Elko County, NV Accessory Structures: Shed & Carport Rules (2026)

Elko County Code § 4-8-6(C) governs detached accessory buildings, the category that covers sheds, workshops and storage buildings, in unincorporated Elko County, Nevada. The section prints two core numbers: a detached accessory building must be at least five feet from any building, and its height cannot exceed fifteen feet. Unless the regulations for "R" Districts provide otherwise, no accessory building can occupy any part of a required yard.

Inside an "R" district the section adds placement limits. No accessory building can sit within five feet of the side line of the front half of an abutting lot, and none can occupy the front half of a lot or either front quarter of a through lot unless it is at least seventy five feet from any street lot line. On a corner lot that abuts a key lot, the building cannot be nearer the street than one-half the depth of the front yard required on the key lot. An accessory garage reached from an alley must be at least thirty feet from the opposite side of the alley. Section 4-3-2 is the R1 exception to the yard rule: an accessory building can occupy part of the rear half of a required interior side yard or part of a required rear yard if an equal area of open space is provided elsewhere on the lot and the building is no closer than three feet to any lot line.

District chapters carry their own height clauses. The R1 clause in § 4-3-2(F) repeats the fifteen foot cap, while the SL and AR clauses in §§ 4-2-2(E) and 4-2-3(E) print twenty five feet for accessory buildings. Section 4-9-15 lets the Senior Planner of the Planning and Zoning Department approve a minor deviation of up to nine percent of an accessory building's height under those two sections, but only with the written consent of all owners of any real property affected. A dissatisfied applicant can appeal to the Elko County Commissioners under § 4-9-10.

Zoning and building permits are separate steps. Section 3-1-4(A)(1)(b) excludes from permit requirements one-story detached accessory structures used as tool and storage sheds, animal shelters, play houses and similar uses, not used for human habitation, containing less than two hundred square feet and not exceeding a 10 foot eave wall height. That exemption removes the building permit, not the Title 4 zoning limits. The cities of Elko, Carlin, Wells and West Wendover apply their own codes.