ADU Pass
Clinton
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Clinton, Van Buren County, Arkansas navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 1 ZIP code.
Map
ADU details
ADU legality: allowed
ADUs are now allowed by-right under Act 313. Clinton has actual city-hall permitting infrastructure, unlike the other three AR cities in this batch. Archey Fork (a fork of the Little Red River) bisects town; FEMA SFHA applies along its banks. Greers Ferry Lake (~12 mi south) and Little Red River trout fishing draw tourism that supports STR demand.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 300 | $250 | $60,000 | $60,250 |
| 600 | 600 | $250 | $120,000 | $120,250 |
| midpoint | 600 | $250 | $120,000 | $120,250 |
| maximum | 1,000 | $250 | $200,000 | $200,250 |
Fee breakdown (as of 2026-04)
Permitting process
- Pre-application visit at Clinton City Hall (273 Main Street) (~5d)
Clinton City Hall houses the Recorder/Treasurer where ordinances are filed and where permit packets are issued. No online portal. Counter visit confirms parcel zoning posture (most are R-1 / R-2 single-family by historical practice; Act 313 by-right floor binds). - FEMA FIRM check for Archey Fork / Little Red River SFHA (~10d)
Archey Fork bisects Clinton; significant downtown and east-side parcels are in FEMA Zone AE. NFIP-participating Clinton requires elevation certificate and FF 1ft above BFE on SFHA lots. Archey Fork Park is itself in floodway. - Water / sewer tap availability check (Clinton Water Department) (~7d)
Clinton has municipal water and sewer in most of the city. Department confirms tap availability. Act 313 bars 'extra utility tap' requirements - existing primary's tap may serve the ADU if capacity allows. - ADH septic permit if outside sewer service area (~30d)
Some Clinton-edge parcels (annexed rural land) lack sewer. ADH Designated Representative completes soil/perc; Form ENV-2 filed. - Submit permit application + plans at City Hall counter (~14d)
Site plan, floor plan, elevations, and Act 313 compliance certification. Building official reviews against IRC 2018 + AR amendments. Fee capped at $250 statewide. - Plan check (building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical) (~21d)
Clinton building official is part-time / contracted. Single plan-check cycle typical for code-compliant ADU plans. - Permit issuance + state ADOT access permit if on Highway 65 / 16 (~7d)
Permit issued at counter once corrections cleared. Highway 65 (US-65) and AR-16 frontage parcels also require ARDOT District 8 (Russellville) access permit. - Construction inspections (foundation incl. flood-elevation if SFHA, framing, MEP rough, insulation, final)
Six standard inspection points. Clinton inspector schedules ~3 day lead time. AR has no residential sprinkler mandate. - Final inspection + Certificate of Occupancy (~7d)
City inspector signs off; CO issued at City Hall. ADU occupiable for rental or owner use.
Viability (permitted uses)
- Long-term rental: yes Long-term rental allowed. Clinton's ~2,600 population plus county-seat employment and Highway 65 truck/commute corridor provide steady tenant demand.
- Short-term rental: yes (No City of Clinton STR ordinance currently filed in Recorder/Treasurer's office; AR state lodging tax 2% applies) STR demand is the strongest of the four AR cities in this set. Chuckwagon Races (Labor Day weekend), Archey Fest, Greers Ferry Lake summer season, and Little Red River fall trout season produce four distinct demand peaks. Closest STR-regulating jurisdictions are Heber Springs (Cleburne County, 25 mi south) and Mountain View (Stone County, 30 mi north).
- Office rental: no ADU is residential under Act 313.
- Home office: yes Home occupation by-right under Act 313.
- Studio / workshop: yes Personal artist / craft / fly-tying studio common Ozarks use case.
- Agriculture: with-restrictions Inside Clinton city limits, livestock and agriculture are restricted by city ordinance to specific lot sizes and types. Outside city limits, AR Right-to-Farm protections apply broadly.
- Relative support: yes Family-occupancy ADU explicit under Act 313. Common pattern for retirees moving back to be near Greers Ferry Lake / Highway 65 services.
Incentives
- USDA Rural Development Section 504 Repair Loan/Grant — Up to $40,000 loan / $10,000 grant for elderly low-income owners (Income-qualified rural homeowners)
- Greers Ferry / Little Red River Tourism Branding — Clinton sits at the gateway to Greers Ferry Lake (~12 mi south) and the world-class Little Red River trout fishery. Archey Fork and Three Rivers Trailhead are downtown. STR positioning for fishing-cabin / lake-trip tourism is the strongest revenue lever in the four-city set.
