Ohio

Buying Land in Fulton County, Ohio

Seat Wauseon, in Ohio's northwest corner along the Michigan line. Fulton County has adopted county rural zoning covering most of its twelve townships, while German and Chesterfield Townships run their own separate zoning -- and a newly approved 1,700-acre solar project in Gorham Township is a real signal of how far utility-scale solar leasing has reached into this corner of the state.

County Zoning Covers Most Townships; At Least Two Self-Zone

Case-by-case / verify locally

Fulton County has adopted county rural zoning covering most of its territory. German Township and Chesterfield Township have each adopted their own separate zoning resolution and administer it independently. Confirm which system covers your parcel directly with the Fulton County Regional Planning Commission.

A 1,700-Acre Solar Project Just Cleared State Approval

Case-by-case / verify locally

The Ohio Power Siting Board approved the 199-megawatt Ritter Station Solar project in Gorham Township on November 20, 2025 -- a sign that utility-scale solar developers are actively pursuing land leases in this part of the county. See our dedicated wind-solar-leasing page for Fulton County for details.

One County Health Department Covers Septic and Wells

Generally favorable

The Fulton County Health Department, based in Wauseon, is the sole permitting authority for household sewage treatment systems and private wells countywide.

Zoning: county rural zoning, with at least two townships on their own

Fulton County has adopted county rural zoning under ORC Chapter 303, and the county's own posted zoning code identifies specific "County-Zoned Townships" it applies to across most of the county's twelve townships. Separately, German Township and Chesterfield Township have each adopted their own zoning resolution under ORC Chapter 519, administered directly by their own township trustees rather than the county -- each has its own posted zoning resolution and zoning map distinct from the county's code.

That means a Fulton County parcel's zoning authority depends on which specific township it sits in, and a buyer shouldn't assume county zoning applies uniformly just because the county has adopted a rural zoning code. Confirm directly with the Fulton County Regional Planning Commission (which serves as staff to the county's zoning administration) or the specific township whether county or township zoning governs a given parcel.

Solar leasing has arrived in a real way: the Ritter Station Solar project

In November 2025, the Ohio Power Siting Board voted 7-2 to approve the Ritter Station Solar project -- a 199-megawatt solar facility proposed by CG Fulton County LLC (a Repsol-affiliated developer) on roughly 1,700 acres in Gorham Township, in the county's northwest corner near the Village of Fayette and the Michigan state line. The approved project includes a 2.2-mile, 138-kilovolt transmission line connecting to the East Fayette Substation, and it's projected to generate an estimated $1.79 million a year in payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) revenue, or roughly $53.7 million over a 30-year project life, split among local taxing entities including the Fayette school district.

A project of this scale -- 1,700 acres under lease or option for a single solar facility -- is a meaningful indicator of how actively utility-scale solar developers are working this part of northwest Ohio, and it's worth understanding whether or not you're considering a lease offer yourself, since a large neighboring solar facility can affect adjacent land values, road use during construction, and the visual and agricultural character of the surrounding area. See our dedicated wind-solar-leasing page for Fulton County for what a lease offer here typically involves and what this specific project's approval process looked like.

Septic, water, and other departments to know

For a household sewage treatment system (septic) or a new well on Fulton County land, the Fulton County Health Department (606 S. Shoop Ave., Wauseon) is the sole permitting authority countywide -- there is no separate city health department to track down here. The county has roughly 7,600 household sewage systems not connected to a municipal sewer, and the department has been phasing in a five-year inspection cycle for existing systems as part of Ohio's statewide operation-and-maintenance program, so an older system on a parcel you're evaluating may come with an inspection due sooner than you'd expect.

The Fulton County Auditor and Recorder hold property records, deeds, and easements, and the Fulton County Regional Planning Commission's GIS resources provide parcel and zoning maps -- a useful starting point given the county-versus-township zoning split described above, and particularly relevant if a parcel sits anywhere near the Ritter Station Solar project area or its new transmission line.

What we could and couldn't confirm

Fulton County's adoption of county rural zoning is drawn from the county's own posted zoning code document. German Township's and Chesterfield Township's separate zoning resolutions are drawn from each township's own posted zoning document; this page did not confirm a complete, exhaustive list of every township that may have separately adopted its own zoning beyond these two confirmed cases, so the township-by-township pattern should be treated as partial rather than complete. The Ritter Station Solar project's location in Gorham Township, Fulton County (not the unrelated Fayette County, a different Ohio county whose name overlaps with the nearby Village of Fayette), its acreage, capacity, and PILOT revenue estimate are corroborated across The Village Reporter, Crescent-News, and Bryan Times reporting on the Ohio Power Siting Board's November 2025 vote. Direct WebFetch to fultoncountyoh.com was blocked by network egress controls in this research pass.

Verify directly with: the Fulton County Regional Planning Commission for current zoning-jurisdiction boundaries township by township, and the Fulton County Health Department for septic and well permitting

Who to Call Before Buying Land in Fulton County

Direct WebFetch access to fultoncountyoh.com was blocked by network egress controls in this research pass, so several details -- including a complete list of every self-zoned township beyond German and Chesterfield -- reflect search-indexed content rather than a full verbatim read of the county zoning code. Confirm current staff, hours, fees, and the exact county-zoned township list directly before relying on this page for a specific parcel.

Planning & Zoning