You are ready to build your dream home in Canyon County, Idaho. You’ve found a builder, designed a home, and are ready to break ground – right? Not quite.
Before you break ground on your property, you’ll need a building permit.
The challenge with the building permit process in Canyon County and really anywhere you are applying for a building permit is that there are several things you’ll need to do prior to submitting your building permit application so that you have everything you need when the time comes for permitting.
Here, we’ll cover the pre permitting process for Canyon County Idaho, complete with an easy-to-use checklist. If you are building a custom home in Nampa or Caldwell, or even adding an ADU on your land in Canyon County, you can use this information to ensure that you have everything ready for your building permit application when the time comes.
[If you only want the checklist without the details, you can skip down to the Canyon County pre permitting checklist.]
Required Pre Permitting Approvals
Waste Water Approvals or Preliminary Approval
As part of the pre permitting process in Canyon County, you’ll need to obtain either approval or preliminary approval regarding how you will handle wastewater for your new home. If you are putting in a septic system, you’ll need to get preliminary approval for your system and submit this with your building permit application.
If your home will be hooked up to the wastewater utility system in your area, you’ll need approval for this from your city or jurisdiction.
There is a third case in which you may be using a subdivision community septic system for wastewater. If this is the case, you won’t need any preapprovals for wastewater and can skip this item in the pre permitting process for Canyon County.
Preliminary Approval For Septic System & Drain Field
If your home is being built on land that requires a septic system, you’ll need preliminary approval for your septic system and drain field before you submit your building permit application.
In Canyon County, this preliminary approval comes from Southwest District Health. To get this preliminary approval, you need to contact the land development office and schedule a meeting to discuss your project as the first step in the permitting process.
As the land owner you’ll then need to fill in and submit this application. Once your application is submitted, an on site meeting with a Southwest District Health (SWDH) representative and an excavator to dig 1 or more test holes. This allows SWDH to analyze the soil and design the septic system accordingly.
Note: If you are building an ADU in Canyon County, you need to obtain accessory use approval from Southwest District Health as part of the pre-permitting process. This applies even if, for some reason, you don’t plan to hook up your ADU to septic.
City Approval for Wastewater Hookup
If you are not using a septic system for your new home, you may need to obtain approval to use city wastewater services before you submit your building permit application. City service information can change, so it’s best to contact the wastewater management for the city you’ll be building in for the most up-to-date information on the requirements and process.
Caldwell Wastewater Management
Highway District Approval
An important part of the pre permitting process in Canyon County is obtaining Highway District approval for the approach off the road to your new home. You’ll also need this approval if you are building an ADU that will have separate road access.
To get Highway District approval you’ll need to follow the procedures outlined within your Highway District jurisdiction. There are currently four highway districts in Canyon County.
Nampa Highway District No. 1 (Approach Permit Application)
Notus-Parma Highway District No. 2 (Right of Way Permit Application)
Golden Gate Highway District No. 3 (Approach Permit Application)
Canyon Highway District No. 4 (Right of Way Permit Application)
For access approval, you’ll need to submit the appropriate access permit application as well as any required fees. For most of the Highway District approvals, the fee depends on the type of access you need for your property and the Highway District you are seeking approval from. You can find this information on the relevant Highway District website using the links above.
Fire District Approval
Fire District approval is another important aspect of the pre permitting process. This approval comes from the relevant fire district for your property.
This approval is only required if your new home has a setback of 150’ or greater from a public road.
If your new residence will be built 150’ or more from the nearest public road, you will need to submit a water supply and access turn-around approval from the Fire District that your property is located in with your building permit application.
To get this approval, you’ll need to contact the relevant Fire District for information about the approval process and requirements.
In Canyon County, there are ten Fire Districts. Not all districts currently have a website, but each Fire District’s contact information or website can be found here.
Special Pre Permitting Considerations Canyon County
There are a few instances where your pre permitting checklist will include a few extra items. This occurs when building a custom home in a subdivision or if your land is located in a floodplain.
Building In A Subdivision
If you are building your home in a subdivision, you can check with the home owner’s association or developer to determine if there are any special requirements to build in your location. These special requirements would be in the Plat notes, which are also public records and can be found online on the county recorder’s office website.
