Zoning in Clark County, OH: Townships, Cities & Data Centers

Clark County isn't a simple county-zoning-versus-township-zoning story -- it's a genuine three-way split between county zoning, self-zoned townships, and two separate cities, each with their own rules. On top of that, a 2025 zoning change effectively walled off data centers from the county's zoned territory in a way worth understanding whether or not that use is part of your plans.

This page covers what's specific to Clark County. For the general explanation, see the national guide.

Three zoning systems, one county

Clark County has adopted county rural zoning under ORC Chapter 303, and it applies in seven of the county's ten townships: Bethel, Green, Harmony, Mad River, Madison, Moorefield, and Pleasant. The remaining three townships -- German, Pike, and Springfield Township (an unincorporated township that is legally and administratively separate from the City of Springfield, despite sharing its name) -- have each adopted their own zoning under ORC Chapter 519 and run it independently of the county. Layered on top of both is a third system entirely: the cities of Springfield and New Carlisle each maintain their own municipal zoning inside their corporate limits, under home-rule authority separate from either the county's or the self-zoned townships' rules.

For a buyer, that means Clark County isn't a place where you can assume "county zoning applies unless I'm inside a city" the way you might in a simpler Ohio county -- a parcel in German, Pike, or Springfield Township is governed by that township's own separate ordinance even though it's outside any city limit. Always confirm which of the three systems actually governs a specific parcel with the county's Planning & Zoning office or the relevant township directly, rather than assuming based on the parcel's general location.

Data centers: a zoning classification with nowhere to go, on purpose

In July 2025, Clark County commissioners held a public hearing and voted to amend the county's zoning code specifically to define data centers and classify them under Industrial-2 (I-2) zoning -- a more restrictive designation than most other industrial or commercial uses in the county require. The amendment took effect 30 days after approval, per Springfield News-Sun's coverage of the vote.

The practical effect was immediate and significant: at the time of the vote, there were zero parcels zoned I-2 anywhere within the seven townships under county zoning jurisdiction. That means any company wanting to build a data center in county-zoned Clark County territory can't simply apply for a building permit -- it first has to secure a rezoning to I-2, a process that runs through the county's Planning Commission, the Rural Zoning Commission, and at least two additional public hearings before a parcel could even qualify. In effect, the county built a real procedural barrier into its own zoning code rather than relying on a temporary moratorium, which is the approach some other Ohio counties (including nearby Butler County) have taken to the same underlying issue.

What this means for a buyer

If a data center or other large-scale industrial use is part of your plans for Clark County land, confirm both whether the specific parcel falls under county, township, or city zoning, and -- if it's in the county's jurisdiction -- whether it's already zoned I-2 or would require a full rezoning process, since as of this research pass that meant every single parcel in the county's territory would need one. That's a materially higher bar than in a county that permits the use by-right in an existing industrial district.

More broadly, this zoning amendment is a useful signal about how the county's Board of Commissioners is currently approaching large-scale, infrastructure-heavy proposed uses: proactively and restrictively, using the zoning code itself rather than waiting for a specific application to arrive. A buyer with any large-scale or unusual use in mind for Clark County land -- even one unrelated to data centers -- should expect the county to engage seriously with the zoning implications rather than treat the process as a formality.

Zoning in Clark County, Ohio: A Three-Way Split, Plus a Zoning Barrier for Data Centers

Three zoning systems, one county

Data centers: a zoning classification with nowhere to go, on purpose

What this means for a buyer

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