Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Solon, Ohio

At a glance

Zoning

Yes, Solon adopts its own zoning code with named districts¹⁵

Building permits

Issued by the City of Solon Building Department²

Building code

Residential Code of Ohio for one-, two- and three-family dwellings⁶

Minimum lot (R-1-E)

217,800 sq ft (5 acres), 300 ft wide at the building line³

Front setback (R-1-E)

150 to 155 ft from the street right of way⁷

Septic permits

Issued by the board of health under state rules⁴

Wells

A board of health permit is required before a private well is built⁸

Who to call

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

Does Solon, Ohio have zoning, and what does it mean for lot size and setbacks?

Yes. The City of Solon publishes its own zoning code, and the code sets up named districts such as R-1-E single-family and R-3 multi-family⁵. Cuyahoga County itself does not handle zoning and sends zoning questions to the local municipality⁹.

District matters more than anything else. In the R-1-E single-family district, the minimum lot area is 217,800 square feet (5 acres) and the minimum lot width at the building line is 300 feet³. A building in R-1-E must sit within a range of 150 to 155 feet from the front street right of way line, unless a plat condition says otherwise⁷. Other residential districts have different lot sizes, including a 1-acre district³.

We could not confirm Solon's rules for RVs, tiny homes or accessory dwellings. Ask the city's Planning & Community Development staff, through City Hall, which district a parcel is in and what it allows before you buy.

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

The Solon Building Department is the office that handles building permits inside the city, and its page says it has the power and duty to enforce all OBBS-adopted codes, including plan examination, permit issuance and required inspections². The city has adopted the Residential Code of Ohio for one-, two- and three-family dwellings, with the amendments made by the Ohio Board of Building Standards⁶.

State law also requires an owner-builder to submit plans to the certified building department that has jurisdiction and wait for approval before starting construction¹⁰. In Solon, that department is the city's own.

Permit review generally takes 7-10 business days, depending on the project². We could not confirm the city's fee schedule, inspection stages or certificate of occupancy steps; ask the Building Department for them.

How do septic permits work inside Solon?

Septic permits do not come from the city's Building Department. Ohio rules require an installation or alteration permit issued by the board of health before a household sewage system is installed or altered⁴. In Cuyahoga County that is generally the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, which says 48 communities in its jurisdiction use household sewage treatment systems¹¹¹².

We could not confirm whether a given Solon address is on public sewer or needs a septic system. Where an accessible public sewer exists, state rules require connection to it, so the first call is to the city to ask whether sewer is available at the parcel¹³. The Board of Health handles any septic question that remains.

Private wells need a valid board of health permit before they are built, altered or sealed⁸.

Building a home in Solon: the steps, in order

1. Ask the City of Solon which zoning district the parcel is in, and read that district's lot size and setback rules⁵.
2. If you are splitting a lot, check Solon's subdivision regulations, which cover procedure, plats and design standards¹⁴.
3. Ask the city whether public sewer reaches the lot; if not, contact the Cuyahoga County Board of Health about a septic permit¹²⁴.
4. Submit plans and a permit application to the Solon Building Department and wait for approval before you start²¹⁰.
5. Build to the Residential Code of Ohio and schedule the required inspections⁶².

What stays with Cuyahoga County, and what to check before you buy in Solon?

The county's Division of Building Standards says its jurisdiction is limited to partner communities, so it is not the office to call for a Solon building permit¹⁵. County rules for unincorporated land are on the Cuyahoga County page.

For Cuyahoga County, the effective property tax rate is 2.1% and the median property tax bill is about $3,819 a year¹⁶¹⁷. Septic soils matter only if the lot is not on sewer; across the county, 0% of soils rate as not limited for a conventional drain field, so expect a site evaluation and possibly an engineered system¹⁸.

Watch-outs

• Lot size and setbacks depend on the zoning district; the 5-acre minimum applies only to R-1-E, so confirm the district of the exact parcel with the City of Solon³.
• We could not confirm Solon's rules on RVs, tiny homes, accessory dwellings, minimum home size or building permit fees; ask the Solon Building Department and Planning & Community Development staff².
• Do not apply Cuyahoga County's unincorporated-area answers inside Solon; the city sets its own zoning and runs its own building permits¹².
• We could not confirm whether Solon addresses fall under the Cuyahoga County Board of Health for septic; call the Board before buying a lot that is not on sewer¹¹¹².

Sources

1. The Zoning Code for the City of Solon (updated 6/3/2024) (Solon), quoted and re-checked
2. City of Solon Building Department (solonohio.gov)
3. The Zoning Code for the City of Solon (updated 6/3/2024) (Solon), quoted and re-checked
4. Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 3701-29, quoted and re-checked
5. The Zoning Code for the City of Solon (updated 6/3/2024) (Solon), quoted and re-checked
6. Solon Codified Ordinances Chapter 1404: Residential Code of Ohio for One-, Two- and Three-Family Dwellings (Solon), quoted and re-checked
7. The Zoning Code for the City of Solon (updated 6/3/2024) (Solon), quoted and re-checked
8. Chapter 3701-28 | Private water systems (Ohio statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
9. Cuyahoga County Division of Building Standards, quoted and re-checked
10. Section 3791.04 | Submission of plan - approvals - prohibition - fine (Ohio statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
11. Household Sewage, quoted and re-checked
12. Cuyahoga County Board of Health (ccbh.net)
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. Solon Codified Ordinances Part Twelve - Planning and Zoning Code (Solon), quoted and re-checked
15. Cuyahoga County Division of Building Standards, quoted and re-checked
16. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
17. Median property tax bill: Bolthole Index county data
18. 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

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.