Barndominium building around Lawrence, KS

Inside Lawrence city limits, the City of Lawrence's Planning & Development Services handles permits. Outside city limits, the Douglas County Zoning and Codes Department at 3755 E 25th Street in Lawrence issues the building permit. The county says that office "exclusively serves the unincorporated areas" (Zoning and Codes).

Sources: Douglas County residential permit requirements and the Public Works note that "a building permit will not be approved until the entrance has been constructed and inspected" (Public Works FAQ). The permit packet also lists a final entrance approval near the end of its inspection checklist, so expect the entrance to be checked twice.

A working shop needs more land than most city lots have. Around Lawrence, the realistic paths are new construction on county acreage or converting an existing barn or shop.

If you already have a building, find out its approved use before treating the shell as the cheap part. Lawrence's building permits page says a permit may be required when a building's use classification changes, even with limited or no remodeling. It also splits permits into one- and two-family residential and commercial, which includes multifamily projects of three or more units. In practice:

• Describe every household honestly. If a "guest area" is really a second household, say so. It changes the review.
• Say whether the shop is private or a business. That helps the city or county set the right review.
• Compare reuse and new on the same basis. Get a written assessment of the existing structure, its foundation and the work needed for residential use, and price it against a new building of the same finished scope. Lawrence's one- and two-family permit page also points applicants to grading, drainage and land-disturbance guidance, so include any new driveway or trenching.

Douglas County says no accessory building can be built on a lot until the primary dwelling has been permitted. A shop-first plan, with the house added later, doesn't work in the unincorporated county. Permit the house first, or design them as one building. The county's other published rules:

• One residence per tract. The permit packet says only one residence is allowed per recorded deed. The county FAQ notes a newer accessory dwelling unit option for specific purposes, such as housing a caretaker or a farm employee.
• A surveyed plot plan. You need a plot plan plus a recorded boundary survey plat by a licensed land surveyor, showing setback lines and the driveway.
• Plans with real structural detail. Floor plans, elevations and a wall section, footing and foundation details, and engineered truss drawings sealed by a Kansas engineer. The county enforces the 2018 IRC in the unincorporated area.
• No shared driveways. The county says each building lot needs its own driveway. A shared one would be a private road, which is no longer permitted.
• A valuation-based fee. The county's FAQ example: a $100,000 residence would pay $993.75 (Zoning and Codes FAQ).
• A $75 entrance application. Applications are at the Public Works Engineering Division, 3755 E 25th St. (entrance FAQ).

Under the Douglas County Sanitary Code, a residential septic system needs at least three adjoining acres when public water or a cistern is provided, and five adjoining acres when a water well is provided. There are exceptions, including divisions recorded before October 10, 1997. For land divided after January 1, 2007, floodplain acreage doesn't count toward the minimum.

Land just outside Lawrence is often inside the city's Urban Growth Area, and the county's rules tighten there:

• No new drinking-water wells. The Sanitary Code says new private wells in the Lawrence Urban Growth Area are for irrigation only and may not connect to a home. Plan on rural water.
• No cisterns on lots divided on or after January 1, 2007, in the growth area.
• Higher floodplain elevation. The county permit packet requires the lowest floor to be 1 foot above the regulatory flood elevation, and 2 feet inside the Lawrence Urban Growth Area. No construction is allowed in the regulated floodway.

It depends entirely on the parcel. The county's rural water district contact list names Douglas County RWD 1 through 6, plus Osage County RWD 5, Franklin County RWD 5, Jefferson County RWD 13, and the Lawrence, Wellsville and Edgerton water offices. Each district sets its own connection charges. Ask yours for the meter cost, any line extension and how long approval takes, because meter approval comes before your building permit when rural water is your supply.

The building side follows our cost guide, which prices kit, shell and finished scopes separately. It also cites Morton Buildings' note that its finished homes typically cost about the same as stick-built homes, so don't assume the building style saves money on its own. Around Lawrence, the bigger fork is new construction versus conversion, using the cost guide's 40×60 example (1,600 square feet of living space plus an 800-square-foot shop):

1. Confirm the jurisdiction (city or county) and whether the parcel is in the Lawrence Urban Growth Area.
2. Confirm acreage, floodplain and the one-residence rule with Zoning and Codes.
3. Get septic and water-supply approval from the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department.
4. Get meter approval from the rural water district, if that's your water supply.
5. Get the entrance approved, then built and inspected, by Public Works, KDOT or the township, before the building permit is approved.
6. Submit the permit: surveyed plot plan, plans, sealed truss drawings and the energy sheet.
7. Build through the county's 16-item inspection checklist, from footings to the final entrance approval and the final inspection. The owner or agent coordinates them.

For the build itself, see our building process page. For Johnson County ground east of here, see De Soto.

Do I need a building permit for a barndominium in rural Douglas County?

Yes. It's a residence. Douglas County Zoning and Codes issues the permit after septic and water-supply approval, a rural water meter if that's your supply, and an entrance that Public Works says must be built and inspected first.

How many acres do I need for a septic system in Douglas County, KS?

Three adjoining acres with public water or a cistern, five with a water well, under the Sanitary Code, with exceptions, including some divisions recorded before October 10, 1997.

Can I build my shop first and the house later outside Lawrence?

Not in unincorporated Douglas County. The county says no accessory building can go up until the primary dwelling has been permitted.

Can I drill a well for a new home near Lawrence?

Not inside the Lawrence Urban Growth Area, where new wells are irrigation-only. Outside it, a well approved by the health department is possible, but septic then needs five adjoining acres.

Can I convert my barn into a house in Lawrence?

Often, but changing a building's use can require a permit even with little remodeling. Start with a structural assessment and the right review.