55 ILCS 5/5-12001
Formerly cited as IL ST CH 34 ¶ 5-12001
West's Smith-Hurd Illinois Compiled Statutes Annotated Currentness
Chapter 55. Counties
Act
5. Counties Code (Refs & Annos)
Article 5. Powers and Duties of
County Boards
Division 5-12. Zoning (Refs & Annos)
5/5-12001.
Authority to regulate and restrict location and use of structures
§ 5-12001. Authority to regulate and
restrict location and use of structures.
For the purpose
of promoting the public health, safety, morals, comfort and general welfare,
conserving the values of property throughout the county, lessening or avoiding
congestion in the public streets and highways, and lessening or avoiding the
hazards to persons and damage to property resulting from the accumulation or
runoff of storm or flood waters, the county board or board of county
commissioners, as the case may be, of each county, shall have the
power to regulate and restrict the location and use of buildings, structures
and land for trade, industry, residence and other uses which may be specified
by such board, to regulate and restrict the intensity of such uses, to
establish building or setback lines on or along any street, trafficway, drive,
parkway or storm or floodwater runoff channel or basin outside the limits of
cities, villages and incorporated towns which have in effect municipal
zoning ordinances; to divide the entire county outside
the limits of such cities, villages and incorporated towns into districts of
such number, shape, area and of such different classes, according to the use of
land and buildings, the intensity of such use (including height of buildings
and structures and surrounding open space) and other classification as may be
deemed best suited to carry out the purposes of this Division; to prohibit
uses, buildings or structures incompatible with the character of such districts
respectively; and to prevent additions to and alteration or remodeling of
existing buildings or structures in such a way as to avoid the restrictions and
limitations lawfully imposed hereunder: Provided, that permits with respect to
the erection, maintenance, repair, alteration, remodeling or extension of
buildings or structures used or to be used for agricultural purposes shall be
issued free of any charge. The corporate authorities of the county may by
ordinance require the construction of fences around or protective covers over previously constructed artificial basins of water dug in the
ground and used for swimming or wading, which are located on private
residential property and intended for the use of the owner and guests. In all
ordinances or resolutions passed under the authority of this Division, due
allowance shall be made for existing conditions, the conservation of property
values, the directions of building development to the best advantage of the
entire county, and the uses to which property is devoted at the time of the
enactment of any such ordinance or resolution.
The powers by
this Division given shall not be exercised so as to deprive the owner of any
existing property of its use or maintenance for the purpose to which it is then
lawfully devoted, but provisions may be made for (i) the gradual elimination of
the uses of unimproved lands or lot areas when the existing rights of the
persons in possession are terminated or when the uses to which they are devoted
are discontinued, (ii) the gradual elimination of uses to which the buildings
and structures are devoted if they are adaptable to permitted uses, and (iii)
the gradual elimination of the buildings and structures when they are destroyed
or damaged in major part; nor shall they be exercised so as to impose
regulations, eliminate uses, buildings, or structures, or
require permits with respect to land used for agricultural purposes, which
includes the growing of farm crops, truck garden crops, animal and poultry
husbandry, apiculture, aquaculture, dairying, floriculture, horticulture,
nurseries, tree farms, sod farms, pasturage, viticulture, and wholesale
greenhouses when such agricultural purposes constitute the principal activity
on the land, other than parcels of land consisting of less than 5 acres from
which $1,000 or less of agricultural products were sold in any calendar year in
counties with a population between 300,000 and 400,000 or in counties
contiguous to a county with a population between 300,000 and 400,000, and other
than parcels of land consisting of less than 5 acres in counties with a
population in excess of 400,000, or with respect to the erection, maintenance,
repair, alteration, remodeling or extension of buildings or structures used or
to be used for agricultural purposes upon such land except that such buildings
or structures for agricultural purposes may be required to conform to building
or set back lines and counties may establish a minimum lot size for residences
on land used for agricultural purposes; nor shall any such powers be so
exercised as to prohibit the temporary use of land for the installation,
maintenance and operation of facilities used by contractors in the ordinary
course of construction activities, except that such facilities may be required
to be located not less than 1,000 feet from any building used for residential purposes, and except that the period of such temporary
use shall not exceed the duration of the construction contract; nor shall any
such powers include the right to specify or regulate the type or location of
any poles, towers, wires, cables, conduits, vaults, laterals or any other
similar distributing equipment of a public utility as defined in the Public
Utilities Act, [FN1] if the public utility is subject to
the Messages Tax Act, [FN2] the Gas Revenue Tax Act [FN3] or the Public Utilities Revenue Act, [FN4] or if such facilities or equipment are
located on any rights of way and are used for railroad purposes, nor shall any
such powers be exercised with respect to uses, buildings, or structures of a
public utility as defined in the Public Utilities Act, nor shall any such
powers be exercised in any respect as to the facilities, as defined in Section
5-12001.1, of a telecommunications carrier, as also defined therein, except to
the extent and in the manner set forth in Section 5-12001.1. As used in this
Act, "agricultural purposes" do not include the extraction of sand,
gravel or limestone, and such activities may be regulated by county zoning ordinance even when such activities are related to an
agricultural purpose.
Nothing in
this Division shall be construed to restrict the powers granted by statute to cities, villages and incorporated towns as to
territory contiguous to but outside of the limits of such cities, villages and
incorporated towns. Any zoning ordinance enacted
by a city, village or incorporated town shall supersede, with respect to
territory within the corporate limits of the municipality, any county zoning plan
otherwise applicable. The powers granted to counties by this Division shall be
treated as in addition to powers conferred by statute to control or approve
maps, plats or subdivisions. In this Division, "agricultural
purposes" include, without limitation, the growing, developing, processing,
conditioning, or selling of hybrid seed corn, seed beans, seed oats, or other
farm seeds.
Nothing in
this Division shall be construed to prohibit the corporate authorities of a
county from adopting an ordinance that exempts pleasure driveways or park
districts, as defined in the Park District Code, [FN5] with a population of greater than
100,000, from the exercise of the county's powers under this Division.
The powers
granted by this Division may be used to require the creation and preservation
of affordable housing, including the power to provide increased density or
other zoning incentives to developers who are creating, establishing, or
preserving affordable housing.