Do I need a permit for a high tunnel? Agricultural exemption vs county rules

Two offices, two different clearances

A county NRCS ranking letter is not a building permit. A UCC or agricultural-building exemption is not EQIP. EQIP High Tunnel System (CPS 325) is a structure practice: the national FAQ says financial assistance is for the structure itself. Manufactured-kit rules stay on the EQIP high-tunnel county-inspection checklist. What the practice will not cover sits on what EQIP will not pay for. Neither page is a zoning certificate.

Under the High Tunnel System Initiative, financial assistance is provided only for the structure itself. Electricity, venting systems, lighting, etc. can be installed providing the additions meets manufacturer’s designs and specifications. However, the grower is responsible for those costs.

Source: USDA NRCS High Tunnel System Initiative FAQ (Updated November 2024; Oregon-branded). Structure-only money is not a building-permit clearance.

Compare commercially manufactured kits on the kit index. Method and limits sit on About Tunnel Spec. Ground-post and hold-down hardware already compared on this site — not a new ASIN table — live on high-tunnel ground posts and ground anchors / staples. Film replacement is on 6-mil plastic replacement.

Four sourced examples — variance, not a national rule

These pages disagree with each other on purpose. A Pennsylvania stormwater exemption is not a New York Uniform Code sentence. An Ohio Revised Code exclusion is not Ottawa County’s application. Do not blend them. /states stays coming-soon; this page is not a thin state-swap.

1. Pennsylvania — one COG UCC form, not “exempt in PA”

Central Keystone Council of Governments publishes an Agricultural Building UCC Permit Exemption Form. It is a municipal-COG form that quotes the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act. It is not a statewide “no permit for hoop houses” letter.

In accordance with the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Section 403.1 (b) “Exclusions and Exemptions” – the act shall not apply to an agricultural building.

Source: Central Keystone COG — Agricultural Building UCC Permit Exemption Form.

A structure utilized to store farm implements, hay, feed, grain or other agricultural or horticultural products or to house poultry, livestock or other farm animals, a milk house and a structure used to grow mushrooms, agricultural or horticultural products. The term includes a carriage house owned and used by members of a recognized religious sect for the purposes of housing horses and storing buggies. The term includes a structure that is less than 1000 square feet in size which is utilized to process maple sap. The term shall not include habitable space or spaces in which agricultural products are processed, treated or packaged and shall not be construed to mean a place of occupancy by the general public.

Source: Central Keystone COG — Agricultural Building UCC Permit Exemption Form. The form names “a structure used to grow mushrooms, agricultural or horticultural products.” Whether a given high tunnel meets that definition is the municipality’s call, not Tunnel Spec’s.

This exemption form does not exclude the above-referenced work from any Zoning, Planning, Soil Conservation and/or Local construction Permits or Approvals or any Permits required by a County, State or Federal Agency.

Source: Central Keystone COG — Agricultural Building UCC Permit Exemption Form. UCC exclusion ≠ zoning, planning, or conservation-district clearance.

The same form puts a change-of-use duty on the signer: I further acknowledge that I am responsible for obtaining a UCC Building Permit for said structure, in the event that the use of the structure changes. A fee, a setback, and a snow PSF are not stated on that PDF.

2. Pennsylvania — Act 15 is stormwater, not a building permit

A second Pennsylvania page, from the State Conservation Commission, answers a different question. Act 15 of 2018 can exempt a qualifying high tunnel from the Storm Water Management Act. That is not a UCC card and not a zoning card.

Act 15 of 2018 amended Pennsylvania’s Storm Water Management Act (SWMA) by adding a definition of “high tunnel” to Section 4 and adding a new Subsection 11(c) exempting high tunnels that meet a very specific set of conditions (detailed below) from the provisions of the SWMA.

Source: Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission — FAQ on Act 15 of 2018 and Stormwater Management for High Tunnels.

Does Act 15 of 2018 exempt high tunnels from laws other than the SWMA? No. The following state laws and regulations may still apply to high tunnels: The Clean Streams Law; Dam Safety and Encroachments Act; 25 Pa. Code Chapter 102, regarding erosion and sediment control, including post-construction stormwater management; 25 Pa. Code Chapter 105, regarding water obstructions and encroachments.

Source: Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission — FAQ on Act 15 of 2018 and Stormwater Management for High Tunnels.

Four conditions sit on that FAQ: usage; a metal, wood, or plastic frame with a flexible covering and a soil / crushed-stone / matting / pavers / floating-slab floor; impervious area not exceeding 25% of structures on the owner’s contiguous land; and siting.

A high tunnel must be sited as follows: Located at least 100 feet from any perennial stream or other watercourse, public road or neighboring property line; OR Located at least 35 feet from any perennial stream or other watercourse, public road or neighboring property line where the slope of the area where the facility is placed is not greater than 7 percent; OR With a diversion system or buffer built and managed consistent with the SWMA that ensures that runoff from the high tunnel does not directly drain into a stream or other watercourse.

