Carbon Hill

Hocking County (county seat Logan; population ~28,000 in southeast Ohio's Hocking Hills region, anchoring a tourism economy built around Hocking Hills State Park, Ash Cave, Old Man's Cave, and Cedar Falls) has NOT adopted countywide zoning regulations as of 2026-05-20. This is a county-specific posture, not the state default: Ohio Revised Code Chapter 303 authorizes a Board of County Commissioners to adopt countywide zoning subject to voter approval in the unincorporated area to be zoned, but Hocking County has never put a countywide zoning resolution before voters. The county Regional Planning Office FAQ states the position plainly: 'A zoning ordinance can only be implemented by a vote of the elected officials at the township or municipal level or by a vote of the citizens.' Within Hocking County only the City of Logan administers a municipal zoning code (Logan Codified Ordinances Chapter 157), and at the township tier Hocking Township in adjacent Fairfield County (not the Hocking County township of the same-county name; there is no 'Hocking Township' inside Hocking County itself) is sometimes confused with the unzoned posture of the eleven Hocking County townships. None of Hocking County's eleven townships (Benton, Falls, Good Hope, Green, Laurel, Marion, Perry, Salt Creek, Starr, Ward, Washington) has adopted township zoning under ORC Chapter 519. The county's regulatory presence in unincorporated territory is therefore limited to four narrow domains: (1) the Hocking County Subdivision Regulations (originally adopted 1978, amended 2000) administered by the Regional Planning Office under ORC Chapter 711, which govern lot splits and major/minor subdivisions countywide; (2) the Hocking County Large Lot Regulations administered by the same office, which apply to splits creating parcels above a defined acreage threshold; (3) the Hocking County Flood Plain Regulations administered by the Regional Planning Office for FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas; and (4) a DRAFT Hocking County Short-Term Rental Ordinance (drafted by the County Zoning Commission, presented to commissioners in September 2025, not yet adopted as of 2026-05-20) that, if enacted, would create a county-tier permit for short-term rentals (typically Hocking Hills cabin rentals), with safety, emergency-access, and 24/7 local-contact requirements, but which would not by itself create general countywide zoning. For accessory dwelling unit purposes the practical consequence is that, outside the City of Logan, there is no zoning prohibition on a second dwelling on a parcel in unincorporated Hocking County; the project advances through county subdivision review (if a lot is being split), floodplain review (if inside an SFHA), Hocking County Health Department septic/well review, and building-permit administration through the Health Department's authorized scope.

• Hocking County Subdivision Regulations (adopted 1978, amended 2000; administered by the Regional Planning Office under ORC Chapter 711)
• Hocking County Large Lot Regulations (Regional Planning Office)
• Hocking County Flood Plain Regulations (Regional Planning Office; administered under 44 CFR 60.3 and the National Flood Insurance Program)
• DRAFT Hocking County Short-Term Rental Ordinance (drafted by County Zoning Commission, presented to commissioners September 2025, not adopted as of 2026-05-20)
• ORC Chapter 303 (county rural zoning) - the enabling statute Hocking County has NOT exercised
• ORC Chapter 519 (township zoning) - the enabling statute none of the eleven Hocking County townships have exercised

State-floor overlay: Ohio has not enacted a statewide ADU preemption or by-right ADU statute (Ohio Constitution Article XVIII home rule; ORC Chapter 303 county zoning; ORC Chapter 519 township zoning; no preemption bill has advanced past committee in the 134th, 135th, or 136th Ohio General Assembly). Hocking County's choice not to adopt countywide zoning is unconstrained by any state floor.

• flood-zone
• other
• historic-district