ADU Pass
Clinton
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Clinton, Summit County, Ohio navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 1 ZIP code.
Map
ADU details
ADU legality: with-restrictions
Practical path: Village zoning permit (Accessory Structure or New Residential application) through Zoning Inspector Jeff Ferjutz, then a county building permit through Summit County Building Standards (or Stark County BD for parcels on the Stark side of the village line). STR layered under separate Chapter 781 license; Conditional Use available where the principal use needs it.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 200 | $1,100 | $49,000 | $50,100 |
| midpoint | 525 | $1,300 | $128,625 | $129,925 |
| 700 | 700 | $1,500 | $171,500 | $173,000 |
| maximum | 850 | $1,700 | $208,250 | $209,950 |
Fee breakdown (as of 2026-04)
Permitting process
- Pre-application contact with Zoning Inspector (~5d)
Email zoning@clintonoh.gov or call Jeff Ferjutz at 330-882-4782 (Option 1) or 330-417-2298 (cell). Office hours are first-Tuesday 5-7 PM and third-Saturday 10 AM-12 PM. Confirm parcel district under the Codified Ordinance 1131 series. - Submit Village Accessory Structure / New Residential application (~14d)
File the appropriate village application set (Accessory Structure, New Residential, or New Multi-Family Residential per 2019 form set, or the 2022 consolidated form). Site plan must show principal dwelling, proposed accessory dwelling, all setbacks, and the Tuscarawas River SFHA boundary if applicable. - Conditional Use / Variance hearing if needed (~30d)
If the proposal exceeds lot-coverage, falls below side/rear setback, or proposes a use the principal district lists as conditional rather than permitted, file the Conditional Use or Variance application and prepare for a Zoning Board of Appeals hearing. - Submit Summit County Building Standards application (~5d)
After village zoning approval, file the Summit County BD residential building permit. For parcels on the Stark County side of the corporation line, file with Stark County BD instead. Include structural, MEP, energy compliance package per RCO 2019. - County BD plan review (~21d)
Reviewer checks egress, ceiling height, energy (R-49 attic, R-20 wall), smoke/CO alarms, structural adequacy. One correction cycle is normal at this scale. - Floodplain Development Permit (conditional) (~14d)
Parcels intersecting the Tuscarawas River FEMA SFHA require a Floodplain Development Permit through the Village or county floodplain administrator before earthwork. USGS gauge 03116000 (Tuscarawas River at Clinton) is the live monitoring station. - Permit issuance and inspections
Foundation, framing, MEP rough, insulation, drywall, final inspections through the issuing County BD. Village does not perform building inspections. - Certificate of Occupancy and STR license (if applicable) (~5d)
County BD issues CO. If owner intends short-term rental, file the separate annual STR license under codified Chapter 781 (CC 781.02). Bed-and-Breakfast operations file under codified Chapter 771 (C 771.02).
Viability (permitted uses)
- Long-term rental: yes (Village zoning chapters 1131-1135 (residential uses by-right post-permit)) 30-day-or-longer lease unrestricted once ADU has CO. Ohio Landlord-Tenant Act (ORC 5321) governs.
- Short-term rental: with-restrictions (Village of Clinton Codified Ordinance Chapter 781 (CC 781.02 annual STR license fee)) Clinton explicitly licenses STRs through Chapter 781. ADU-as-STR is permitted with the annual license; license is separate from zoning approval.
- Annual STR license required
- Tuscarawas River SFHA parcels carry separate flood-insurance requirement
- Summit County lodging excise tax may apply
- Office rental: no Detached commercial tenancy is not permitted in residential zoning districts.
- Home office: yes Home occupation permitted with the limits typical of small Ohio villages - no employees, no customer traffic without Conditional Use.
- Studio / workshop: yes Personal artist/workshop accessory use is permitted alongside residential.
- Agriculture: with-restrictions Backyard chickens and gardens permitted in residential zones; livestock typically requires R-AG district at the village edge.
- Relative support: yes Family-occupancy ADU is the dominant use case in Clinton - parents-on-property and aging-in-place.
Incentives
- Ohio Homestead Exemption — Eligible homeowners 65+ or permanently disabled receive a property-tax reduction on the principal dwelling.
Contacts
Staff: Jeff Ferjutz (Zoning Inspector - Village of Clinton), Jeff Ferjutz (cell, after-hours) (Zoning Inspector - Village of Clinton), Summit County Building Standards (Residential plan review and inspections)
Utilities
- Water: Village of Clinton Water (or City of Akron Water for parcels on Akron service lines) · 30d connect · $2,400
- Sewer: Summit County Department of Sanitary Sewer Services · 30d connect · $3,200
- Electric: Ohio Edison (FirstEnergy) · 30d connect · $1,500
- Gas: Dominion Energy Ohio · 30d connect · $1,400
Property values & taxes
Market rent by ADU size
| Sq ft | Rent |
|---|---|
| 400 | $825/mo |
| 600 | $1,025/mo |
| 800 | $1,225/mo |
Construction timeline
Realistic total: best 7mo · typical 11mo · worst 17mo
Akron-Canton corridor labor pool is healthy. Tuscarawas-frontage parcels add geotech and floodplain steps. Winter slowdown (Dec-Feb) extends typical and worst durations.