Source: Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission — FAQ on Act 15 of 2018 and Stormwater Management for High Tunnels. The 100-foot / 35-foot / 7-percent figures are Act 15 SWMA siting for that exemption only — not a statewide building-permit setback and not a number to reuse in Ohio or New York.

If a high tunnel is constructed and sited in accordance with the provisions of Act 15 of 2018, it is eligible for exemption from the provisions of the SWMA only.

Source: Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission — FAQ on Act 15 of 2018 and Stormwater Management for High Tunnels.

3. New York — temporary greenhouse is equipment, zoning still applies

New York splits the question the other way: a qualifying temporary greenhouse is not a “building” under the Uniform Code, so a building permit is not required on those pages — and zoning is not waived.

Therefore, temporary greenhouses that are specifically designed, constructed and used for the culture and propagation of horticultural commodities are exempt from requirements for building permits. However, temporary greenhouses are not exempt from local zoning requirements.

Source: NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets — Guidelines for Review of Local Laws Affecting Temporary Greenhouses (3/10/03).

Therefore, as a “temporary greenhouse” does not meet the definition of a “building,” the Uniform Code does not regulate the construction of structures that meet the definition of a “temporary greenhouse.”

Source: NYS Department of State — TB-M001-MISC Temporary Greenhouse (code effective 31 October 2017).

Temporary greenhouse: means specialized agricultural equipment having a framework covered with demountable polyurethane materials or materials of polyurethane nature and lacking a permanent and continuous foundation which is specifically designed, constructed and used for the culture and propagation of horticultural commodities.

Source: NYS Department of State — TB-M001-MISC Temporary Greenhouse (code effective 31 October 2017). The Ag & Markets footnote uses the same specialized-equipment definition, including the retail-sale ban and poles in non-continuous concrete.

A “temporary greenhouse” does not have to be located on a farm, nor in an agricultural district defined by the New York State Agriculture and Markets Law. A “temporary greenhouse” may be for personal use or for commercial use; however, it cannot be “used for the retail sale of any farm or non-farm products.”

Source: NYS Department of State — TB-M001-MISC Temporary Greenhouse (code effective 31 October 2017). The same bulletin: the law does not require periodic dismantling.

Ag & Markets also names AML §305-a for erection and use as part of a farm operation, and names Real Property Tax Law §483-c plus a one-time filing. No tax-exemption dollar is stated on that PDF, so none is copied here.

4. Ohio — statute plus one county form

Ohio’s Revised Code writes an agricultural-structure exclusion into the building-standard sections, and a separate township-zoning limit. Ottawa County still hands you an application.

Sections 3781.06 to 3781.18, 3781.40, and 3791.04 of the Revised Code do not apply to any of the following: (1) Buildings or structures that are incident to the use for agricultural purposes of the land on which the buildings or structures are located, provided those buildings or structures are not used in the business of retail trade.

Source: Ohio Revised Code § 3781.06 (effective 1 January 2025).

For purposes of this division, a building or structure is not considered used in the business of retail trade if fifty per cent or more of the gross income received from sales of products in the building or structure by the owner or operator is from sales of products produced or raised in a normal crop year on farms owned or operated by the seller.

Source: Ohio Revised Code § 3781.06 (effective 1 January 2025). “Agricultural purposes” on that section include horticulture, floriculture, olericulture, and pomiculture. Whether a high tunnel is “incident to” the land’s agricultural use is not a Tunnel Spec finding.

Except as otherwise provided in divisions (B) and (D) of this section, sections 519.02 to 519.25 of the Revised Code confer no power on any township zoning commission, board of township trustees, or board of zoning appeals to prohibit the use of any land for agricultural purposes or the construction or use of buildings or structures incident to the use for agricultural purposes of the land on which such buildings or structures are located, including buildings or structures that are used primarily for vinting and selling wine and that are located on land any part of which is used for viticulture, and no zoning certificate shall be required for any such building or structure.

Source: Ohio Revised Code § 519.21 (effective 20 March 2026). Division (B) still lets township zoning regulate agriculture on lots of one acre or less, and incident buildings on lots greater than one and not greater than five acres (setback, height, size) in certain platted subdivisions or 15-or-more-lot areas. Division (B) confers no such power on lots greater than five acres. Division (D) is marijuana-siting language on that page — not copied as a high- tunnel rule.

In order to qualify for an agricultural exemption, the building or structure must be primarily used in agriculture, directly related to an agricultural activity, and that agricultural activity is occurring on the same parcel of land.

Source: Ottawa County, Ohio — Application for Agricultural Use Buildings. The form also cites ORC Chapters 303 and 519 for “building zoning exemptions for buildings and structures that are primarily agricultural activities.”

Approval for the local zoning inspector and the following departments must be obtained prior to final approval and building permit exemption for agricultural use buildings per OBC Section 101.2.

Source: Ottawa County, Ohio — Application for Agricultural Use Buildings. Zoning inspector; Regional Planning (100-year floodplain → Special Flood Hazard Area Development Permit); Health.

Agricultural buildings used as stables or other areas used for animals where manure may accumulate, must maintain at least 50 feet from any private water source. All other agricultural buildings shall be installed at a minimum distance of at least 10' away from any portions of a sewage treatment system.

