Kootenai County, ID Ordinances (2026)

Kootenai County requires three feet of freeboard above the base flood elevation for every new or substantially improved structure in a mapped flood hazard area. The resulting flood…

Kootenai County's land use code does not permit a private boat dock itself; that requires a separate Idaho Department of Lands permit. Instead LUDC 8.4.1410 tightly controls what can…

Building, filling, grading or substantially improving property inside a FEMA-mapped special flood hazard area in unincorporated Kootenai County requires a floodplain development permit…

Unincorporated Kootenai County requires a site disturbance permit for new driveways, subdivisions, and most grading or excavation work. Land Use and Development Code section 8.7.105…

Kootenai County requires a site disturbance permit for grading, excavation and new driveways outside the cities, with erosion and sedimentation control best management practices…

Wildfire mitigation plans for timbered subdivisions in unincorporated Kootenai County must identify emergency firefighting water supplies and protect them. Land Use and Development…

Kootenai County bans alcoholic beverages outright at two lakefront facilities: Hauser Park and the BLM Mica Bay Boater's Park, including on any vessel moored to their docks. The…

Kootenai County bans skateboards, roller skates and rollerblades on any beach, boat ramp, trail, dock or dock area at a county park or waterway facility. The same subsection also bars…

Dumping trash on public or private property without authorization is illegal under both Idaho Code 18-7031 and Kootenai County's Solid Waste Ordinance. County violations can be charged…

Kootenai County sets container rules through its collection system rather than a curbside setout ordinance. Residential service is defined as up to three 32-gallon cans weekly, and…

Kootenai County requires every commercial hauler working in the county to report account details, container sizes and disposal locations to the solid waste department, and bars…

Kootenai County runs no curbside routes. Residents either hire a private hauler (which sets your pickup day) or drop household refuse at one of 12 staffed Rural Collection Sites, open…

Large bulky items, appliances, furniture, tires and wood must go to the Ramsey or Prairie transfer station, not to rural residential collection sites, where they are expressly…

Kootenai County's sign code has no separate category for political signs. In residential and agricultural zones, unlighted on-premise temporary signs are allowed for up to 28 days per…

Unincorporated Kootenai County caps window, wall, awning and canopy signs by zone. Commercial, light industrial and industrial parcels may cover up to 30% of the wall face, rising to…

Kootenai County has no standalone digital billboard category; it regulates the technology as an electronic message center. The county allows one only as part of a pole, monument or…

Kootenai County has no garage-sale-sign-specific rule. A garage sale sign on your own property is a temporary on-premise sign (up to 28 days/year, 12 sq ft, 8 ft in residential zones)…

Major subdivisions in timbered parts of unincorporated Kootenai County cannot get final plat approval without a wildfire mitigation plan. Land Use and Development Code section…

Outside city limits you may burn residential yard waste, but during closed fire season (May 10-Oct 20) a free Idaho burn permit is required from burnpermits.idaho.gov, and you must…

Kootenai County adopts the 2009 International Fuel Gas Code and the state-approved International Fire Code, which govern propane (LP-gas) tanks and appliances under NFPA 58. LP-gas…

Idaho lets consumers buy and use only 'nonaerial common fireworks' (ground spinners, fountains, sparklers, smoke devices, snakes). Aerial and firecracker-type fireworks are not legal…

Wildfire mitigation plans required for timbered subdivisions in unincorporated Kootenai County must include a real vegetation-clearance plan, not just a map. Land Use and Development…

In the unincorporated county, recreational and cooking fire pits need no permit but must be no larger than 3 feet across, kept at least 25 feet from any structure, with 10 feet of…

Kootenai County builds to the 2009 International Residential Code, which requires smoke alarms in each sleeping room, outside each sleeping area, and on every level. New homes must…

A small in-home daycare typically operates as a home occupation under the county Land Use Code, while a larger child-care center is a defined land use permitted only in specific zones…

Idaho lets home cottage-food operations sell non-perishable (non-TCS) foods like baked goods, jams, and honey directly to Idaho consumers without a license or inspection, as long as…

The county Land Use Code sharply limits residential signs. A name-only sign is allowed in any zone, but a sign carrying a business name or advertising is not permitted in residential…

Kootenai County lets you run a home occupation only within strict limits: it must be run by a resident family member, employ at most one non-resident, use no more than half the main…

Kootenai County's Land Use Code sets no boundary-fence cost-sharing or 'good-neighbor' rule; those are civil matters under Idaho law. The county only regulates height, materials…