Modular pathway Ohio Industrialized Unit Program (OBBS) · inspectors are rare with modular
I-77 / SR 619 / SR 21 are the practical truck corridors. Tuscarawas-corridor village streets and the Towpath Trail bridges restrict module width on some lots.
Financing
Insurance impact
Tuscarawas-frontage parcels carry separate NFIP premium ($600-1100 typical). Carrier appetite is normal except for repeat-loss riverfront properties.
HOA prevalence & preemption
Clinton Village is overwhelmingly fee-simple lots; HOA prevalence is rare except in newer fringe subdivisions on the Coventry/Lakemore edge.
Regulatory overlays (2)
- flood-zone — FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area along the Tuscarawas River corridor; USGS gauge 03116000 monitors river stage at Clinton · +14d · +9% cost
Floodplain Development Permit required for any work in 100-year flood zone; finished-floor elevation requirements apply. (map) - other — Summit-Stark county border traverses the village; corporation-line parcels may fall under either Summit County BD or Stark County BD jurisdiction for residential building permits · +7d
Confirm jurisdiction at pre-application; the wrong county BD will reject the application without prejudice but the time loss is real. (map)
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Ohio amendments to IRC 2018 - removal of universal sprinkler mandate — Ohio strikes IRC R313 sprinkler requirement statewide.
- Summit County Building Standards local amendments — Summit County BD enforces RCO 2019 with no special county-only ADU amendments.
Contractor market (aggregate)
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: Village of Clinton Codified Ordinances - Chapter 1131 (Districts) and surrounding 1100-series zoning, adopted 1995-01-01, last amended 2022-09-01
- 1816-01-01 — Village laid out as 'Savannah' on the Tuscarawas River corridor (other)
Original platting of the village (later renamed Clinton) along the Tuscarawas River, reflected in the village's narrow north-south lot pattern.
Effect: Established the Tuscarawas-corridor lot geometry that the modern Zoning Code Chapter 1131 still works against - many parcels are deep but narrow. - 2018-03-01 — Residential Code of Ohio (RCO) - 2019 edition based on IRC 2018 (state-law)
Ohio Board of Building Standards adopted the 2018 IRC with Ohio amendments as the statewide Residential Code of Ohio.
Effect: Established the building-code baseline that Summit County BD enforces inside Clinton Village limits. - 2022-04-01 — Clinton CC 781.02 - Short-Term Rental Annual License Fee (city-ordinance)
Village adopted an annual STR license requirement under codified ordinance Chapter 781, separate from zoning approval.
Effect: Added a licensing layer on top of zoning for any ADU intended for short-term rental. - 2022-09-01 — Clinton New Commercial Building and Zoning Application (2022 form) (city-ordinance)
Village reissued its consolidated zoning application set; current applications dated 2019-2022.
Effect: Established the current intake form set used for Accessory Structure, Conditional Use, Variance, Fence, New Multi-Family Residential, New Residential, and Swimming Pool applications.
Known issues (1)
- policy-review (since 2024-01) — Zoning Inspector interprets ADUs under accessory-structure and second-dwelling provisions; expect case-by-case discretion until the Village adopts an explicit ADU section. (source)
Summit County — county ADU rules and overlays
County ADU ordinance
Summit County, OH (536,000 residents including Akron) is the second Ohio charter county. Like Cuyahoga, it does not exercise broad zoning authority over its 31 municipalities. Each (Akron, Cuyahoga Falls, Stow, Hudson, Tallmadge, Twinsburg, Norton, Barberton) sets its own ADU rules.
State-floor overlay: No OH statewide ADU preemption.
County regulatory overlays
Summit County administers flood-hazard, and (where mapped) coastal, wildland-fire, historic, and airport overlays that shape ADU project feasibility. The most consistent overlay across the county is FEMA NFIP floodplain regulation; other overlays apply to specific geographies inside the county.
- FEMA NFIP Special Flood Hazard Areas in Summit County — A new ADU in a mapped SFHA must be elevated to or above the Base Flood Elevation; cost impact on the project is often material.
- Historic districts and individually-listed historic resources
County permitting (unincorporated parcels)
Summit County issues building permits for parcels in unincorporated territory through its development services / planning department, with separate review tracks for zoning conformance, building-code compliance, on-site sewage where applicable, floodplain compliance, and addressing. Inside incorporated municipalities, city departments handle their own permits; the county's authority is geographically limited to unincorporated territory. An ADU permit application is typically processed as a residential building permit with a zoning verification step against the county's ordinance for the parcel's zoning district.
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
- 44216
Post Office
- 2733 W Comet Rd, 44216