Expert's answer

From the information I have read and found, the answer is no. The reason for this is found in an OSPF Design Guide I found on Cisco's web site. When multiple zones are involved, OSPF expects all areas to send routing information into the backbone, which is typically numbered 0.

Another item to keep in mind is that all areas are supposed to be directly connected to Area 0. In the rare cases when this is not possible for whatever the reason, you will need to use a virtual link to connect this particular area into Area 0 (aka backbone).

While there are other references to OSPF that are available, the one that I have listed is the one that I have found multiple references and links to on quite a few of the sites that I reviewed in finding the information to answer your question.