Canton, OH Solar Energy: Panel Permits (2026)

Section 1190.04 of Canton's Solar Energy Systems chapter sets the permit rules for solar installations citywide. Rooftop and building-mounted solar collectors are permitted in every zoning district, but subsection (a)(1) requires a building permit before installation, with a single exception for Flush-Mounted Photovoltaic Panels, which need no building permit. Subsection (a)(2) caps rooftop and building-mounted collectors at the maximum height already allowed for the principal use in that zoning district, so a collector cannot push a roofline past the district's existing height limit. Building-Integrated Photovoltaic systems, panels built into the structure itself rather than mounted on top of it, are permitted in every district under subsection (b) and must be shown on the plans filed with the building permit application for the building that contains them.

Free-standing and ground-mounted solar collectors are conditionally permitted as accessory structures in every zoning district under subsection (c), and subsection (d) requires a building permit for their installation as well. Chapter 1190's earlier sections add substance to what that permit review covers: Section 1190.03 requires ground-mounted or free-standing collectors to meet the greater of a 25-foot side yard or 30-foot rear yard accessory-building setback and bars them from front yards altogether, while installations must be performed by a qualified solar installer, inspected by the utility for any grid connection, and marked to warn emergency responders.

Section 1190.05 later requires an owner to remove a ground-mounted collector within 90 days of the system going unused for 12 consecutive months or being abandoned.