Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Oakland, Illinois

Oakland’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Oakland city limits (Coles County, IL). Oakland city administers its own zoning ordinance, Title 5 Chapter 1 (Zoning) of the city code.

  • Codebook text was reviewed from a PDF hosted on the Coles County site under /static/oakland/Council/. Its ordinance revision stamps run to 2019, so confirm the current zoning text with Oakland city hall before relying on it.
  • The county zoning page says the city's zoning jurisdiction extends within one and one-half miles of its municipal boundary, and says people should contact the town to see whether a development is covered by its ordinance.

  “for the purpose of dividing the city into zones, or districts, restricting and regulating therein the location, erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration and use of buildings, structures, and land for trade, industry, residence and other specified uses”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Accessory buildings inside Oakland city (Title 5 Chapter 1, Section 5-1-7). Main-building setbacks by district were not located.

  • Applies to accessory buildings 'except as otherwise permitted in this ordinance', per Section 5-1-7.
  • A detached accessory building may not be closer than ten (10) feet to any main building (Section 5-1-7(c)).
  • Front and side setbacks for the main residential district are not established by this claim and remain unknown.

  accessory building setback from interior lot line: >= 5 feet (except as otherwise permitted in this ordinance) · accessory building setback from rear lot line: >= 5 feet (except as otherwise permitted in this ordinance)

  “an accessory building may not be located nearer than five (5) feet to any interior lot line and not nearer than five (5) feet to the rear lot line.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Plats and replats of subdivisions located inside Oakland city limits and within one and one-half miles outside them (Title 5 Chapter 2, Control of Land Subdivision Development).

  • The plat must be approved by the board of zoning appeals and planning and that approval must be entered on the plat before recording.
  • Codebook text may be out of date; confirm with city hall.

  “no plat or replat of a subdivision of land located within the city or outside of the city and within one and one-half (1 1/2) miles of the city limits, shall be recorded until it is in full compliance with the provisions of this chapter and it shall have been approved by the board of zoning appeals and planning”

• Permit feesVariable (with conditions)

  Zoning-related petitions and permits in Oakland city: zoning amendments, use permits, certification of compliance, variations, and board of zoning appeals appeals (Title 5 Chapter 1, Section 5-1-15).

  • Fee amounts are set by council action from time to time; no fee schedule was located in the codebook text reviewed.
  • Building permit fees were not established by this claim and remain unknown.

  “fees pertaining to petitions for zoning amendments, use permits, certification of compliance, variations, and for appeals to the board of zoning appeals, shall be established by action of the council from time to time.”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — New construction and alterations inside Oakland city
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder construction inside Oakland city
• Building code adopted — Building construction inside Oakland city
• Inspections — Inspections of new construction inside Oakland city
• Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy approval for buildings inside Oakland 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.