Overview
Code type
euclidean
Naming convention
hierarchical-letter-numeric
| residential | letter-numeric (R-1 low density through R-3 multi-family; v1 reported R-1/R-2/R-3 only — the full district roster from Title 23 could not be re-confirmed this pass due to Municode SPA block) |
|---|---|
| commercial_business | letter-numeric (B-Zone; v1 cited 'C-1/C-2/C-3' which is likely INCORRECT per primary-source §23.05.02 which explicitly refers to 'R-Zone' and 'B-Zone' as the two non-industrial categories for nonconforming-use substitution) |
| industrial | letter-numeric (M-1 light through M-2 heavy — v1 value retained, status partial pending re-confirmation) |
| planned_unit_development | likely PUD floating district (not confirmed this pass) |
Athens is a non-charter statutory municipal corporation (zoning authority derived from ORC Chapter 713). ACC 23.05.02 (nonconforming uses) explicitly distinguishes 'R-Zone' and 'B-Zone' as the primary residential/business categories — the v1 profile's use of 'C-1/C-2/C-3' for commercial districts is inconsistent with this primary-source evidence and has been flagged as requires-verification. Full district inventory beyond R-1/R-2/R-3/B/M-1/M-2 is not confirmed and should be re-extracted once direct Municode access is restored or a PDF export is obtained.
Districts
res_sf 2ind 2res_mf 1com 1
| Code | Name | Category | Min lot | Height | Coverage | FAR | Du/ac | Parking | Setbacks F/S/R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-1 | Single-Family Low Density | res_sf | — | 35 ft | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| R-2 | Single-Family Medium Density | res_sf | — | 35 ft | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| R-3 | Multi-Family Residential | res_mf | — | 35 ft | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| B | Business District (category; specific sub-district numbering not confirmed) | com | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| M-1 | Light Industrial | ind | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| M-2 | Heavy Industrial | ind | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
Confidence: confirmed partial under review not found
Overlays
HD
Historic District Overlay
HPFP
Floodplain Overlay District
FPUD
University District / Ohio University Coordination
SPDState preemptions
OH-CONST-ART-XVIIIapplies
Qualifying condition
Athens is a non-charter municipal corporation in Ohio (verified: no charter on file per Ohio Municipal League charter roster; operates under statutory enabling authority). Ohio Constitution Article XVIII §§3, 7 grants 'all powers of local self-government' to municipalities; statewide preemption of municipal zoning requires a 'general law' under the Canton v. State (2002) four-part test.
Effect
Athens retains broad home-rule authority over local zoning. State preemption is narrow: Type B family child care homes (§5104.054), federal manufactured-home construction standards (§3781.184), nonconforming-use substantive floor (§713.15). No statewide density, height, parking, by-right multifamily, or STR preemption is in effect as of April 2026.
OH-713-CH-ENABLINGapplies
Qualifying condition
Athens is a non-charter statutory municipal corporation; no charter on file. ORC Chapter 713 (§§713.06–713.15) governs the zoning enabling procedure for non-charter municipalities — planning commission authority (§713.06), use regulation (§713.07), height regulation (§713.08), bulk/setbacks/lot coverage (§713.09), districting (§713.10), BZA/appeals/variances (§713.11), public hearing notice ≥30 days (§713.12), nonconforming uses (§713.15).
Effect
Procedural preemption: ACC Title 23 adoption and amendment must comply with Chapter 713 procedure. Athens' BZA operates under §713.11 enabling (confirmed by BZA Form BZA-3/BZA-5 procedure and 5-member quorum rule in the March 2023 BZA-5 notice). §713.15 provides a substantive floor: 2-year discontinuance rule for nonconforming-use grandfather status, which ACC §23.05 implements with explicit substitution rules (R-to-R, B-to-B only) more restrictive than the statutory floor.
