Bannock County, ID Accessory Structures: Shed & Carport Rules (2026)

Bannock County Code Section 17.52.040 regulates accessory buildings, defined in subsection (D)(1) as 'an accessory building on a residential lot such as a shop, garage, or storage building,' anywhere in unincorporated Bannock County. Subsection (D)(2) lets a homeowner put up one personal storage building in the Agricultural, Residential Rural, Residential Suburban, or Recreation zoning districts before the county issues a permit for the primary residence, but every other accessory use or building must wait until development of the primary use is underway or complete. Subsection (D)(3) requires the accessory structure to be compatible in design with the primary use, and subsection (D)(4) sets the lot-coverage ceiling: the combined footprint of the principal building and every accessory structure on the lot cannot exceed thirty-five percent of the total lot area, while the accessory building's maximum height follows whatever the applicable zoning district's bulk and placement table allows, thirty-five feet in the Residential Suburban district.

Before anything goes up, Section 17.52.030 requires a zoning permit showing the structure complies with the zoning ordinance, and Section 17.52.040(D)(5) requires the application to include a detailed site plan demonstrating the proposed layout meets every zoning requirement. Setback distance between the accessory building and the principal structure is set separately, in the county's Building Code Ordinance under Section 17.52.040(B), rather than in the zoning setback tables. Commercial and industrial accessory structures are held to a different rule under subsection (A): they must match the same front, side, and rear yard setbacks required for the principal structure.