Sumner County, TN Ordinances (2026)

Sumner County allows recreational backyard fires and fire pits across its suburban and rural neighborhoods. A contained fire under a spark screen needs no state burn permit, but…

Outdoor burning in Sumner County requires a Tennessee Division of Forestry permit from October 15 to May 15 for leaf and debris piles. Burning household garbage, tires, and treated…

The Tennessee Food Freedom Act lets Sumner County residents sell most homemade foods direct to consumers with no license, no inspection, and no revenue cap. State law controls, and the…

Home-based businesses approved under Sumner County's by-right 'minor' category cannot post any sign at all. Zoning Resolution Sec. 1101(P)(2)(h) states flatly that 'signage is not…

In unincorporated Sumner County, a private home may care for up to four children without a state child-care license or any zoning review, permitted outright as an accessory residential…

Minor home-based businesses in unincorporated Sumner County are capped at two customer or client visits per day, with only one customer vehicle allowed on the property at a time. The…

Sumner County allows two tiers of home-based business in unincorporated residential zones: 'minor' operations approved by right through the Planning Director, and 'major' operations…

Sumner County allows accessory dwelling units in any residential zone in connection with a single-family home, under Zoning Resolution Section 1101(R). By-right ADUs must be…

In unincorporated Sumner County, a storage building over 200 square feet, including portable buildings on skids, needs a zoning permit. The fee is a flat $100 for 200 to 600 square…

Converting a garage into living space in unincorporated Sumner County means a building permit under the adopted 2021 residential code. If the conversion creates a second dwelling, it…

A tiny home's status in Sumner County depends on its foundation. On a permanent foundation it is a dwelling under the 2021 residential code; as a second unit it must meet the ADU rules…

Sumner County government runs no countywide curbside trash service. Collection is handled city-by-city, so incorporated residents follow their municipality's schedule while…

Owners of vacant lots in unincorporated Sumner County must keep them free of overgrowth, accumulated debris, and dumped trash. Under Tennessee law the county can order cleanup after…

Sumner County can order removal of debris, overgrowth, and dilapidated conditions that endanger health or safety, and its zoning resolution bars inoperable or unregistered vehicles…

Tennessee sets a countywide child curfew by statute (Tenn. Code Ann. §39-17-1702): minors 17 to 18 must be off public places 11 PM to 6 AM on weeknights and midnight to 6 AM on…

Sumner County presumes every Major Subdivision of three or more lots and every Site Plan needs a stormwater detention or water quality facility. The developer's engineer, not the…

Tennessee has no statewide grading permit. Earthwork disturbing one acre or more triggers a TDEC construction stormwater permit, and Sumner County reviews grading and drainage under…

In unincorporated Sumner County, no development can occur in an Area of Special Flood Hazard without a permit from the County Engineer, who serves as Floodplain Administrator…

New and substantially improved homes in Sumner County's unincorporated Special Flood Hazard Areas must sit at least three feet above the Base Flood Elevation, one foot more than the…

Tennessee has no strong solar-rights law voiding HOA bans. In Sumner County's lake subdivisions, an HOA may restrict or prohibit rooftop solar; the state only lets owners record solar…

An above-ground pool deep enough to hold more than 24 inches of water needs a county pool permit in unincorporated Sumner County. The 2021 building code's barrier rules apply, though a…

Sumner County requires a barrier around every swimming pool and spa that meets the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, and any pool must sit at least 5 feet back from the…

Sumner County will not force compliance with a subdivision's covenants and restrictions by default. If a homeowners' or property owners' association fails to maintain required open…

Sumner County requires any subdivision with common open space to form an incorporated homeowners' or property owners' association before a single lot is sold, with mandatory membership…

Sumner County requires every lot in a subdivision with common open space to fund its upkeep on a pro-rata basis, and if the association ever fails to pay taxes on the common areas…

Sumner County's Zoning Resolution sets hourly decibel caps for noise crossing a property line in the unincorporated county: 60 dBA daytime and 55 dBA nighttime next to residential…

Outdoor concerts, plays, and other events using amplified sound systems in Sumner County must shut down by 10:00 PM under the temporary use permit rules, and the music can't rise to…

