, and the variance page lists a $496 payment; the adopted 2026 schedule is the one in this table.

Other lines worth knowing: signs are $50 up to 32 square feet, then $2 a square foot up to 500 square feet a side; a special County Board meeting when construction started without approval costs $1,000 plus recording fees and state surcharges; and renewing a new feedlot permit left unused in its first year, or a septic renewal permit in what the schedule calls an unplotted area, costs $2,000. A dwelling permit renewal that blocks another building eligibility is also $2,000.

Trade permits and who may pull them

The county lists no electrical, plumbing or mechanical permits in its fee schedule. Electrical permits are filed with the Department of Labor and Industry where its lookup shows the state as the inspection authority, and contractors, electricians and plumbers hold state licenses.

• Septic installers. The design summary sheet must be signed by the licensed designer and installer.
• Homeowner septic work. An owner may install a non-pressurized system with advance approval from Environmental Services, if the designer is present at the final inspection.
• Septic loans. The county takes low-interest septic loan applications for a $50 fee and is lining up funding for system upgrades.

How to apply for a McLeod County land use permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Projects that need a hearing take longest. Variance applications and the fee must reach the office by the fourth Thursday of a month to be heard the following month, and the applicant must first present the project to the town board for its written recommendation; staff ask applicants to talk through a variance before filing. The Planning Advisory Commission meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month at 9:30 a.m. at the Environmental Services facility and sometimes tours sites first. A sewer certificate of compliance may be needed for a shoreland variance or when the office cannot tell whether a system complies.

Inspections in McLeod County

Environmental Services completes the soil verification for every septic permit, and owner-installed non-pressurized systems need the designer present at the final inspection. A feedlot permit includes one inspection, with $100 for each additional one.

When property changes hands, the seller must disclose the septic system on the county’s transfer form, and a compliance inspection is required if a new system has not been inspected in the past five years or an existing one in the past three. A sale can close with a non-compliant system if buyer and seller sign the county’s agreement on who will upgrade it.

Minnesota building code

McLeod County administers its Zoning Ordinance, Subdivision Ordinance, SSTS Ordinance (enforced since January 1, 2010) and Feedlot Management Ordinance. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the county as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program since February 4, 1981, with a current flood map dated July 7, 2014; the zoning office issues floodplain certifications for $50.

Minnesota has one State Building Code that applies statewide and overrides local building codes, but enforcement is local: whether a building permit is needed depends on whether the city, township or county enforces the code there. Electrical permits come from the Department of Labor and Industry unless the local government runs its own electrical inspection. Minnesota rules

McLeod County permit search and official resources

Planning Advisory Commission agendas, packets and minutes are posted by year, and the zoning office issues zoning and floodplain certifications for $50 each; general questions go to Environmental Services at 320-484-4300.

• McLeod County Planning & Zoning
• Land use (building) permits
• Land use permit application
• Forms and applications
• Zoning Ordinance sections
• Zoning Ordinance Section 21, permits
• County fee schedule, adopted December 16, 2025
• Septic systems
• Feedlots
• Board of Adjustment (variances)
• Planning Advisory Commission
• Planning Commission agendas and minutes
• Township offices
• Highway ePermits
• Barndominium and shouse fact sheet
• Delegated well programs (Minnesota Department of Health)
• State electrical permits (DLI)
• FEMA Community Status Book, Minnesota

McLeod County permit FAQs

Does McLeod County issue permits in Hutchinson or Glencoe?

No. The Zoning Ordinance covers only land outside the incorporated limits of cities.

How much is a land use permit for a new house?

$400 in 2026, of which $325 goes to the county and $75 to the township.

What does a septic permit cost?

$500 for a standard system under the 2026 schedule, or $400 for a holding tank.

Can I install my own septic system?

Only a non-pressurized system, with advance approval and the designer present at the final inspection.

How far must a house be from a county road?

130 feet, the front-yard setback the land use permit form lists for county roads, county state-aid highways and state highways.

When is the variance deadline?

The fourth Thursday of the month for the following month’s Board of Adjustment agenda.

How do I get a driveway permit?

Apply through the Highway Department’s ePermitting site; a residential entrance is $125.

Simplify McLeod County permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Minnesota. We prepare your paperwork, file it correctly and coordinate with the permitting authority through issuance. We are not a contractor and we do not perform licensed plan review or inspections; that work stays with your licensed team and the jurisdiction.

This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about McLeod County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.