Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Button Township, Illinois

Rules another office applies inside Button Township

Button Township does not set these itself; the county, a health district or the state does, and they apply to every address inside its limits.

• Building permitRequired

  New construction and projects that increase the square footage of existing buildings on land in unincorporated Ford County, including Button township outside the one-and-one-half-mile zones of Gibson City, Paxton, and Piper City

  • Permit must be obtained before construction begins.
  • Agricultural use buildings also require a permit, but no fee is charged by statute.
  • Property within the corporate limits of Gibson City, Paxton, or Piper City is handled by those cities; the county ordinance excludes the area within one and one-half miles of their corporate limits.
  • Whether Button township parcels fall inside the Paxton one-and-one-half-mile zone is not confirmed.

  “construction permits are required for all new construction and for all projects which increase the square footage of existing buildings on the property.”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts applying in unincorporated Ford County, including Button township outside the one-and-one-half-mile zones of the cities

  • Districts are AG-1, CO-1, R-1, R-2, R-3, B-1, B-2 and I-1.
  • The 1972 ordinance was revised in February 2022; the revision date is not treated as an effective date.
  • Map-based district boundaries were not opened.

  “(1) ag-1 agricultural district (2) co-1 conservation district (3) r - 1 residential district (4) r - 2 residential district (5) r - 3 residential district (6) b - 1 highway business district (7) b - 2 general business district (8) i - 1 industrial district”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Main single-family residential district R-1 in unincorporated Ford County, including Button township outside the one-and-one-half-mile zones of the cities

  • Lots of record that are smaller than required may still be used for a one-family dwelling under the ordinance's exception for lots of record owned without adjacent parcels.
  • Lot-width and lot-area values are read from a garbled table; confirm against the source PDF.

  minimum lot area, R-1 single-family: >= 20000 sq ft · minimum lot width, R-1: >= 100 ft

  “lot width in ft. 150 150 100 65 60 none none none lot area in sq.ft. 43,560 43,560 20,000 7,800 6,000 none none none”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — Agricultural district AG-1 in unincorporated Ford County, including Button township outside the one-and-one-half-mile zones of the cities

    “lot width in ft. 150 150 100 65 60 none none none lot area in sq.ft. 43,560 43,560 20,000 7,800 6,000 none none none”

• SetbacksDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Main single-family residential district R-1 in unincorporated Ford County, including Button township outside the one-and-one-half-mile zones of the cities

  • Front yard 30 ft, side yard 10 ft, rear yard 30 ft in R-1.
  • Highway setbacks also apply: no building nearer than 50 feet from the center line of any township or road district highway.
  • Variance appeals to the zoning board are available where building-line restrictions create undue hardship.

  front yard, R-1: >= 30 ft · side yard, R-1: >= 10 ft · rear yard, R-1: >= 30 ft

  “front yard 50 50 30 25 25 25 none side yard 20 20 10 5 5 none none rear yard 50 50 30 25 25 25 none”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — Agricultural district AG-1 in unincorporated Ford County, including Button township outside the one-and-one-half-mile zones of the cities

    “front yard 50 50 30 25 25 25 none side yard 20 20 10 5 5 none none rear yard 50 50 30 25 25 25 none”

• Building heightDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Main single-family residential district R-1 in unincorporated Ford County, including Button township outside the one-and-one-half-mile zones of the cities

  • Height limits may be exceeded for listed public and institutional buildings and certain structures under the ordinance's exceptions.
  • The height section lists CO-1, R-1 and R-2 at 35 feet; no AG-1 height limit appears in that section, so AG-1 height is not answered here.

  maximum building height, R-1: <= 35 ft

  “(1) thirty-five feet in the co-1, r-1 and r-2 districts.”

• Living in an RVLimited

  Living in a trailer or RV on land in unincorporated Ford County, including Button township outside the one-and-one-half-mile zones of the cities

  • Inhabited trailers must be in a trailer court with a conditional use permit, except where otherwise permitted.
  • Camps for seasonal recreation may allow travel trailers and camping trailers, but occupancy may not be for an entire calendar year.
  • Long-term RV residency on private land is not otherwise addressed in the parts read.

