Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Perrysville, Ohio

At a glance

Zoning

Village zoning code with districts A, R, C and I¹

Zoning certificate

Required before construction starts¹

Building permit

State plan approval applies where a certified building department has jurisdiction; the village's office is unconfirmed⁴

Septic permit

Ashland County Health Department²

Well permit

Required; issued through the Ashland County Health Department³

Industrialized homes

Allowed in zoning districts that permit them, at least 750 sq ft⁵

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 14, 2026.

Does Perrysville, Ohio have zoning, and what does it mean for homes and lots?

Yes. The Village of Perrysville in Ashland County has its own Planning and Zoning Code, with four districts: A, R, C and I¹. Village zoning is administered through zoning certificates issued by the zoning inspector¹.

Industrialized unit homes (factory-built houses that are not mobile homes) are permitted or conditionally permitted according to each district's requirements, must sit on a permanent foundation and must be state-approved⁶. Such a home may not be less than 750 square feet⁵.

We did not open the district chapters, so we cannot state lot sizes, setbacks or height limits for A, R, C or I. We also could not confirm rules on RVs or tiny homes inside the village. Ask the village zoning inspector before you buy.

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

Ohio law bars an owner from starting construction until plans have been approved, and in areas where no certified building department has jurisdiction the owner is not required to make those plan submissions⁴⁷. Enforcement runs through certified municipal, township or county building departments⁸.

We could not confirm whether the Village of Perrysville runs its own certified building department or which office issues residential building permits inside village limits. The village's code contains a building code part, but we could not read it. Confirm with the village before you plan on the answer being "none".

The Ashland County Engineer states that it does not issue zoning or building permits, and that residential construction is handled individually by the townships⁹. That statement covers land outside the village.

How do septic permits work in Perrysville?

Ohio requires a permit from the board of health to install or alter a sewage treatment system¹⁰. In Ashland County that board is the Ashland County Health Department, whose Environmental Health Division issues the household sewage treatment system permit and inspects the completed system¹¹.

The first step is a site-review application with a $110 fee, which is not itself a permit¹². Where public sewer is accessible and available, Ohio rules require connecting to it instead¹³. Ask the village whether sewer reaches your lot; we did not confirm this.

Private wells need a permit as well, issued through the same county health department³.

Building a home in Perrysville: the steps, in order

1. Ask the village zoning inspector which district (A, R, C or I) covers the lot and whether your use is allowed there¹.
2. Obtain the zoning certificate before any construction starts¹.
3. Confirm with the village which office issues building permits and reviews plans; we could not confirm it.
4. If no sewer line is available, apply to the Ashland County Health Department for septic site review and an installation permit¹¹².
5. For a private well, obtain the well permit through the county health department³.
6. Book the final inspection; the health department inspects completed septic installations before approving the system¹¹.

What stays with Ashland County, and what to check before you buy in Perrysville

Septic and well permits for Perrysville addresses stay with the Ashland County Health Department²³. Driveways onto state or U.S. routes are controlled by the Ohio Department of Transportation, while the county engineer permits driveways on county and township roads¹⁴.

The county's own rules, including its lot-split process, apply to unincorporated land, not the village¹⁵. See the Ashland County page for land outside Perrysville.

Check floodplain status before buying: Ohio rules require permits for development in mapped Zone A flood areas¹⁶. Ashland County's typical effective property tax rate is about 1%¹⁷.

Watch-outs

• We could not confirm which office issues residential building permits and inspections inside Perrysville, though Ohio requires plan approval where a certified building department has jurisdiction⁴; ask the village before you design or buy.
• We read only the village's industrialized housing section, so district lot sizes, setbacks, RV and tiny-home rules inside Perrysville are unconfirmed; the village zoning inspector administers its zoning code¹.
• Ashland County's statements about townships handling zoning and residential construction do not describe land inside village limits⁹.

Sources

1. Perrysville Codified Ordinances 1117.24 Industrialized Unit Housing (American Legal Publishing) (Village of Perrysville), quoted and re-checked
2. Procedure to Obtain Approval to Permit and Install a Household Sewage Treatment System, quoted and re-checked
3. Private Water Systems - Ashland County Health Department, quoted and re-checked
4. Section 3791.04 | Submission of plan - approvals - prohibition - fine (Ohio statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
5. Perrysville Codified Ordinances 1117.24 Industrialized Unit Housing (American Legal Publishing) (Village of Perrysville), quoted and re-checked
6. Perrysville Codified Ordinances 1117.24 Industrialized Unit Housing (American Legal Publishing) (Village of Perrysville), quoted and re-checked
7. Section 3791.04 | Submission of plan - approvals - prohibition - fine, quoted and re-checked
8. Section 3781.10 | Board of building standards - powers and duties (Ohio statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
9. Frequently Asked Questions - Ashland County Engineer, quoted and re-checked
10. Rule 3701-29-09 | Site review and permits for STS installation and operation (Ohio statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
11. Ashland County Health Department Environmental Health Division (health-ashlandcounty-oh.gov)
12. Household Sewage Treatment System Site Review Application, quoted and re-checked
13. Rule 3745-42-07 | Best available technology for connection into sanitary sewers and centralized collection and treatment (Ohio statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
14. Permits Issued by the Ashland County Engineer, quoted and re-checked
15. Lot Split Application Process, quoted and re-checked
16. Rule 1501:22-1-04 | Floodplain management criteria, quoted and re-checked
17. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data

Written October 14, 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.