- Clinton Chuckwagon Races / Archey Fest annual events — Annual events drive concentrated STR demand for several weekends per year - Chuckwagon Races (Labor Day weekend) and Archey Fest among the largest.
Contacts
Staff: City of Clinton Recorder/Treasurer (Permit applications, ordinance filings (273 Main Street)), Van Buren County Judge Dale James (Driveway / road frontage approvals for unincorporated parcels), Van Buren County Clerk Pam Bradford (Deed and easement recording (1414 Hwy 65 S, Suite 128)), Arkansas Department of Health - Van Buren Local Health Unit (On-site wastewater (septic) and well permits for parcels outside city sewer), ARDOT District 8 (Russellville) (US-65 / AR-16 access permits)
Utilities
- Water: City of Clinton Water Department · 14d connect · $500
- Sewer: City of Clinton Wastewater (sewer in most of city; ADH-regulated septic outside) · 14d connect · $350
- Electric: Petit Jean Electric Cooperative (or First Electric Cooperative depending on parcel) · 14d connect · $950
- Gas: CenterPoint Energy (limited service area within city) or propane · 21d connect
Property values & taxes
Market rent by ADU size
| Sq ft | Rent |
|---|---|
| 300 | $575/mo |
| 600 | $825/mo |
| 800 | $950/mo |
| 1,000 | $1,075/mo |
Construction timeline
Realistic total: best 7mo · typical 11mo · worst 16mo
Clinton has the deepest GC bench of the four AR cities due to lake-area cabin construction. Specialty trades drive 30-60 mi from Conway, Heber Springs, or Searcy. Highway 65 corridor logistics excellent vs the other three.
Modular pathway Arkansas Manufactured Home Commission - modular plan-approval · inspectors are occasional with modular · 1 modular permits (last 24mo)
US-65 is a 4-lane principal arterial accommodating standard-width modules. AR-16 east of Clinton has switchback hills constraining 16+ ft widths. Archey Fork bridges ok for standard delivery loads.
Financing
State ADU loans:
- USDA Rural Development Section 502 Direct/Guaranteed (USDA Rural Development)
- ADFA Move-Up Choice Mortgage (Arkansas Development Finance Authority)
- ADFA Down Payment Assistance (Arkansas Development Finance Authority) up to $15,000
Insurance impact
NFIP premium required for SFHA financing on Archey Fork lots. Tornado/hail exposure pushes AR rural premiums above national average. Water-recreation STR adds visitor liability rider.
HOA prevalence & preemption
Most Clinton parcels are fee-simple without HOA. HOA-governed lots cluster in lake-front subdivisions south of town toward Greers Ferry; those covenants often restrict accessory structures.
Regulatory overlays (4)
- flood-zone — FEMA SFHA Zone AE along Archey Fork bisecting Clinton; Archey Fork Park is in floodway · +14d · +9% cost
Clinton participates in NFIP. Archey Fork has produced significant flood events; FF 1 ft above BFE; flood vents on enclosed below-base areas; flood insurance required for federally-backed financing. Several downtown blocks south of Main are SFHA. (map) - tornado-zone — Van Buren County is in north-central Arkansas tornado corridor · +4% cost
ASCE 7-22 wind design speed 110 mph. Storm shelter / FEMA P-320 saferoom common voluntary add at $4-7K. (map) - highway-corridor — US Highway 65 (4-lane truck route Conway-Branson) and AR-16 cross Clinton · +7d · +2% cost
ARDOT access permit required for new driveways onto US-65 or AR-16. Highway-corridor noise STC ratings rarely required but recommended for trucking-route adjacent parcels. (map) - karst-geology — Ozark karst on parcels east and north of Clinton; Greers Ferry / Sugar Loaf area · +14d · +5% cost
Septic perc test can fail or require modified-system over fractured limestone. Less prevalent than Izard County but real on Clinton's east side. (map)
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Volumes I-III — Removes residential sprinkler mandate (R313); state amendments to wildland-urban interface and tornado-resistant guidance.
- City of Clinton local building amendments (in Recorder/Treasurer's office) — Local administrative amendments; now subject to Act 313 preemption test for ADU-related provisions.
Contractor market (aggregate)
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: City of Clinton Ordinances (filed in Recorder/Treasurer's office, 273 Main Street); Arkansas Act 313 binding floor, adopted 2025-03-18, last amended 2026-01-01
- 1833-11-11 — Van Buren County established by Arkansas Territorial Legislature (other)
Van Buren County formed; named after President Martin Van Buren.
Effect: Pre-statehood county boundaries; Clinton later established as county seat. - 1933-01-01 — Van Buren County Courthouse construction begins (WPA-funded) (other)
WPA-funded courthouse opens 1934; at 100 ft x 43 ft it is Arkansas's smallest courthouse by covered ground.
