Madison County Zoning Code Update
- Adoption dates
- Accepted by County Planning: July 2026
- Project contact
- Dennis Payne, Madison County Planning and Zoning Administrator
- 740-852-2833
- dennis.payne@madison.oh.gov
- Project links
- Madison County Zoning Code
Goal: Through their work with Darby Township in Madison County, Crossroads staff and County officials discussed completing a comprehensive update of Madison County’s zoning code for the remaining communities that do not have their own zoning. The need for this was apparent as development is rapidly approaching the County, particularly in the northern portion, which is experiencing a surge in growth. Communities were having a difficult time working with the old code, which was first drafted decades prior and has been amended numerous times. This resulted in a document that had a very unorganized, ad-hoc character. The goal here was to update the code to modernize and organize the document for ease of use, address this growth surge and include current topical regulations.
Hybrid Zoning Code
The previous version of the zoning code was Euclidean in nature, emphasizing strict regulatory limits and complete separation of uses. Many larger communities are now moving towards Form-Based Zoning, which focuses on maintaining the form of the community and has much more flexible limits. While Form-Based Zoning is quite effective and more in line with today’s development patterns, it is fairly difficult to administer and oversee.
Crossroads has moved to using a hybrid zoning code. Hybrid zoning codes are a mixture of form based and traditional zoning codes. Our codes maximize the ease of use by incorporating images, tables, graphics and illustration while maintaining regulatory detail.
Madison County’s Code incorporated a Use Table for readers to easily determine where a use is permitted or what uses a district permits depending upon the scenario. Our team also worked closely with the County staff to create zoning overlay districts that reflect the County’s Comprehensive Plan and provide competitive zoning with adjacent municipalities. We also streamlined the review process and strengthened the enforcement section to ensure Madison County can appropriately manage growth.
