Zoning, building permits and septic rules in New Franklin, Ohio

At a glance

Zoning

Yes, the City of New Franklin has its own zoning code²

Before you build

Zoning certificate from the city, required for any structure, fence or sign¹

Building permit and inspections

Not confirmed for the city; Summit County Building Standards handles building permits in its service area⁴

Septic

Summit County Public Health; its written approval is part of the city application where there is no sewer³⁵

Driveway

City driveway-opening permit needed if the site has no existing access⁶

Floodplain

Development permit from the Floodplain Administrator in mapped flood hazard areas⁷

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 24, 2026.

Does New Franklin, Ohio have zoning?

Yes. The City of New Franklin adopted a zoning code that is effective throughout the city's corporate boundaries². The code sorts land into districts, including Conservation (very low density), Rural Residential, three residential density districts, a lakefront residential district, commercial and industrial districts, and canal heritage and historic overlays⁸. Which district your parcel sits in decides lot size, setbacks and allowed uses, so get the district from the⁹ before you make an offer.

We could not confirm what the code says about living in an RV, a tiny home or an accessory dwelling, or about maximum lot coverage. Ask the zoning office in writing before you plan around any of them. Land outside city limits falls under township or county rules instead; see the Summit County page.

Do you need a building permit in New Franklin, and who issues it?

Before constructing or altering any fence, sign, structure or building, including accessory and agricultural buildings, you must apply to the city for a zoning certificate¹. Agricultural buildings are not carved out of that requirement¹. The city's zoning office takes the application online, by mail or in person at city hall⁹.

The zoning certificate is separate from a state-code building permit. Summit County Building Standards says new construction in municipalities needs local municipal review and approval before it issues a permit⁴, and the division serves only some jurisdictions rather than every one in the county¹⁰. We could not confirm whether it or the city handles building-code plan review and inspections at a New Franklin address, so call both¹¹ and⁹.

How long does a New Franklin zoning certificate take?

The application needs the city's form and a plot plan, or a site or development plan when one is required¹². The Zoning Administrator decides whether the application is complete within 5 business days of receiving it and the fee¹². A compliant application is issued a certificate within 30 days of receipt, or upon any required authorization from a city board¹². The certificate becomes void after 1 year if construction has not started¹². We could not confirm the fee amount; the zoning office publishes an online payment option and takes payment at city hall⁹.

How do septic permits work inside New Franklin?

Summit County Public Health, not the city, permits the installation of new or replacement septic systems, which Ohio calls sewage treatment systems, for every address in the county¹³⁵. For a new home in a New Franklin area without sewer, the city requires the health department's written approval as part of the zoning-certificate application³.

A site and soil evaluation comes first for a new home¹⁴, and a system cannot be installed where public sanitary sewer is available, so ask the local sewer authority first¹⁵. Soil matters here: USDA rates none of Summit County's mapped soils as not limited for a conventional drain field, so expect an engineered system¹⁶. Apply through¹⁷. Private wells are also permitted by the county health district¹⁸; we could not confirm any separate city well rule.

Building a home in New Franklin: the steps, in order

1. Ask the⁹ which district your parcel is in and whether your use and structure are allowed there⁸.
2. Ask the local sewer authority whether public sewer is available; if not, order a site and soil evaluation and get septic approval from¹⁷¹⁵.
3. If the site has no existing access, get a driveway opening permit from the city's Service Director, which goes with your application⁶.
4. If any part of the parcel is in a mapped flood hazard area, get a floodplain development permit from the Floodplain Administrator before filling, grading or building⁷.
5. Submit the zoning certificate application with a plot plan and the health department approval¹².
6. Confirm with¹¹ and the city who issues the building-code permit and inspections for your address⁴.

What stays with Summit County, and what to check before you buy in New Franklin

Septic, wells and point-of-sale inspections of homes with septic or private water systems run through Summit County Public Health¹⁹. Septic operation permits set how often the system must be inspected, and the homeowner pays for the permit and hires the inspector²⁰.

County-level numbers frame the cost: Summit County's effective property tax rate is about 1.5%²¹, and the median property tax bill is about $3,018 a year²². The county's Bolthole Index score is 37.21 out of 100, and the county is dense, so New Franklin is a suburban setting, not a remote one²³²⁴. The county page at Summit County covers unincorporated land, which follows township rules rather than the city's.

Watch-outs

• New Franklin's zoning code was partly updated in 2024, and a further draft was under city review, so confirm the current text and your district with the zoning office before you rely on any standard⁸.
• We could not confirm whether the city or Summit County Building Standards issues building-code permits and inspections at a New Franklin address; ask both offices before you hire a contractor¹⁰.
• A septic system cannot be installed where public sanitary sewer is available, so check sewer availability before you pay for a soil evaluation¹⁵.

Sources

1. New Franklin Code § 156.040, Zoning Certificates (New Franklin), quoted and re-checked
2. New Franklin Code § 156.003, Jurisdiction (New Franklin), quoted and re-checked
3. New Franklin Code § 156.040, Zoning Certificates (New Franklin), quoted and re-checked
4. Summit County Codified Ordinances, § 1305.01 Requirement, quoted and re-checked
5. Operation Permits, quoted and re-checked
6. New Franklin Code § 156.040, Zoning Certificates (New Franklin), quoted and re-checked
7. New Franklin Code § 154.042, Floodplain Development Permits (New Franklin), quoted and re-checked
8. New Franklin Code § 156.060, Districts and Intent (New Franklin), quoted and re-checked
9. City of New Franklin Zoning Department (newfranklin.org)
10. Building Standards, quoted and re-checked
11. Summit County Department of Building Standards (co.summitoh.net)
12. New Franklin Code § 156.040, Zoning Certificates (New Franklin), quoted and re-checked
13. Sewage Treatment Systems, quoted and re-checked
14. New or Replacement Sewage Treatment Systems, quoted and re-checked
15. New or Replacement Sewage Treatment Systems, quoted and re-checked
16. Share of soils USDA rates "not limited" for a conventional septic drain field (SSURGO). A strict rating: the median county is about 6% and a tenth of counties are 0%, so a low figure means most lots need a site evaluation or an engineered system, not that septic is impossible. Cite it only with that caveat: Bolthole Index county data
17. Summit County Public Health - Environmental Health (scph.org)
18. Rule 3701-28-03: Permits, system approval and sampling requirements, quoted and re-checked
19. Sewage Treatment Systems, quoted and re-checked
20. Operation Permits, quoted and re-checked
21. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
22. Median property tax bill: Bolthole Index county data
23. Bolthole Index score (off-grid/homestead land score): Bolthole Index county data
24. Population density: Bolthole Index county data

Written October 24, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.