A pond or a carport in rural Ellis County still needs a county permit

Folks who buy a few acres south of Dallas often picture rural land as a place where you can dig a stock pond or throw up a hay barn on a Saturday with nobody to answer to. Ellis County reads it differently: a development permit covers basically any activity on the property, and the county's own list names pools, sheds, ponds, tanks, shops, barns, and carports right out loud. The Department of Development issues them, and it's worth a call before you order materials.

When you apply, bring a deed, a survey, and your driver's license. Two other rules tend to surprise people out here: tracts generally need to be at least one acre, with 150 feet of frontage on a county or state road, before the county will permit much of anything. If your project includes a septic system, that's a separate track. Aerobic systems want soil analysis, a system drawing, a notarized affidavit, and a two-year service contract, while conventional systems need the analysis and drawing.

The same parcel may also sit inside a city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, so Waxahachie's or Midlothian's rules can stack on top of the county's. A quick call to the Department of Development at 972-825-5200 tells you which permits actually land on your dirt before a crew ever shows up.