Mogadore's R-1 residential district lists "farming or gardening" among its permitted uses, so agriculture is not shut out of the village. Land is the real constraint. The village covers a little over two square miles, its residential districts are laid out in lots that start at 10,000 square feet, and a barn for hay, a few animals or a compact tractor usually fits only on an unusually large parcel. Unless the zoning office tells us otherwise, we plan an in-village farm building to the same rules as any detached accessory structure, including the 15-foot height cap.
That is why most farm buildings for Mogadore-area owners belong just outside the village, on acreage in Springfield Township on the Summit side or Suffield and Brimfield townships in Portage County. Portage County had 927 farms averaging 93 acres in USDA's 2022 census, against 413 farms averaging 37 acres in Summit County, a fair guide to where full-size barns make sense.
What to know before building in Mogadore
The township shortcut does not apply in the village
ORC 3781.061 lets a county or township zoning inspector take a barn out of the state building code sections by certifying it for agricultural use. Mogadore's zoning is municipal, so that route is not available inside the village. There, whether a barn is exempt under ORC 3781.06 is a question for Summit County Building Standards.
What townships can and cannot regulate
Under ORC 519.21 a township cannot ban farming or the buildings that serve it, and those buildings need no zoning certificate. The exceptions are subdivided areas, including platted subdivisions and road frontage carrying 15 or more lots: there, a township may regulate setbacks, height and size of farm buildings on lots over one acre and up to five acres. Above five acres, those limits fall away.
Keeping roof water on your own land
Mogadore's permit standards say a structure and its grading may not direct runoff onto neighboring property, and disturbed ground must be restored so it germinates within 60 days. Projects disturbing an acre or more need a stormwater pollution prevention plan approved by the village. A barn roof sheds a lot of water at once, so gutters, downspouts and outlet locations are drawn on the site plan.
Common agricultural buildings projects around Mogadore
- Hay and implement barn on Suffield or Brimfield Township acreage
- Small livestock shelter on a large R-1 parcel, kept under the 15-foot cap
- Tractor shed with a wide gable-end door
- Storage and wash-up building for a market garden
- Run-in shed paired with hay storage on Springfield Township land
Agricultural Buildings FAQs for Mogadore
Is farming allowed inside Mogadore?
The R-1 district permits farming and gardening, so the use itself is allowed there. Any new outbuilding still needs a village zoning permit, and buildings over 200 square feet need a Summit County building permit unless the county agrees the building is exempt as agricultural. The village's animal chapter also forbids letting horses, cattle, sheep, goats, swine or poultry run at large.
My farm is just outside the village. Who handles permits?
It depends on the township. Springfield Township is in Summit County, and Summit County Building Standards lists it among the communities it serves. Suffield and Brimfield are in Portage County, whose building department serves all of that county's townships. In each case the township handles zoning, and a township agricultural zoning certificate can take a qualifying barn outside the building code.
Will a farm barn in the village need engineered drawings?
If the building is not exempt, Summit County reviews it like any other structure, so plan on drawings that show footings, posts, framing and truss design. Summit County's commercial checklist asks for sealed truss documents, and we provide engineered truss specifications on every pole building we submit. Exempt or not, we design the structure to the same snow and frost values.
About our agricultural buildings
Post-frame farm buildings for equipment, hay, grain and livestock, sized to your machinery and engineered for the snow and wind loads at your site.
Sizes, materials and options