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Black Hawk County

Black Hawk County Planning & Zoning (Zoning Administrator, Planning & Zoning Commission, Board of Adjustment)

In short

Black Hawk County Planning & Zoning (Zoning Administrator, Planning & Zoning Commission, Board of Adjustment) issues 3 permits we publish for Black Hawk County, last verified 2026-10-14. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.

What this agency issues

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Site Plan Review (Planning & Zoning Commission, unincorporated Black Hawk County)only if it applies to youBlack Hawk County Planning & Zoning (Zoning Administrator, Planning & Zoning Commission, Board of Adjustment)$75 per request, as published on the county's Online Forms page ("Request for Site Plan Review (PDF) $75") and on the request form ("The Request Fee of $75 (payable by check to Black Hawk County) is required")per request2026-10-14
Rezoning, Special Permit and Variance Appeal (unincorporated Black Hawk County)only if it applies to youBlack Hawk County Planning & Zoning (Zoning Administrator, Planning & Zoning Commission, Board of Adjustment)As published on the county's Online Forms page and request forms: rezoning $200 + $10 per acre ($750 maximum), rounded down to the nearest $10 increment; special permit (conditional use for floodplain development, or use exception) $125; appeal for a variance $125. All payable by check to Black Hawk County.per request2026-10-14
Floodplain Development Permit (unincorporated Black Hawk County)only if it applies to youBlack Hawk County Planning & Zoning (Zoning Administrator, Planning & Zoning Commission, Board of Adjustment)The floodplain development permit fee is not published in BHCC chapter 18.110 or on the county's Online Forms page; contact the Zoning Administrator (319-291-4366) for the current amount. A use requiring a special permit in a flood district also pays the $125 special permit request fee.per project2026-10-14

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

About each permit

Site Plan Review (Planning & Zoning Commission, unincorporated Black Hawk County)

Black Hawk County Code chapter 18.105 provides for site plan review of the development proposals listed in BHCC 18.105.020; the county's Request for Site Plan Review form covers new structures and additions to structures, each requiring a site plan. Under 18.105.030 the site plan is filed with the Zoning Administrator, who sends it to the County Engineer, the County Environmental Health Officer and the District Soil Conservationist and places it on the Planning and Zoning Commission's next agenda. The Commission determines conditions for approval within 60 days of the first meeting; if no action is taken in that time the site plan is deemed approved. The developer may appeal conditions to the Board of Supervisors within 30 days. Under 18.105.030(C), "A building permit may only be issued after Planning and Zoning Commission approval or decision of the Board of Supervisors on appeal." The $75 request fee is published on the county's Planning & Zoning Online Forms page and on the request form; 18.105.060 provides that fees follow the schedule adopted by resolution of the Board of Supervisors, on file in the Zoning Administrator's office. Planning and zoning services are provided by the City of Waterloo under a 28E agreement (715 Mulberry Street, 319-291-4366).

Rezoning, Special Permit and Variance Appeal (unincorporated Black Hawk County)

A business site in unincorporated Black Hawk County whose use is not permitted by right may need a rezoning, a special permit or a variance. As published on the county's Planning & Zoning Online Forms page and on its request forms: a Request for Rezone costs "$200 + $10 per acre ($750 max)", and the form adds "round amount down to nearest $10 increment"; a Request for Special Permit, for a conditional use (floodplain development) or a use exception, costs $125; a Board of Adjustment Request for Appeal for a variance costs $125. Each form states the fee is payable by check to Black Hawk County. Rezonings go to the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Supervisors; special permits and variances go to the Board of Adjustment. Black Hawk County Code 18.140.020 provides that fees follow the schedule adopted by resolution of the Board of Supervisors, on file in the Zoning Administrator's office, and lists rezoning, variance and special exception application fees. Applications go to the Zoning Administrator (715 Mulberry Street, Waterloo, 319-291-4366).

Floodplain Development Permit (unincorporated Black Hawk County)

Black Hawk County Code 18.110.030 (revised by Ord. 147, 2024) requires a floodplain development permit issued by the Zoning Administrator or designee before any floodplain development, defined as any manmade change to improved or unimproved real estate, including buildings or other structures, mining, filling, grading, paving, storage of materials or equipment, excavation or drilling, and the placement of factory-built homes; a site outside the mapped floodplain does not need one. The application, on forms supplied by the Zoning Administrator, describes the work, the land and the intended use and gives the 100-year flood elevation and the lowest floor elevation; a registered Iowa engineer or land surveyor certifies elevations and floodproofing before use or occupancy. Uses in the floodway, floodway fringe, general floodplain and shallow flooding districts that require special permits are allowed only with a special permit issued by the Board of Adjustment, and where required, Iowa Department of Natural Resources approval comes first (18.110.030(C)). The permit fee is not published in the code or on the Online Forms page; the special permit request costs $125.

Contact

Jurisdiction
Black Hawk County
Phone
319-291-4366

Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.

Sources

Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.

  1. Black Hawk County Code chapter 18.105, Site Plan ReviewBlack Hawk County, Iowa (codified by Code Publishing Company) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-14
  2. Black Hawk County Code chapter 18.110, Building and Floodplain Development Permits (Ord. 147, 2024)Black Hawk County, Iowa (codified by Code Publishing Company) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-14
  3. Black Hawk County Code chapter 18.140, Enforcement and FeesBlack Hawk County, Iowa (codified by Code Publishing Company) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-14
  4. Board of Adjustment, Request for Appeal (Variance) formBlack Hawk County, Iowa · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-14
  5. Planning & Zoning Commission, Request for Site Plan Review or Conditional Amendment formBlack Hawk County, Iowa · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-14
  6. Planning & Zoning Commission, Request for Special Permit formBlack Hawk County, Iowa · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-14
  7. Planning & Zoning Online Forms page (request fees)Black Hawk County, Iowa · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-14
  8. Planning & Zoning pageBlack Hawk County, Iowa · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-14
  9. Planning and Zoning Commission, Request for Rezone formBlack Hawk County, Iowa · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-14

Other offices serving Black Hawk County

The full permit list for this jurisdiction

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Iowa jurisdictions

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