Stearns County, MN Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

1(C) of the Ordinance (these cover things like small agricultural accessory buildings and other listed exemptions). 2 requires the application to go to the Department on its own forms, accompanied by a scaled plan showing lot dimensions and the size and location of the structure, plus enough information for the Department to confirm the site can support a conforming sewage treatment system. A complete application for a structure whose use involves protected expression must be reviewed and either issued or denied within sixty days. 3 sets the permit's life: it lapses and becomes null and void after one year if construction has not begun; once construction (installation of footings, slabs, foundations, posts or walls, or the excavation for them) has started within that year, the permit is extended one additional year to finish the work.

Site prep, land clearing or utility installation alone does not count as "construction" for this clock. 4 requires a certificate of survey and staking, prepared by a Minnesota-licensed land surveyor, whenever the proposed construction sits closer than one and a half times the property-line setback (excluding the ordinary-high-water-level setback). 5 gives incomplete applications six months to be completed before they expire outright.