Source: Ottawa County, Ohio — Application for Agricultural Use Buildings. The 50-foot and 10-foot figures are Ottawa County Health form language only — not an Ohio statewide high-tunnel setback and not a number to reuse in Pennsylvania or New York.

The owner’s block requires reporting a change of occupancy or use. False statements can mean forced removal. A permit fee is not stated on that PDF.

What we do not invent

• Permit fees, EQIP dollars, snow or wind PSF. None of the pages opened tonight state a building-permit fee, a zoning-certificate fee, or an EQIP payment dollar for a high tunnel. None of the pages opened tonight state a snow-load or wind-load PSF for a high-tunnel kit.
• Statewide “exempt in X” claims. The COG form is one Pennsylvania municipal form. Act 15 is SWMA-only. New York’s temporary-greenhouse definition is that state’s Executive Law, not a Midwest rule. Ohio’s Revised Code is Ohio’s.
• Indiana. Indiana NRCS Conservation Practice Standard 325 PDF timed out tonight (HTTP 000 / HTTP/2 INTERNAL_ERROR). No Indiana zoning or permit sentence is copied.
• Pending bills. Ohio Senate Bill 120 (temporary-greenhouse language) is legislation-in-progress on the pages opened tonight. It is not treated as current law.
• Setbacks copied out of context. Ottawa 50 ft / 10 ft and Pennsylvania Act 15 100 ft / 35 ft / 7% stay labeled as those pages. If your county PDF is thin or 404, the cell stays an em dash.

FAQ

Do I need a building permit for a high tunnel?

That is a county answer, not a national rule and not a Tunnel Spec determination. A Central Keystone COG form in Pennsylvania says the Construction Code Act shall not apply to an agricultural building — and the same form says the exemption does not drop zoning, planning, soil-conservation, or other county, state, or federal permits. New York’s Ag & Markets guidelines and DOS TB-M001-MISC say a qualifying temporary greenhouse is specialized agricultural equipment, not a building, so the Uniform Code does not regulate it — and those same pages say it is not exempt from local zoning and cannot be used for retail sale. Ohio Revised Code § 3781.06 says certain building-standard sections do not apply to structures incident to agricultural use that are not used in retail trade. Call the county planning/zoning office and the county NRCS office before you buy or pour. Tunnel Spec is not legal advice.

Does an agricultural exemption skip zoning?

Not on the pages copied tonight. The Central Keystone COG UCC form says the exemption does not exclude zoning, planning, soil conservation, or local construction permits. New York Ag & Markets: temporary greenhouses “are not exempt from local zoning requirements.” Ohio Revised Code § 519.21 says township zoning generally confers no power to prohibit incident agricultural buildings and that no zoning certificate shall be required — except as in divisions (B) and (D), including certain platted subdivisions and 15-or-more-lot areas where lots of one acre or less, and incident buildings on lots greater than one and not greater than five acres, may still be regulated. Ottawa County, Ohio still requires zoning-inspector, regional-planning, and health-department sign-off on its agricultural-use application. Call planning/zoning. Tunnel Spec is not legal advice.

Does EQIP approval replace a building permit?

No. The NRCS High Tunnel System Initiative FAQ says financial assistance is provided only for the structure itself. That is a cost-share practice, not a building-permit clearance and not a zoning certificate. Commercially manufactured kit rules stay on the EQIP county-inspection checklist. Call the county NRCS office about the practice, and call planning/zoning about permits. Tunnel Spec is not USDA and is not legal advice.

Are Pennsylvania high tunnels exempt from stormwater rules?

Act 15 of 2018, on the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission FAQ, exempts a high tunnel that meets four named conditions from the Storm Water Management Act only. The same FAQ answers “Does Act 15 of 2018 exempt high tunnels from laws other than the SWMA?” with no, and lists the Clean Streams Law, the Dam Safety and Encroachments Act, and 25 Pa. Code Chapters 102 and 105. Siting numbers on that FAQ — 100 feet, or 35 feet where slope is not greater than 7 percent, or a SWMA-consistent diversion or buffer — are Act 15 SWMA siting for that exemption, not a statewide building-permit rule and not a Tunnel Spec setback. Call the county conservation district and planning/zoning. Tunnel Spec is not legal advice.

Does Tunnel Spec know my county fee or setback?

No. None of the pages opened tonight state a building-permit fee, a zoning-certificate fee, a snow- or wind-load PSF, or an EQIP payment dollar. Ottawa County’s health block names 50 feet from a private water source for stables and 10 feet from a sewage treatment system for other agricultural buildings — those feet are that form’s language, not a national setback. Pennsylvania’s 100-foot / 35-foot / 7-percent figures are Act 15 SWMA siting on the SCC FAQ, not a UCC setback. If a county page is thin or 404, the gap stays an em dash. Call planning/zoning and the county NRCS office.

Zoning, building permits, and agricultural exemptions are local. Call the county planning/zoning office and the county NRCS office before you buy a kit or pour a footing. Tunnel Spec is not legal advice and is not USDA.