Alabama

Buying Land in Blount County, Alabama

County seat Oneonta, in the foothills northeast of Birmingham. Blount County has no zoning act on its unincorporated land, so building there is governed by the residential building code rather than a use-based zoning map. It's also Alabama's self-styled 'Covered Bridge Capital,' with three surviving 19th/20th-century covered bridges spanning real creeks and rivers that cut through the county's rural land.

No Zoning Ordinance -- Building Code Governs Instead

Generally favorable

This research pass found no local act granting Blount County zoning authority over unincorporated land, consistent with the reserved status of the equivalent article in the county's own Title 45 local-law chapter. In practice, new construction outside Oneonta and the county's other small towns is reviewed against the International Residential Code through the county's building-inspection function rather than against a zoning use table or setback map.

Three Historic Covered Bridges, and the Waterways They Cross

Case-by-case / verify locally

Blount County is home to the Horton Mill, Swann, and Easley covered bridges -- 3 of Alabama's 13 surviving covered bridges. Horton Mill spans the Calvert Prong of the Little Warrior River roughly 70 feet up, and Swann crosses the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River. Land near these creek corridors sits in genuinely varied, sometimes steep terrain worth walking before you buy.

Septic Through the County Health Department

Generally favorable

Blount County follows the statewide ADPH septic standard through its own county health department. Confirm both the site permit and the installer's AOWB license before relying on any existing system.

No zoning ordinance; building code applies instead

Blount County falls into the ordinary Alabama pattern: without a legislative act specifically authorizing it, a county has no zoning power at all, and this research pass found none on the books for Blount County's unincorporated land. The county's own Title 45 local-law chapter reserves its zoning-and-planning article with no operative text. What fills that gap in Blount County is the building-permitting side rather than a land-use side: new residential construction in unincorporated areas is reviewed against the International Residential Code through the county's building-inspection process, which covers structural and safety standards but does not function as a zoning ordinance -- it doesn't dictate lot use, minimum acreage, or setback distances the way a zoning code would.

If your parcel sits inside Oneonta (the county seat) or another incorporated Blount County town, that municipality maintains its own separate zoning code, and accessory structures like an ADU would be evaluated under that municipal ordinance rather than any county-level rule. For unincorporated land, confirm directly with the Blount County Engineering/Building Department what permits and inspections actually apply to your planned use, since "no zoning" doesn't mean "no permit requirements at all" -- it means the requirements that do exist are building-code-based rather than land-use-based.

Three covered bridges, and the terrain they cross

Blount County calls itself Alabama's Covered Bridge Capital, and the claim holds up: of the 13 historic covered bridges still standing in the state, three are here -- Horton Mill, Swann, and Easley -- all open to the public. Horton Mill Covered Bridge, built in 1934, is a 220-foot double-span Town Lattice truss standing roughly 70 feet above the Calvert Prong of the Little Warrior River, a height that makes it the highest covered bridge above water anywhere in the United States; it was also the first covered bridge in the southeastern U.S. added to the National Register of Historic Places, in December 1970. Swann Covered Bridge, built in 1933, is the longest of the three at 324 feet, spanning the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River. Easley Bridge, from 1927, is the smallest.

These aren't just tourist landmarks -- they mark real creek and river crossings that shape the county's rural land geography, including meaningful elevation change near the Little Warrior River gorge that Horton Mill spans. If you're evaluating a parcel near either waterway, walk the specific site rather than assuming flat, uniform terrain; Blount County's landscape in the foothill areas northeast of Birmingham can be considerably more varied than a map alone suggests, and creek-adjacent parcels may carry floodplain or easement considerations worth checking with the county separately from the zoning question above.

Septic and water basics

Septic permitting in Blount County follows Alabama's statewide ADPH standard (Chapter 420-3-1), administered through the Blount County Health Department. Get a site evaluation and Permit to Install before any new system goes in, and if a property already has a system installed, request the health department's permit file and confirm the installer held a current Alabama Onsite Wastewater Board license -- a distinct check from the health department's own site permit.

For water use, Blount County follows Alabama's default riparian approach: a household well or ordinary farm use needs no state permit, and only a use capable of drawing 100,000 gallons a day or more triggers ADECA's Office of Water Resources registration. Given the county's creek and river-crossing terrain, confirm any existing water withdrawal point and its ADECA status directly if a listing mentions irrigation infrastructure already in place, rather than assuming it transfers automatically with the land.

Who to Call Before Buying Land in Blount County

Confirm current building-permit requirements and septic details directly with county offices; this research pass relied on search-indexed sources rather than a direct call to county staff.

Planning & Zoning