Planning Commissioners' Procedures Manual - Hamilton County, Ohio

Zoning - The Relationship of Planning to Zoning
http://ohioline.osu.edu/cd-fact/0303.html
In 1947, the Ohio General Assembly passed enabling legislation that allows cities, villages, counties, and
townships to establish zoning. The procedures and methods and procedures to establish zoning are
distinct. However, the content is the discretion of the people of the area. Ohio's law is very precise and
detailed. The law is designed to involve the public in the zoning process.
Zoning regulation can be divided into two categories: unincorporated (rural) and municipal. This series of
fact sheets will focus on rural zoning. Rural zoning concentrates on township and county zoning outside
of municipalities (village, town, city).
Township zoning is the responsibility of township trustees. County zoning falls into the jurisdiction of the
county commissioners. County zoning may include all or any number of townships in the county. County
zoning includes a uniform zoning text administered county- wide. All zoning issues are accepted or
rejected by referendum.
There is confusion about comprehensive planning and the zoning process. The two terms have often been
used interchangeably even though they are distinctly different. Comprehensive planning attempts to plan
and relate land uses within an area to an overall development pattern. A comprehensive land use plan can
only be developed after a thorough study of the area, i.e. township or county, and the interactions of its
social, economic, and physical parts. This information is essential for the development of a
comprehensive plan that will guide future growth.
The comprehensive plan is part of the broader planning process which includes setting goals and
objectives, decision making, inventory, tools for implementation. Before a comprehensive plan can be
implemented, an inventory of the current situation must be assessed. The inventory should include
population and economic base information, transportation, current land uses, and community
infrastructure. The goal setting or "decisions for the future" process utilizes the inventory data to set
objectives and goals. Goals and objectives for future use will influence the tools for implementation, of
which zoning is one of the tools.
The comprehensive plan presents a long-range statement for the future. The comprehensive plan is
general in designating boundaries. It is rarely a period of less than ten years and usually includes a twenty
or more year span. The comprehensive plan can be adopted as a legal document but has the primary
function of serving as a guide to advise the community on specific decisions.
Zoning is more specific in nature because it indicates the use of each land parcel within a township or
county area, excluding incorporated communities. Zoning regulations address location, height, bulk,
number of stories, size of buildings, and percentage lot coverage in each zone or district in the political
subdivision. Zoning is one of several legal devices for implementing the proposals and objectives for land
development as outlined in the comprehensive plan. To be effective, the zoning ordinance and map
should be directly related to a previously prepared and adopted land use plan. Zoning plans encompass
those needs in a limited amount of time, often a 5 to 10 year period.