Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Village of Palestine, Illinois

Village of Palestine’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Construction, alteration, removal, demolition or installation of equipment for a building or structure inside Palestine village limits

  • Permit is required before work begins; construction may proceed after the permit is issued.
  • Repairs that are not a substantial improvement (cost of 50% or more of the structure's actual cash value) may be made without a permit (section 6-1-5).
  • Permit under which no work is commenced within six (6) months after issuance expires (section 6-1-13).
  • Ordinance text is dated 2004 (ord. no. 2004-02) and amended through 2013 and 2025 per the code page stamp.

  “it shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to construct, alter, remove, demolish, or to begin or to commence construction, alteration, removal, or installing equipment for the operation of a building or structure without first filing with the building official of the village an application in writing and obtaining a permit”

• Building code adoptedPartial

  New construction, alteration and electrical/plumbing work inside Palestine village limits

  • Section 6-1-3(b) requires electrical wiring and plumbing to meet the BOCA building code, the current life safety code, the current Illinois plumbing code and the current National Electric Code.
  • Section 6-2-1 adopts the 2000 National Life Safety Code as amended from time to time.
  • No general building code (for example a full model residential code) was located as adopted by the village; adoption is partial and limited to the cited items.

  “the 2000 national life safety code, as amended from time to time, is hereby adopted as the law of the village.”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Manufactured homes in Palestine village (the Chapter 23 definition); a site-built minimum dwelling size was not located

  • Stated in the Chapter 23 definition of manufactured home together with a minimum 4/12 pitch roof and residential-style siding and roofing.
  • No minimum dwelling size for site-built homes was found in Chapter 6.

  minimum living area of manufactured home: >= 900 square feet (living area excludes garages, carports, porches, or attachments per the definition)

  “as with all residences, a manufactured home shall have a minimum 4/12 pitch roof with residential style siding and roofing, six (6) inch minimum eave overhang, and shall have a minimum living area of not less than nine hundred (900) square feet.”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Any tract, plot or lot inside Palestine village on which a place for human habitation is situated, erected or located; no zoning district distinction found (no district-specific rule located)

  • Section 6-1-19 applies to places for human habitation; the text states it applies 'after september 2, 1971' and is shown as ord. no. 503 (1971) and amended by ord. no. 515 (1975).
  • Single-family residential district answer: none; the village has no zoning districts located, so this is a village-wide minimum.

  minimum lot size for place of human habitation: >= 6000 square feet (tract, plot, or lot or portion thereof in the village)

  “after september 2, 1971, no place for human habitation shall be situated on, or erected, or located upon any tract, plot, or lot of land or portion thereof in the village, less than six thousand (6,000) square feet in size.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Manufactured home pads in a manufactured home park licensed by Palestine village

    “the minimum lot size for a manufactured home pad shall be eight thousand (8,000) square feet, with a minimum frontage of sixty (60) feet.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  All new structures, including additions and new unattached structures, inside Palestine village; no district-specific setbacks located

  • Variance from these requirements may be obtained by written agreement among all adjoining property owners, subject to approval by the board of trustees (section 6-1-3(c)).
  • Privacy fences need a three-foot setback from the property line unless a written agreement signed by both owners is filed at the village office.
  • Fences containing barbed wire are forbidden.

  minimum setback from adjoining property line: >= 5 feet (all new structures incl. additions and unattached structures) · minimum drip-line setback from adjoining property line: >= 3 feet (drip line of any new structure)

  “all new structures, including an addition to an existing structure or a new unattached structure shall be set back a minimum of five (5) feet from the adjoining property line.”

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Development activity in the Palestine village flood plain area regulated by Chapter 14

  • Permit issued by the mayor after an application on the form furnished (14-1-4); development may proceed after the permit is issued.
  • Exceptions only for activities exempted by state law.
  • Section 14-1-6(b): a channel or adjacent area of a stream draining one square mile or more needs an Illinois Division of Water Resources permit or a 'permit not required' letter.
  • Development permit is a flood-plain permit, not a general building permit; section 6-1-2(b) of chapter 6 separately sets the flood-hazard standard for building permit applications.

  “no person, firm, corporation, or governmental body not exempted by state law shall commence any development activity without first obtaining a development permit from the mayor.”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  Building permits issued by Palestine village under Chapter 6

  • Fees are the Chapter 6 section 6-1-16 amounts; no later fee schedule was found in the code index.
  • Fees for other permit types (for example floodplain or culvert permits) were not established.

  permit fee to construct, alter or improve a building: 30 USD (per permit under section 6-1-1) · permit fee to demolish a building: 30 USD (per project)

  “(a) permit to demolish, shall be thirty dollars ($30.00) per project.”

• Permit processPublished (with conditions)

  Building permit application process in Palestine village

  • Application is made to the village building official (village clerk) on the form the corporate authorities prescribe.
  • Plans may be required; plot plan required when the building official asks for one (6-1-4).
  • Permit expires if no work starts within six months (6-1-13); 24 hours' notice required before work starts (6-1-15).

  “the building official shall examine applications for permits, within a reasonable time after filing.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Village of Palestine or Crawford County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption from permit or licensing inside Palestine village
• Inspections — Inspections of permitted construction inside Palestine village limits
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new construction inside Palestine village limits
• Local zoning — Whether Palestine village adopts and administers its own zoning ordinance for land inside village limits
• Zoning districts — Zoning districts inside Palestine village

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.