Delta

Fulton County's operationally significant overlays cluster around (1) FEMA NFIP floodplain regulation along the county's stream corridors - the Tiffin River across the north of the county, Bean Creek and its tributaries in the west and southwest, Swan Creek through the southeast, and Mill Creek and Brush Creek tributaries that drain to the Maumee - which together create the SFHA mapping that constrains rural ADUs in roughly the lower elevations of the county; (2) Current Agricultural Use Value (CAUV) enrollment, which covers a very high share of unincorporated parcels in this predominantly agricultural Black Swamp county and creates recoupment exposure when an ADU enlarges a residential homesite on enrolled farmland; and (3) limited but real public-land constraints - Goll Woods State Nature Preserve in German Township and a portion of Maumee State Forest extending into Swan Creek Township along the southeastern county line - where adjacent private parcels combine state-land boundaries with floodplain and septic constraints. The county has no coastal overlay (it is inland), no wildland-urban-interface fire overlay, and no countywide historic-preservation overlay. The City of Wauseon and the larger villages may maintain their own local historic districts but those are municipal, not county. Unzoned townships (where they exist among Fulton County's twelve townships) function as a de facto inverse overlay in that no township zoning permit step is required, though state building code, floodplain, and septic regulation still apply. The Sauder Village complex near Archbold is a privately operated heritage site and is not a regulatory overlay.

• FEMA NFIP Special Flood Hazard Areas along the Tiffin River, Bean Creek, Swan Creek, Mill Creek, and Brush Creek corridors in Fulton County — Critical facilities must be sited outside the SFHA when feasible. Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) and Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) processes can adjust effective mapping for parcels with verified higher ground elevations.
• Agricultural-use parcels under CAUV (Current Agricultural Use Value) — ADU applicants on CAUV-enrolled parcels should consult the County Auditor before construction to understand recoupment exposure and to verify which portion of the parcel remains in agricultural use after the ADU is added.
• Goll Woods State Nature Preserve and Maumee State Forest (Swan Creek Township edge) — Private inholdings and adjacent parcels remain subject to the underlying township zoning (where adopted), Ohio Building Code, county floodplain ordinance, and septic/well requirements.

Permit responsibility in unincorporated Fulton County is split across several offices. (1) Township zoning permits for residential construction (including ADUs as accessory residential structures, where the township's resolution allows them) are issued by the zoning inspector of the township the parcel sits in - applicants must contact the specific township inspector directly. Not every Fulton County township has adopted zoning; in unzoned townships there is no township zoning permit step, but state building code, FEMA floodplain regulation, and septic/well requirements still apply. (2) Residential building permits under the Ohio Residential Code (RCO) for one-, two-, and three-family dwellings in unincorporated Fulton County are administered through the Fulton County Building Inspection arrangement - the county contracts inspection services through a certified building department under ORC Chapter 3781 because Fulton County does not operate its own certified residential building department; commercial construction in unincorporated territory routes to the Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Industrial Compliance. (3) Floodplain development permits in unincorporated areas are administered by the Fulton County floodplain administrator (housed with the Regional Planning Commission) under the county's participation in the National Flood Insurance Program. (4) On-site sewage approval is administered by the Fulton County Health Department where no public sewer is available - septic system review is one of the more time-consuming steps for an ADU added to a parcel served by an existing system because soil-suitability and reserve-area requirements may force system upgrades. (5) Driveway access permits onto county roads are issued by the Fulton County Engineer's office (151-A South Fulton Street, Wauseon). An ADU project in unincorporated Fulton County therefore typically requires: a township zoning permit (if the township is zoned), a residential building permit, a floodplain development permit if the parcel is in a FEMA SFHA along the Tiffin River, Bean Creek, or Swan Creek corridors, on-site sewage approval, and an address assignment from the county addressing authority.