Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Beardstown, Illinois

Beardstown’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent

  Land inside Beardstown city limits

  • Zoning ordinance is Appendix A of the city code; amendments go through the planning commission and city council.

  “The city council may from time to time amend or change by ordinance the number, shape, or area of districts established on the zoning map”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts inside Beardstown city

  • Districts named in the code sections reviewed: R-1, R-2, R-3, C-1, C-1-A, C-2, M-2, W-1, PUD.

  “Special use approval shall be required for all freestanding telecommunication towers located within the R-1, R-2, R-3, C-l-A, C-2, W-1, and PUD Zoning Districts.”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  R-1 Single-Family Residential District, inside Beardstown city

  • Measured from the outside of exterior walls, excluding cellars, basements, open porches, garages and spaces not used frequently for living, eating or sleeping.

  minimum ground area: >= 840 sq ft

  “Every dwelling hereinafter erected shall have a total ground area of not less than eight hundred forty (840) square feet measured from the outside of the exterior walls”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  R-1 Single-Family Residential District, inside Beardstown city

  • Platted and recorded lots of record with less area prior to adoption may still be used for a single-family dwelling.
  • Minimum average lot width 55 feet.

  minimum lot area, single-family: >= 5750 sq ft (lots of record prior to adoption)

  “every lot for a single-family dwelling shall have an area not less than five thousand seven hundred fifty (5,750) square feet, except that if a lot of record prior to the adoption of this ordinance has less area and has been duly platted and recorded in the office of the recorder of deeds for cass county, illinois, such lot may be used for a single-family dwelling.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — R-2 Multiple-Family Residential District, single-family lots, inside Beardstown city

    “d. lot area single-family dwellings: same as in r-1 district.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  R-1 Single-Family Residential District, inside Beardstown city

  • Front yard may be reduced to the block average where 40% or more of frontage is developed with smaller front yards varying by no more than 10 feet.
  • Corner lots have special side-yard rules (same as front yard, or 10 feet).

  front yard: 25% of average lot depth or 13 ft, whichever is smaller · interior side yard: 10% of average lot width or 5 ft, whichever is smaller · rear yard: 30% of average lot depth or 20 ft, whichever is smaller

  “there shall be a front yard having a depth of not less than twenty-five (25) per cent of the average depth of the lot or thirteen (13) feet, whichever is smaller.”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  R-1 Single-Family Residential District, inside Beardstown city (R-2 and R-3 refer to R-1)

  maximum lot coverage, main plus accessory buildings: <= 40 percent

  “f. lot coverage: the combined building area of the main building and the accessory building shall not cover more than forty (40) per cent of the total area.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  R-1 Single-Family Residential District, inside Beardstown city

  • Manufactured and mobile homes are excluded from permitted R-1 one-family dwellings; only double-wide manufactured homes by special use permit from Commission and Council.
  • Home must be factory-built and shipped directly to the site (no pre-owned or demonstration homes) and comply with Chapter 11 of the city code.
  • R-3 Residential Mobile Home District is a separate district; its rules were not fully reviewed.

  “c. one-family manufactured homes - double wide, but only if the manufactured home (1) is fabricated and shipped directly from the factory to the site for assembly (no pre-owned or demonstration homes); (2) complies with the minimum requirements of the definition of manufactured home - double wide, contained in article ii herein, (3) complies with chapter 11 of the beardstown city code, and (4) the commission and council grant a special use permit allowing this use under this zoning ordinance.”

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Buildings in the floodplain inside Beardstown city

  • Applies to new buildings or additions valued over $1,000 or 70 sq ft, substantial improvements, substantially damaged buildings, manufactured homes on new sites, and RVs on a site more than 180 days per year.
  • Flood protection elevation is base flood plus one foot of freeboard.

  “all buildings located in the floodplain shall be protected from flood damage below the flood protection elevation.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Beardstown or Cass County directly.

• Building permit — Building permits inside Beardstown city
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption inside Beardstown city
• Building code adopted — Building code inside Beardstown city
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Beardstown city
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificates of occupancy inside Beardstown city

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.