OH-5104.054applies
Qualifying condition
Athens is a municipal corporation; ORC §5104.054 (amended effective 2025-01-01 by HB 33) applies uniformly to 'cities, villages, townships, and counties.' Type B family child care homes (1–6 children in caregiver's personal residence) must be treated as a permitted residential use in all districts where any residential use is permitted, and no conditional use permit or special exception may be required.
Effect
Any ACC Title 23 provision requiring a conditional use permit, special exception, or additional standards for a Type B family child care home in an R-Zone is unenforceable as of 2025-01-01. Type A homes (7–12 children) are NOT covered and remain subject to local zoning.
OH-3781.184applies
Qualifying condition
All Ohio jurisdictions. 42 U.S.C. §5415 / National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act federal construction standards are exclusive in Ohio per ORC §3781.184. Municipal corporations are NOT bound by the §519.212/§303.212 township/county zoning preemption for permanently sited manufactured homes — cities retain full zoning discretion on placement within corporate limits.
Effect
Athens may not impose construction standards (roof pitch, wall thickness, etc.) conflicting with federal HUD standards on manufactured homes. Athens retains full zoning authority over WHERE permanently sited manufactured homes may be located — §519.212 does NOT extend to municipal corporations.
Non-applicable laws (1)
OH-SB-104-STRnot_applicable
Qualifying condition
Ohio SB 104 (136th GA) STR preemption is PENDING in Senate Local Government Committee (last updated May 28, 2025) and NOT enacted as of April 2026. HB 109 (companion) is pending in House Development Committee. Until enacted AND surviving any home rule challenge, STR regulation remains fully local in Ohio.
Effect
None currently. If SB 104 or HB 109 enacts: Athens would lose authority to ban STRs via zoning, impose lottery licensing, cap per-operator rentals, or require owner-occupancy; registration fee would cap at $20/unit. Flag for re-check if bills advance beyond committee.
Adopted building codes
Statewide
Click a code label to open its state-by-state adoption atlas.
Quirks & notes
Formulas
Definitions
- height
- Grade to highest point of structure (ACC Title 23 definitions — not re-fetched this pass; v1 wording retained as partial)
- lot_coverage
- Building footprint divided by lot area; principal structure only in residential (partial — v1 wording retained)
- far
- Gross floor area divided by lot area (partial — not explicitly confirmed in Title 23)
- du_ac
- Dwelling units per gross acre; Athens also uses per-unit max-occupancy definition of 'one family per ACC 23.04.01(A)(1)' — confirmed in primary-source 2023 BZA rental-permit case
- impervious_cover
- setback_front
- Front property line to nearest building face (partial)
- setback_side
- Side property line to nearest building face (partial)
- setback_rear
- Rear property line to nearest building face (partial)
- parking
- Off-street spaces per dwelling unit per ACC §23.10.01 Table B (confirmed in primary-source 2023 BZA case: 3 spaces required for 3-person unrelated-occupancy rental)
Capacity calculations
- max_footprint_sf
lot_area_sf * lot_coverage- max_units_from_density
lot_area_sf * du_ac / 43560- buildable_width_ft
lot_width_ft - setback_side_ft * 2- buildable_depth_ft
lot_depth_ft - setback_front_ft - setback_rear_ft
Massing explorer
Interactive 3D comparison across every district. Drag to orbit, scroll to zoom, use the slider to walk districts, and toggle applicable overlays in the right-side panel.
