Canton, OH Building Safety: Green Building Code (2026)

Chapter 1182, Sustainable Development, sits in Title Nineteen of the Canton Zoning Regulations and applies to commercial, industrial, mixed-use, multi-family, institutional and government land uses and development, not single-family homes. Section 1182.01, Energy Efficient Design, has the Commission encourage passive solar techniques that maximize solar heat gain and minimize heat loss, renewable energy sources for heating, cooling and electrical needs, and site design choices such as building orientation, street and lot layout, vegetation and topography that support solar access. Section 1182.02, Low Impact Development, goes further and requires LID practices and techniques as the standard approach to site design and stormwater management for every proposed development, including municipal projects, to cut impervious coverage, slow runoff and reduce and cleanse it.

If an applicant cannot use LID, the burden shifts to that applicant to demonstrate to the Commission why it is not feasible; only then can the Commission approve a site plan that partially uses LID or skips it entirely. Site plans move through the Zoning Inspector and, for qualifying uses, the Site Plan Review Committee, under the permitting process in Chapter 1194. Both sections trace to Ordinance 147-2018, passed July 2, 2018.