Impervious surface limit

Trade jargonOhio homeowner glossaryCC-BY-4.0

TL;DR

An impervious surface limit is a zoning or stormwater cap on how much of a lot may be covered by roofs, driveways, patios, and other surfaces that shed rather than absorb rain, expressed as a percentage of lot area. It exists to control runoff volume and flooding, and it surprises homeowners when a planned addition, pool deck, or paver driveway pushes the parcel over its allowance.

Definition

What it means

An impervious surface limit is a zoning or stormwater cap on how much of a lot may be covered by roofs, driveways, patios, and other surfaces that shed rather than absorb rain, expressed as a percentage of lot area. It exists to control runoff volume and flooding, and it surprises homeowners when a planned addition, pool deck, or paver driveway pushes the parcel over its allowance. Permeable pavers, gravel, and rain gardens sometimes earn credits against the calculation, varying by ordinance, so site plans tally every covered square foot.

Category

Where it sits in the glossary

Impervious surface limit is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.

Why this matters for Ohio homeowners

Why Ohio homeowners should know it

This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.

ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.

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License: CC-BY-4.0 — quote freely with attribution to ProFix Editorial Team / ProFix Directory.

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