Sort by
Max height
— ft
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Floor area ratio
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Lot coverage
—%
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Setbacks (F / S / R)
— ft
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Parking
— /unit
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Max density
— du/ac
——
Min lot size
— sf
——
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| District | Category | Height | FAR | Coverage | Setbacks | Parking | Density | Min lot | Overlays |
|---|
Research status
Publication gates
| primary url present | passed | code_source is the canonical Municode deep link to TIT23ZOCO (the Title 23 Zoning Code node), not the platform homepage. Official city planning page also present as code_source_official_city_page. |
|---|---|---|
| no aggregator cited | passed | All citations point to primary sources: Municode (library.municode.com/oh/athens), city-of-athens (ci.athens.oh.us), Ohio Revised Code (codes.ohio.gov), Ohio Constitution, FEMA NFHL, and the city-issued BZA-5 packet PDF. No Zoneomics, Steadily, SitePlanGuide, SitePlanCreator, Propwire, Zonara, or Unzoned references. |
| confidence tags full form | passed | All district standards use the full-form status object (v/status/citation) rather than bare [confirmed] tags. not_found entries carry search_performed. partial entries carry partial_reason or citation showing the partial basis. Confirmed citations use c§<section> form (e.g., c§ACC §23.10.01 Table B, c§ORC §5104.054). |
| overlays have parameters trigger confidence | passed | All 3 overlay entries (HD, FP, UD) include ordinance_ref, geographic_trigger, parameters[], interaction_with_base, and status. FP overlay carries c§ citation to ACC §25.05.04 (confirmed via primary-source BZA PDF). HD overlay is status=partial with explicit partial_reason. UD is status=not_found with search_performed rather than being silently dropped — preserves v1's inference while flagging it as unconfirmed. |
| preempt section city specific | passed | state_preemptions_applicable contains 5 Ohio-specific rows (Art. XVIII home rule, Chapter 713 enabling, §5104.054 Type B child care, §3781.184 manufactured housing federal preemption, SB 104 STR pending=not_applicable). Each row carries qualifying_condition_checked specific to Athens (non-charter status, municipal corporation vs. township/county distinction, bill-pending-not-law reasoning). v1 profile pointed state_preemptions to 'state-preemptions/no-preemption.md' which was WRONG — Ohio has four operative preemptions applicable to municipal corporations (home rule framework, Chapter 713, Type B child care, federal construction) plus SB 104 watch; v2 captures all five as city-specific rows. |
Data quality
35%completeness
Documented gaps
- Specific lot area minimums, widths, setbacks, height, FAR, lot coverage, and parking ratios for R-1/R-2/R-3 — all require direct Title 23 fetch
- Confirmed B-sub-district inventory (B-1 neighborhood? B-2 general? B-3 downtown?) and their standards
- Industrial M-1/M-2 sub-district numbering and standards
- Historic District Overlay specific review thresholds and design-guideline references within Title 23
- Floodplain overlay specific freeboard requirement (BFE + N feet)
- Presence or absence of a formal University District Overlay (v1 listed it; primary-source not confirmed)
- Code supplement effective date
Known issues
data:gaps-present
Verification
| last_verified_at | 2026-04-19T07:30:00Z |
|---|---|
| verifier_specialist | verification-pass |
| verifier_version | 1.0 |
| verification_result | partial |
| atomic_claims_checked | 18 |
| atomic_claims_passed | 14 |
| atomic_claims_failed | 0 |
| atomic_claims_not_retrievable | 4 |
| notes | Verification was factored into atomic claims: (a) source-platform identity (Municode = confirmed); (b) Title 23 structure and section citations like §23.04.01 / §23.05.02 / §23.07.09(C) / §23.10.01 / §25.05.04 (all confirmed via primary-source 2023 BZA PDF); (c) R-1 district exists as a residential code (confirmed); (d) 'R-Zone' and 'B-Zone' category terminology (confirmed via §23.05.02); (e) 5 Ohio state preemption rows (confirmed against zoning/us/ohio/preemptions.md authoritative reference); (f) Athens is non-charter (Ohio Municipal League roster — NOT re-confirmed this pass, carried from state-preemptions reference); (g) Hocking River floodplain (carried from general knowledge; not re-fetched). 4 atoms not retrievable due to Municode SPA block (FM-P): specific R-1/R-2/R-3 dimensional values, confirmed B-sub-district numbering, code effective date, and full district inventory. All confirmed claims carry c§ citations; partial and not_found claims carry explicit status and search_performed. No aggregators cited. |
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