Sheds, Barns & Cabin Shells in Gun Barrel City, TX

Inside Gun Barrel City city limits: The city's Building Department "Required Permits" sheet lists a permit for the construction or move-in of accessory buildings larger than 80 sq ft, including tool sheds, workshops, greenhouses and gazebos, and states that structures smaller than 80 sq ft do not require a permit. The city code defines a portable building (on skids or wheels) as an accessory structure (Ch. 156). In the single-family districts the zoning code keeps accessory structures out of the required front yard, holds them to the district's yard setbacks except that they may sit as close as 7½ ft to the rear line in districts such as R-2 and R-3 (10 ft in R-1), caps them at two stories or 25 ft, and limits size to 50% of the home's interior square footage (or 720 sq ft when the home is under 1,440 sq ft). Section 156.069 calls for new finished-type materials on all structures. The Building Department is at City Hall, 1716 W Main Street, Gun Barrel City, TX 75156, 903-887-1087.

Outside city limits (unincorporated Henderson County): Henderson County's Development & Floodplain Administration Office handles plats, replats and general land development outside municipalities, and it administers the floodplain. The county's Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance (approved March 2, 2010) applies to FEMA special flood hazard areas and calls for a Floodplain Development Permit there; the county says a floodplain assessment is required when development is planned in the Special Flood Hazard Area. The office's development questionnaire also asks about 911 addressing and new or modified septic systems. On-site sewage facility (septic) permits go through the county's Septic Inspector (903-257-9057). The Development Office is at 100 E Tyler Street, Room 302, Athens, TX 75751, 903-677-7242. On Cedar Creek Lake, the Tarrant Regional Water District's guidelines say a TRWD permit is required for any structure, fill or excavation at or below elevation 325.00 ft msl, where it holds a flood easement above the 322.00 ft conservation level.