In unincorporated Kootenai County a retaining wall taller than four feet above ground level (unless within a setback area) requires a location/building permit, and any wall over four…

In unincorporated Kootenai County, fences under eight feet tall are exempt from zoning setback requirements and do not trigger a zoning permit. A fence eight feet or taller is…

Kootenai County allows conventional fence materials but forbids fences of tires, manufactured-home parts, salvaged building materials, automobile parts, junk, or garbage. Required…

Kootenai County caps fencing at eight feet under LUDC 8.4.605(D), the same threshold that lets a fence skip the title's yard setbacks entirely. Fences serving as required screening…

Idaho makes it illegal to abandon a vehicle, and defines an abandoned vehicle as one left on a highway or another's property without consent for 24 hours or longer. Kootenai County…

Kootenai County's Parking On Public Highways Ordinance bars stopping, standing or parking anywhere a posted sign prohibits it, incorporating Idaho Code 49-659 through 49-662 by…

Every residential lot in unincorporated Kootenai County must have driveway or access-road frontage that meets LUDC 8.4.201, and the fire protection district with jurisdiction decides…

Kootenai County itself sets no countywide lawn-watering schedule. Outdoor watering limits, if any, come from your city or your water/irrigation provider. Under Idaho law, outdoor…

Idaho law makes weed control mandatory: every landowner must control noxious weeds on their property at their own cost (Idaho Code 22-2407). Kootenai County's Noxious Weed Control…

In unincorporated Kootenai County there is no general tree-trimming permit, but within the 25-foot Shoreline Management Area along Lake Coeur d'Alene and the Coeur d'Alene and Spokane…

Kootenai County has no general tree-removal permit, but the distinctive Shoreline Management Area rule (County Code 8.7.111) protects trees and vegetation within 25 feet of Lake Coeur…

Kootenai County's residential zones set no numeric building-height cap in the code, but the Light Industrial zone limits buildings to three stories or 35 feet. Height limits do not…

Kootenai County's Restricted Residential Zone imposes one uniform setback table on every structure, per LUDC 8.2.409(A): a 25-foot front yard, 10-foot side yard (shrinking to 6 feet…

Kootenai County's residential and suburban zones require that development leave 65% of the parcel as open space free from structures. The code prohibits any building from occupying a…

No more than five dogs may be kept on a single Kootenai County parcel without a county kennel license (Code 5.1.201(A)(1)). A nursing litter counts as one dog with its mother until it…

Veterinary hospitals and clinics need a conditional use permit in unincorporated Kootenai County and are allowed only in the Agricultural, Rural, and Agricultural Suburban zones. LUDC…

Idaho's Right To Farm Act shields Kootenai County chicken and livestock keepers from nuisance lawsuits: once an agricultural operation, including a coop or corral, has run for more…

Kootenai County does not ban retail pet sales or require adoption-only stores. Instead, any pet shop that regularly sells dogs is legally a commercial kennel under Code 5.1.103 and…

Kootenai County doesn't license or specifically regulate exotic pets itself. Code 5.1.108 instead requires owners of any exotic or wild animal to follow every applicable federal…

Kootenai County requires dogs off their owner's property to be on a leash no longer than five feet and under control of someone able to restrain them (Code 5.1.106). Six categories of…

Kootenai County doesn't restrict dog breeds; instead it regulates individual dogs the sheriff declares "dangerous" or "at risk" after a bite or attack (Code 5.1.301). Once declared, an…

A residential hot tub or spa is handled like a pool under the county building code's adopted IRC. Idaho ended its public-spa rules on July 1, 2025, so a backyard spa's safety rules…

Above-ground pools follow the same building path as in-ground pools: they are regulated under the county building code's adopted International Residential Code, and a pool deep enough…

Idaho Code section 22-2407 makes every landowner in Kootenai County responsible for controlling noxious weeds on their own property, including vacant and unimproved lots, at their own…

Kootenai County bans outdoor storage of anything not customarily kept outside for a permitted use; items that don't qualify, extra vehicles, loose materials, equipment, must be inside…

Kootenai County's Planning Director enforces Title 8 zoning rules against unpermitted construction, non-conforming land uses, and site work that violates approved plans. Common…

Once Kootenai County mails a notice of zoning violation, the property owner has 45 days to resolve it before the notice is recorded against the parcel at the County Recorder's office…

Anyone can file a written complaint alleging a Title 8 zoning violation with the Kootenai County Planning Director. The Director must investigate the allegations right away, and if…

