My wife and I are talking about buying an outbuilding from the Amish, similar but not as large as the one we're using for our camp. We would divide this one down the middle so that I can use half of it as a wood shop, while she could use the other half for her eBay stuff. As it is, I could build much of what we need from time to time if I had a place to work, and if I didn't have to spend the first couple of hours assembling the tools, and she has much of our house packed with stuff she's selling on eBay. She not only picks up stuff at yard sales, books sales, and secondhand stores to sell on eBay, but she does quite a lot of selling for a few other people as well, such as our auctioneer neighbor and another guy who buys, sells and collects antique advertising memorabilia. Since I really hate our building inspector and code enforcement office, I'm thinking of placing this building on a trailer that I'll have someone make for us since we only need a permit when the building is permanent, and I am pretty sure that if it's on wheels, or on blocks, we don't need to bother with that. I'll have to research that in our code though to see if that status is affected by having it wired and connected to the electrical system. I used to be a building inspector and code enforcement officer, so I'm sure I can figure it out. I have a copy of the code that I got from a former councilman.
Reynolds County, Missouri: No zoning law whatsoever. We being newcomers, knowing I had to build a shop building, I called the County Assessor, asked what she needed to issue a building permit. She laughed! Said she supposed she could issue something, but there were no requirements imposed for permitting. Ya built how ya built, and if it fell down, it was your "baby"!