  “except where otherwise permitted, all inhabited trailers shall be located in a trailer court which has received a conditional use permit and which conforms with the requirements of the following paragraph.”

• Camping on your landLimited

  Seasonal campgrounds and camps in unincorporated Ford County, including Button township outside the one-and-one-half-mile zones of the cities

  • Camps or campgrounds are a conditional use.
  • Structures in them may be seasonal, temporary, or movable, but occupancy may not be for an entire calendar year.
  • Permanent cabins for seasonal use must meet R-3 requirements.

  “camps or campgrounds, commercial or governmental tracts of land of a design or character suitable for, or used for seasonal recreation and other similar living purposes.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Occupancy of a mobile or manufactured home in unincorporated Ford County, including Button township outside the one-and-one-half-mile zones of the cities

  • A mobile home occupied in a trailer court requires a conditional use permit.
  • Each mobile home lot must be at least 5,000 square feet and 50 feet wide.
  • Trailer courts may have no more than an average of 8 lots per acre.

  minimum mobile home lot area: >= 5000 sq ft (lots in a trailer court) · minimum mobile home lot width: >= 50 ft (lots in a trailer court)

  “each lot provided for the occupancy of a single mobile home unit shall have an area of not less than 5,000 square feet and a width of not less than 50 feet, and no park shall be permitted an average density of trailer lots of more than 8 per acre”

• Who permits septicState (with conditions)

  Private sewage (septic) systems on land inside Button township, Ford County, Illinois

  • Installation of septic systems is regulated by the Illinois Department of Public Health; about 90 local health agencies also review plans, either under local ordinance or as IDPH's agent.
  • Whether the Ford County health department acts as an IDPH agent is not confirmed.
  • The county zoning ordinance refers to IDPH circulars for sewage disposal standards.

  “there are about 90 local health agencies in illinois that also review sewage disposal system construction plans, either by authority of a local ordinance or as an "agent" of the department.”

• Agricultural exemptionConditional

  Agricultural use buildings in unincorporated Ford County, including Button township outside the one-and-one-half-mile zones of the cities

  • Agricultural use buildings still require a permit.
  • The fee is waived by statute for agricultural use buildings; this is a fee exemption, not a permit exemption.

  “agricultural use buildings require a permit; however, by statute no fee is charged.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Land division and subdivision in unincorporated Ford County, including Button township outside the one-and-one-half-mile zones of the cities

  • A separate county ordinance regulates subdivision of land; it was not opened.
  • A development plat must be recorded whether or not a subdivision is proposed.

  “a plat of development shall be recorded regardless of whether a subdivision is proposed and such plat shall show building lines, common land, streets, easements and other applicable features required by the ordinance regulating the subdivision of land.”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  Construction permit fees for non-agricultural projects in unincorporated Ford County, including Button township outside the one-and-one-half-mile zones of Gibson City, Paxton, and Piper City

  • Fee is doubled if the application is filed after construction of a foundation or erection of a structure has begun.
  • Agricultural use buildings require a permit but no fee is charged by statute.
  • The county page is the only fee source located; no separate fee schedule was opened.

  construction permit fee, first 200 sq ft: 20 USD (non-agricultural projects) · construction permit fee per square foot over 200 sq ft: per 0.15 USD (structures over 200 sq ft; non-agricultural projects)

  “a fee of $20.00 for the first 200 square feet and fifteen cents ($.15) per square foot for structures over 200 sq ft is charged for all non-agricultural projects.”

• Permit processPartial

  Zoning permit process in unincorporated Ford County, including Button township outside the one-and-one-half-mile zones of the cities

  • The zoning office processes permits, variances, conditional uses, special use permits, and rezonings; the zoning enforcing officer is reached through the Ford County Courthouse by appointment.
  • Application forms, inspection steps, and turnaround were not located, so the process is only partly published.

  “the ford county zoning office administers the ford county zoning ordinance.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Button Township or Ford County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption from permits in Button township
• Building code adopted — Building code adopted for new homes in Button township
• Inspections — Building inspections for new homes in Button township
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new homes in Button township
• Local zoning — Land inside Button township, Ford County, Illinois: whether the township itself has adopted a zoning ordinance

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.