Grant County, New Mexico Las Cruces & Southwest New Mexico

Barndominium Builders in Grant County, New Mexico

Grant County, New Mexico wraps around Silver City with a mix of ranch land, national forest edges and the big open-pit copper country near Tyrone, Hurley and Santa Rita. Owners who want a shop house outside town limits often end up on rolling grassland or in the foothills, and we supply the plans and kit packages for those parcels; the building is put up by a New Mexico-licensed contractor or an owner-builder who qualifies. On the unincorporated side the county does not issue building permits at all. The State Construction Industries Division handles the building permit, the trade permits and the inspections from its Las Cruces office, but it will not issue anything until the county's floodplain development permit process is finished. The county also has no zoning outside its towns, so what governs a rural lot is mostly its deed, any covenants, the floodplain review and the land division rules. If you are sizing up barndominium contractors for a parcel out here, make sure they know the floodplain step comes first. Use the survey to send us the parcel and we will work from it.

Grant County at a glance

County: Grant County
Building permit: State of New Mexico (no local program)
Local facts on this page: 5, each linked to its source

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Before you build in Grant County

The local answers that shape a build here, each taken from the office or document that publishes it. Rules change, so we confirm them again against your parcel before drawing.

State-issued permitWho issues the permit

New Mexico Construction Industries Division (CID), Las Cruces office

Grant County states that it does not issue building permits and refers anyone building anywhere in the county to CID in Las Cruces, which also handles plumbing, mechanical and electrical permits and inspections. CID will not issue a building permit until the floodplain development permit process is complete with the county or, inside a town, the municipality.

Source: Building Permits | Grant County, NM (grantcountynm.gov)

Who issues the permit: Grant County does not issue building permits. Its assessor's page sends owners building or renovating anywhere in the county to the State Construction Industries Division office in Las Cruces, which also manages trade permit applications and inspections.
Floodplain permit first: CID will not issue a building permit until the Floodplain Development Permit Application process is complete. The county application says no work may start until the permit is issued, the permit expires if work does not begin within six months, and other local, state or federal permits may also be required.
Zoning: The June 2017 Grant County Comprehensive Plan states that there is no zoning in unincorporated areas of the county and does not recommend adopting it.
Mines and groundwater: The comprehensive plan describes a landscape marked by large mines, notes that mining can affect nearby communities' groundwater supply, and records that residential water in the county comes mainly from groundwater, much of it through rural drinking water systems, while Freeport-McMoRan holds large water rights for its operations.
Splitting a parcel: In the unincorporated county, land divisions, combinations and boundary adjustments need a Claim of Exemption form, a plat from a New Mexico-certified professional surveyor, property taxes paid in full, and review by the Planning and Community Development Department.

Building on land near Grant County

Acreage near Grant County's mining towns can look inexpensive, but water decides what it is worth. Check whether the parcel can join a rural water system or will need a domestic well from the State Engineer, and whether nearby mining has any bearing on the aquifer beneath it. Septic permits come from the Environment Department's field office. In a district with this much mining history it is worth asking about old workings near the lot, and a site visit and flood determination should come before a floor plan. Metal building homes and pole barn homes both suit ranch ground here once those basics are settled.

Other locations in this part of New Mexico

Las Cruces & Southwest New Mexico

Plans and kits for Grant County

Custom plans and kit packages, drawn to the local design figures. Construction is carried out by a New Mexico-licensed contractor. The parcel decides the budget more than the floor area does, so we quote against your land rather than a rate card.

Custom Plans

Custom barndominium plans drawn for your New Mexico parcel: sun, wind and drainage, the look you want, and design values for your site's elevation.

Barndominium Kits

Barndominium kits for New Mexico land: steel or post-frame shell packages drawn to the snow, wind and frost values for your site, delivered to your parcel.

Post-Frame Homes

Post frame and pole barn homes in New Mexico, built as real dwellings: posts set for your soil, termite protection, and a wall that handles heat and cold.

See every service

Have land in or near Grant County? Tell us about the parcel and what you want to build, and we will check it against the local rules before anything is drawn.

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Building in Grant County: questions

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How much does a barndominium cost in Grant County, New Mexico?

The land usually sets the budget more than the building: a well or a rural water hookup, a septic system, a long driveway and pad work in rocky ground can each shift the total noticeably. We do not publish our own prices. The barndominium cost guide sets out sourced ranges, and once you send the parcel through the survey we can price plans and barndominium kits against it.

Do I need a building permit for a barndominium in Grant County?

Yes, but it does not come from the county. First complete the county's floodplain development permit process, then apply to the State Construction Industries Division, which issues the building permit and inspects. Inside Silver City or another town, contact that municipality for the floodplain step; see the Silver City page.

Can I build post frame homes on rural land near Silver City?

Yes. With no county zoning, the questions are the floodplain review, the state residential code and any covenants on the deed rather than a zoning district. Post frame homes are permitted as dwellings through CID like any house; our post-frame homes page explains how they are drawn.

Keep reading

What usually comes next once you know what Grant County allows.

Barndominium Cost Guide

Sourced per-square-foot ranges by tier and size, and what moves the number on your land.

Read it

Is a Barndominium Legal in New Mexico?

Zoning, septic and who inspects, before you buy the land.

Read it

How Long Does It Take?

From parcel to move-in, and which steps set the clock.

Read it

Sources for this page

The published pages behind the Grant County facts above. Rules change, so check the current version with the office before you rely on it.

Barndominiums near Grant County

Nearby places we also cover. Across a city limit or a county line the permit office, zoning and septic rules can change, so each has its own page.

Silver City

Grant County, New Mexico

Deming

Luna County, New Mexico

Doña Ana County

New Mexico county

Building in Grant County?

Start with the survey. Tell us where the land is and what you want on it, and we will come back with which office permits it, what it will allow, and a plan to fit.

Start the survey