If you are putting a storage building on your property near Tyler, the rules that apply to you depend entirely on which side of a line your address falls on. Inside Tyler city limits, the Unified Development Code caps an accessory building at half the square footage of your house and 16 feet tall. Inside Lindale, it has to sit in the rear yard and match the color and character of the house. In unincorporated Smith County, the state's county-zoning statute, Chapter 231, gives the county no zoning authority. Same building, three different answers.
Do not assume your mailing address answers this. The City of Tyler addresses it directly: asked how to tell if an address is inside the city limits, the city's Development & Planning FAQ says "Visit SmithCountyMapSite.org to see if a property is within the City of Tyler." The city points people to a map lookup rather than to their address, so start there.
That same map site is the first step for setbacks, too. The city's guidance is to "Look up your zoning at SmithCountyMapSite.org," then "check the Dimensional Standards Table in the Unified Development Code (UDC)." Do that before you choose a building size, not after it is delivered.
Tyler's rules for accessory buildings live in Section 10-79 of the Unified Development Code.
Size is tied to your house. Under Sec. 10-79(c), "The square footage of an accessory building or structure may not exceed 50 percent of the square footage of the principal structure." A 1,600-square-foot house sets an 800-square-foot ceiling.
Height is capped at 16 feet. Sec. 10-79(h): "Accessory buildings or structure must not exceed 16 feet in height."
Rear yard coverage and setbacks. Sec. 10-79(e) says accessory buildings "must not occupy more than 30 percent of the required rear yard and must not be nearer than five feet from any side or rear lot line." A garage entered from an alley has its own five-foot line to the rear alley.
A few more from the same section:
Two practical notes from the city's own FAQ. If you are setting a building on a slab you already have, the city says yes, "only if the foundation meets the Unified Development Code (UDC) requirements for setbacks," and where there are no perimeter or bearing footings, "they must be added according to Chapter 4 of the 2021 IRC." And if you do pull a permit, it does not last forever: "Building permits are valid for six months from the issue date," though staff can extend one if you are actively working and scheduling inspections.
Lindale runs its own zoning ordinance, with its own accessory building rules.
It cannot go in front or beside the house. Sec. 3-14(c): "An Accessory Building shall not be located in a Front Yard or Side Yard." Sec. 3-14(d) puts it in the rear yard and "a minimum of five (5) feet, excluding any overhang, from a Side Lot Line or Rear Lot Line."
It has to sit 10 feet off the house. Sec. 3-14(a) sets a minimum of ten feet from the principal building.
It has to look like your house. This is the one that changes what you order. Sec. 3-15(a): "An Accessory Building shall be constructed in a manner and from materials that are consistent with the color and character of the Principal Building on the Lot." In Lindale, siding style and color are not purely a preference — pick them against the house. The same standard applies to later work: under Sec. 3-15(b), repairs, enlargements and reconstruction have to stay consistent with the existing building.
One more: Sec. 3-14(b) requires an accessory building used for farming or agricultural purposes, or for storing "chemicals, gasoline, diesel, fertilizer, hay or other highly combustible material," to sit at least thirty feet from a single-family dwelling.
These come from the zoning ordinance Lindale publishes, which carries amendments through May 4, 2012. Codes change — confirm current requirements with Lindale Community Development before you buy.
Outside any city limit, the picture changes completely, and the reason is a state one. Chapter 231 of the Texas Local Government Code contains no general grant of county zoning authority. Under that chapter, county zoning authority is limited to particular areas — some granted by name, some defined by criteria — and none of them reaches Smith County.
Smith County is not among them. Its name appears nowhere in the chapter's name-based grants, and the criteria-based grants don't reach it either.
The City of Tyler says the same thing from its side. Asked what the Planning Department does not do, the city's FAQ lists first: "Land use restrictions in Smith County."
Unincorporated Smith County runs a permitting program for on-site sewage — septic and aerobic systems. That program is administered under contract by RTS Environmental LLC.
Two thresholds are worth knowing if you own acreage. The county requires "A 1/2 acre lot or larger unless the land was plotted before 1989" for an on-site sewage facility. And for a tract of 10 acres or larger, the county waives planning materials, permits, and inspections for a single-family dwelling's OSSF — not the rest of Chapter 285's requirements — provided "The OSSF is not causing a nuisance or pollution to groundwater," "All parts of the OSSF are at least 100 feet from the property line," "The effluent is disposed of on the property," and "The single-family dwelling is the only dwelling located on that tract of land." If you already have a system, the county's position is that you "are required to maintain it and have it inspected."
To be clear: a storage building does not need a septic permit. This matters for one reason only — where you set it. Locate the system before you pick a spot.
Our Tyler display lot is at 8589 US Hwy 69 N, Tyler, TX 75706, on the north side of Tyler. Road distances from that lot:
| Town | Road distance from the Tyler lot |
|---|---|
| Lindale | 8.7 miles |
| Whitehouse | 15.3 miles |
| Bullard | 20.0 miles |
| Mineola | 20.5 miles |
| Kilgore | 31.5 miles |
| Jacksonville | 32.3 miles |
| Athens | 38.1 miles |
| Longview | 39.7 miles |
| Palestine | 50.4 miles |
Phone is 903-523-0882. Hours are Mon-Thu: 8-5 | Fri-Sat: 9-2 | Sun: Closed.
If you are still working out whether a permit is needed at all, our guide on whether you need a permit for a shed in Texas covers the statewide picture. When you know your size, rent-to-own and financing are both available, and you can see the buildings in person at our Tyler display lot.
Use the county map site. The City of Tyler's own guidance is to "Visit SmithCountyMapSite.org to see if a property is within the City of Tyler." Do not rely on your mailing address to answer this — the city directs people to the map lookup instead.
Tyler's Unified Development Code, Sec. 10-79(c), says "The square footage of an accessory building or structure may not exceed 50 percent of the square footage of the principal structure." So your house sets the ceiling. Two further limits apply: the building must not exceed 16 feet in height, and accessory buildings "must not occupy more than 30 percent of the required rear yard and must not be nearer than five feet from any side or rear lot line."
Ask the city for your specific address and size. The published city guidance we reviewed does not state a square-footage threshold at which a storage building becomes exempt, and we are not going to guess at one. What is clear is that Sec. 10-79's limits on size, height and setbacks apply whether or not a permit is pulled, so meeting them is not optional. If a permit is issued, it is valid for six months from the issue date.
No. Lindale's zoning ordinance, Sec. 3-14(c), states "An Accessory Building shall not be located in a Front Yard or Side Yard." Sec. 3-14(d) requires it to be in the rear yard and "a minimum of five (5) feet, excluding any overhang, from a Side Lot Line or Rear Lot Line."
Yes. Sec. 3-15(a) of Lindale's zoning ordinance requires that "An Accessory Building shall be constructed in a manner and from materials that are consistent with the color and character of the Principal Building on the Lot." Choose siding style and color against the house rather than independently of it.
No, not under Chapter 231 of the Texas Local Government Code, the state's grant of county zoning authority. That chapter limits zoning to particular areas — some named, some defined by criteria — and Smith County is not among them. The City of Tyler's FAQ confirms its Planning Department does not handle "Land use restrictions in Smith County." (Other county land-use powers outside Chapter 231 are a separate question.)
This article is general information, not legal or code advice, and reflects the ordinances as published in August 2026. Codes change and individual properties differ — confirm requirements for your address with the City of Tyler, the City of Lindale, or Smith County before you buy.