Kootenai County lets homeowners run "automotive hobby activities" (restoring, maintaining, or repairing vehicles) under LUDC 8.4.503, but the operation can't turn into a commercial…

Kootenai County requires a license before anyone opens or operates a massage establishment or bathhouse in the unincorporated county, issued through the county clerk after a sheriff's…

Anyone acting as a pawnbroker in unincorporated Kootenai County needs a county license on top of any state license under Idaho Code title 63, and the sheriff investigates every…

Kootenai County allows a sexually oriented business by right only in the Industrial zone; it is prohibited everywhere else. LUDC 8.4.1202 also imposes a one-thousand-foot buffer from…

Kootenai County bans anyone under 18 from being on public thoroughfares or in any public place between midnight and 5:00 a.m. unless accompanied by a parent, legal guardian, or adult…

Kootenai County prohibits overnight camping at any county park or waterway facility except at jointly managed sites or where the director posts signs allowing it. 'Overnight' is…

Kootenai County treats short-term paying-guest lodging as a bed and breakfast inn under LUDC 8.4.502, capped at five guest rooms, and requires one off-street parking space for every…

No. Idaho law bars counties from requiring a license, permit, or registration just to operate a short-term rental. Unincorporated Kootenai County imposes no STR-specific permit. Inside…

Kootenai County lets landowners voluntarily designate at least five contiguous acres as an Agricultural Protection Area (APA) under LUDC 8.3.403, locking the land into agricultural or…

Kootenai County caps outdoor illumination for every commercial, manufacturing, and industrial use in its Light Industrial and Industrial zones at 0.2 foot-candle measured at the edge…

Kootenai County treats outdoor lighting tied to a permitted recreational use, ballfields, shooting ranges, campgrounds, and similar facilities, as its own regulated activity in the…

Unincorporated Kootenai County has no separate municipal noise curfew; nighttime disturbances are prosecuted under Idaho's statewide disturbing-the-peace law, Idaho Code section…

A dog that barks, howls, or makes repetitive noise for fifteen minutes straight in daytime, or ten minutes at night, without a sixty second break, and unreasonably disturbs a…

Kootenai County's clearest numeric decibel limits apply to boats: Idaho Code 67-7038 caps motorboat noise at 88 dBA (post-1995) on a stationary test and 75 dBA on lakes over 500 feet…

Kootenai County directly regulates watercraft noise: county code 6.2.105 requires every motorboat on county waters to have a working muffler and prohibits cutouts or exhaust…

Land within the 65 DNL noise contour around Coeur d'Alene Airport sits in the county's airport overlay zone noise compatibility area under LUDC 8.3.102 and 8.3.103. New places of…

Kootenai County only allows data centers in its Light Industrial and Industrial zones, under a conditional use permit, on a parcel of at least ten acres. Facilities near a residential…

A data center in unincorporated Kootenai County has to prove, before it ever opens, that its cooling and power equipment will not push noise past the county's industrial-zone sound…

Kootenai County requires every subdivision's CC&Rs to spell out how the homeowners' association enforces its own rules, but the county keeps a backstop. Under Land Use and Development…

Kootenai County requires every association's CC&Rs to give it real teeth for collecting dues. Land Use and Development Code section 8.6.902(B)(2)(d) mandates authority to withhold…

Kootenai County can designate any nonnative, non-state-listed plant as a 'county noxious weed' through its own weed control advisory committee and board of county commissioners…

Kootenai County adopts the 2018 International Building and Residential Codes but expressly excludes the NEC Electrical Code from that adoption, so the county itself doesn't administer…

Kootenai County treats a food truck as a mobile commercial vehicle under LUDC 8.4.1409, permitted by right in the Commercial, Mining, Light Industrial and Industrial zones. Any truck…

Unincorporated Kootenai County allows one accessory living unit per parcel with an accessory living unit permit from the Director. It cannot share a common wall with the main home and…

Kootenai County has no dedicated tiny-home ordinance. A tiny home on wheels is a recreational vehicle or park model RV, which cannot be used as a permanent dwelling; a tiny home on a…

In unincorporated Kootenai County, a one-story detached storage shed 200 sq ft or smaller needs no building permit, but must still meet Title 8 placement (setback) standards, a 10-foot…

Kootenai County requires a conditional use permit before any street fair, festival, or outdoor concert can operate on unincorporated land zoned agricultural, rural, commercial, mining…

Backyard meat smokers are treated as cooking fires in Kootenai County: no permit is required, but the fire must be attended, at least 25 feet from any structure with 10 feet of…