Some subdivisions have ACCs or Architectural Control Committees. These committees require pre-approval before construction can commence. Most subdivisions have square footage requirements along with exterior guidelines that you need to follow. Before submitting your building permit, have the ACC review your floorplan, exterior elevation, colors, and site plan to make sure it is in line with all subdivision requirements.
Building In A Floodplain
Building a custom home in a floodplain requires a few extra items to take care of during the pre permitting process in Canyon County. First, you will need an elevation certificate. You can contact the floodplain administrator (find all Idaho floodplain administrators here) to check if an elevation certificate already exists for your property. You can also check your property deed to see if an elevation certificate was included with the deed.
If there is no existing elevation certificate, you will need to hire a licensed land surveyor or professional engineer who is authorized to certify the elevation information.
[Check out Accurate Surveying & Mapping for a surveyor to help in Canyon County.]
Note: If you are unsure whether your land is in a floodplain, you can check FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Map.
Floodplain Development Permit
Once you have your elevation certificate, you’ll need to use it to secure a floodplain development permit. Both your floodplain development permit and elevation certificate will need to be submitted with your building permit application.
For assistance with the floodplain building permit, you can contact the Canyon County floodplain administrator(s) for your location.
Other Pre Permitting Items
Beyond these pre permitting approvals, there are a few other items you’ll need when you submit your building permit application. These remaining items are all things that you likely already have in your possession or have dedicated the most time to thus far in the custom home building process. You’ll want to confirm that you have them ready, or will have them ready to submit as part of your pre permitting process for Canyon County.
Deed or Sales Agreement
You’ll need to submit the deed to your property or the sales agreement (if purchased less than sixty days ago) with your building permit application. If you don’t already have this in your possession, you can search for your deed in the public records via the Canyon County Recorder’s office.
Plat Map
Another item you’ll need to submit is a survey or plat map with distances for your property. Typically you’ll receive a plat map when you purchase your property, but if you don’t have it you can also contact your title company or find your plat map in the public records.
Note: You’ll also want to make sure that your property pins, the markers of the four corners of your property, are visible. If they are not easily visible, be sure to locate these so you know where they are. They’ll need to be findable during the permitting and building process.
Detailed Site Plan
The first item on the building permit application checklist in Canyon County is the detailed site plan. Your builder will likely be assisting you with the detailed site plan, so there isn’t much for you to do to collect this information. Just confirm with your builder that they will provide this for your permit application.
At Pathway Builders, the detailed site plan is included in any ADU or home build. As a client of ours, this is one item you can remove from your pre permitting to-do list.
Building Plans to Scale
Building plans are another item you can quickly check off your pre-permitting checklist for Canyon County. That’s because this should also be handled by your home builder or architect.
At Pathway Builders, submitting your building permit application is included in our work. You’ll benefit not only from having your building permit application taken care of but also from having someone who has been through the permitting process before confirm that you have all the necessary items to submit a complete application.
The sooner you can get started on the these pre permitting items, the sooner you’ll have everything you need to submit your building permit application.
If you follow this pre permitting checklist for Canyon County, you’ll be ready with everything you need to submit your building permit application. This means you’ll avoid any construction delays that may have happened due to an incomplete permit application or from not knowing what you needed to do to be ready to submit your application to the county.
Pre Permitting Checklist Canyon County
- Confirm Building Plans & Site Plans with Your Builder / Architect
- Locate Your Deed or Sales Agreement
- Obtain Your Plat Map
- Submit An Application with the Relevant Highway District For Property Access / Approach Approval
- Submit Application for Septic System Approval or Wastewater Management Approval
Special Considerations
- Contact the Relevant Fire District For Water Supply & Access Turnaround Approval [If Applicable]
- [Building In A Subdivision] Review Any Plat Notes and Confirm All Requirements are Met
- [Building In A Floodplain] Get A Floodplain Development Permit
- [Building In A Floodplain] Locate the Elevation Certificate for your Property
Canyon County Pre Permitting Process Resources
Canyon County Planning & Zoning Department
Canyon County Building Permit Checklist
Canyon County Building Permit Fee Schedule
Canyon County Impact Fee Schedule
Southwest District Health Septic System Permitting and Preliminary Approval Information
Canyon County Floodplain Development Permit
Related Resources