In unincorporated Sumner County, veterinary clinics and animal care facilities need at least 2 acres of land, with 5 acres required once the use includes an indoor or outdoor kennel…

Anyone who believes a Sumner County Zoning Resolution violation is occurring can file a written complaint with the Director of Building & Codes. The complaint must state the full cause…

Sumner County requires that a zoning complaint describe a violation no more than 30 days old, and the Director of Building & Codes can reject anything older or anything that does not…

Sumner County bans automobile and vehicle repair as a by-right minor home-based business, but allows it in the unincorporated county only as a major home-based business approved by…

Sumner County zoning bars adult entertainment activities within 2,000 feet of institutionally zoned land or community facility properties, and within 1,000 feet of residential…

Sumner County bans billboards outright in the unincorporated county: Sec. 1204(N) of the Zoning Resolution prohibits any off-premise sign, defined in Sec. 1202 to include billboards…

Garage-sale signs count as temporary signs in Sumner County. The zoning resolution lets you post them on any residential lot, capped at 16 square feet, but bars them from the public…

Sumner County requires every industrial, business, or trade building that receives or distributes vehicles, materials, or merchandise to provide off-street loading space surfaced in…

Sumner County caps outdoor storage of recreational equipment at one watercraft and trailer, two ATVs and trailer, one utility trailer, and one camping trailer or RV per dwelling unit…

Sumner County's off-street parking design standards set a two-foot minimum setback between a single-family or duplex driveway opening and the adjoining side lot line, a thirty-foot…

Sumner County requires a certified arborist-reviewed tree preservation plan before a developer can claim credit for saving existing trees toward buffer yard and landscaping…

Sumner County's Zoning Resolution caps landscaping height at 30 inches inside the vision triangle at every street intersection and driveway, so trees and shrubs planted near a corner…

Sumner County zoning requires every child care center to provide an on-site, off-street area for loading and unloading passengers and to arrange parking access so vehicles never back…

No building or structure in unincorporated Sumner County can be erected, moved, added to or structurally altered without a building permit issued by the Director of Building Codes, and…

Sumner County requires a Temporary Use Permit before anyone stages a street fair, carnival, or community/tent-assembly event in the unincorporated county. The Board of Zoning Appeals…

Sumner County caps residential fences at 8 feet in side, rear, and even transparent front yards, while commercial and industrial fences can rise to 15 feet, dropping to 6 feet between…

Sumner County bans barbed wire, razor wire, and electrified fencing on residential property, along with flammable fencing like cloth or canvas, solid plywood or scrap-lumber fences…

Any retaining wall over 4 feet tall in unincorporated Sumner County needs engineered plans sealed by a Tennessee professional engineer before it can go up. Walls must be built from…

Sumner County's Zoning Resolution classifies data centers as 'Data Processing Facilities' and confines them to industrial land: the Appendix B use table permits them outright only in…

Sumner County's Zoning Resolution sets minimum front, side and rear yard setbacks by residential district in Table 1: the Agricultural Reserve (AR) district requires a 75-foot front…

Sumner County's residential zoning districts cap lot coverage at 20 to 25 percent for houses and accessory structures, rising to 50 percent for non-residential uses on the same land…

Table 1 of Sumner County's Zoning Resolution caps building height at 35 feet in the county's four standard residential districts, Agricultural Reserve, Rural Preservation, Rural…

Sumner County's Zoning Resolution protects farming as a matter of policy: the Agricultural Reserve (AR) district exists specifically to keep land open for crops, animal husbandry…

Every mobile home community permitted in Sumner County's Mobile/Manufactured Home Community (MHC) district must be kept free of litter and debris that could shelter rodents or breed…

Tennessee has no dark-sky statute, but Sumner County's Zoning Resolution (Section 1107) limits glare to 0.5 foot-candles at a residential district boundary or street right-of-way and…

Sumner County's Zoning Resolution requires all site lighting to be shielded so directly emitted light stays within the property line, and caps glare at 0.5 foot-candles at a…

Sumner County's Zoning Resolution treats a yard sale as a permitted accessory use of a residence, but only within strict limits: a sale of personal or household items, or of produce…