Effect: Established the courthouse-square character of downtown Clinton. - 1962-09-04 — Greers Ferry Dam dedication (President Kennedy's last public dedication) (other)
President Kennedy dedicated Greers Ferry Dam ~12 mi south of Clinton; the lake transformed Van Buren County's economy.
Effect: Tourism corridor (Greers Ferry Lake, Little Red River trout, scenic Highway 65) became Clinton's primary economic driver and shapes STR demand today. - 2017-01-01 — Arkansas Fire Prevention Code adopts IRC 2018 base (state-law)
Statewide AR Fire Prevention Code adopts IRC 2018 with state amendments and removes residential sprinkler mandate.
Effect: Clinton residential construction governed by IRC 2018 + AR amendments; no statewide sprinkler requirement. - 2025-03-18 — Arkansas Act 313 of 2025 (HB 1503) - statewide ADU by-right (state-law)
Statewide preemption requiring by-right ADU on residential lots; $250 fee cap.
Effect: Clinton municipal restrictions stricter than Act 313 are preempted after 2026-01-01. - 2026-01-01 — Act 313 effective date (state-law)
Statewide ADU floor takes effect.
Effect: Clinton must accept ADU applications by-right at $250 fee cap going forward.
Known issues (2)
- policy-review (since 2025-03) — Clinton's older zoning ordinances filed in the Recorder/Treasurer's office may include now-preempted rules (parking, owner-occupancy, lot-coverage caps stricter than Act 313). City has not yet published a reconciled post-Act-313 codification. (source)
- policy-review (since 2024-06) — FEMA preliminary FIRM update for the upper Little Red River basin could expand SFHA into now-unmapped parcels; verify with NFIP coordinator at City Hall before site selection. (source)
Arkansas state — ADU law and programs
State ADU law
Arkansas enacted statewide ADU preemption through HB 1503, signed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders on 2025-03-18 as Act 313 of 2025. The act takes effect 2026-01-01. From that date forward, every Arkansas municipality must permit at least one accessory dwelling unit by-right on every single-family-zoned residential parcel; ADUs may not exceed the lesser of 75% of the primary dwelling's floor area or 1,000 square feet; application fees are capped at $250; cities may not require a special-use permit, public hearing, or restrictive covenant as a condition of ADU approval. Existing local ADU regulations that conflict with the act become invalid on the effective date. Cities are free to adopt MORE permissive ADU rules but may not adopt stricter ones after 2026-01-01. Arkansas became the eighth US state to enact statewide ADU preemption.
State financing programs
Arkansas does not operate an ADU-specific statewide loan, grant, or forgivable-loan program. The Arkansas Development Finance Authority (ADFA) is the state's housing finance agency and administers first-time-homebuyer mortgages, down-payment assistance, and the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit allocation. None target ADU construction directly, though an ADU-bearing primary residence can qualify for the underlying mortgage when other eligibility criteria are met. Statewide ADU programs may emerge under the Act 313 implementation framework after the 2026-01-01 effective date, but no ADU-specific ADFA program has been announced as of 2026-04-26.
State housing programs
Arkansas's state-level ADU programs operate primarily through the Act 313 preemption framework (effective 2026-01-01) rather than a separate pre-approved-plan catalog or fee-waiver statute. Act 313 itself functions as an effective fee cap (the $250 application-fee ceiling) and prohibits special-use permits or public hearings as approval conditions, which together act as a state-level streamlined-review mandate. Arkansas does not operate a statewide ADU plan library; municipal pre-approved-plan programs may emerge during 2026 implementation.
Federal (United States) — ADU-relevant rules and programs
Federal ADU law
The United States has no federal statute that directly regulates accessory dwelling unit entitlement or design. Land-use authority over ADUs resides with states and local governments under the traditional police power. Federal engagement is limited to financing (Fannie/Freddie/FHA/VA/USDA), flood insurance (FEMA/NFIP), and discretionary housing programs (HUD), which are recorded in sibling sections of this file.
Federal financing programs
Federal housing-finance agencies and GSEs set nationwide underwriting rules that govern whether an ADU can be financed, appraised, and counted toward mortgage qualifying income. The relevant actors are Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA (HUD), VA, and USDA Rural Development.
Federal tax credits
There is no ADU-specific federal tax credit. ADUs may incidentally qualify for existing federal energy-efficiency and clean-energy tax credits when the ADU construction includes qualifying measures.
Federal housing programs
HUD administers several discretionary programs that can fund ADU-related activity at the grantee's election, but none is an ADU-specific program.
ZIP Code
- 72031
Post Office
- 145 Volunteer Pkwy, 72031