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

Rules another office applies inside Weller Township

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

• InspectionsRequired

  New buildings constructed on unincorporated land inside Weller township, under Henry County zoning

  • Inspection is by the zoning enforcing officer before a certificate of occupancy issues.

  “no certificate of occupancy for a building, or portion thereof, constructed after the effective date of this ordinance, shall be issued until construction has been completed and the premises inspected and certified by the zoning enforcing officer”

• Certificate of occupancyRequired

  New buildings and new uses of land on unincorporated land inside Weller township, under Henry County zoning

  • Required before a vacant building or new use is occupied; permitted-to-permitted use changes are exempt.
  • Issued by the zoning enforcing officer after inspection.

  “no building or addition thereto, constructed after the effective date of this ordinance shall be occupied, and no land vacant on the effective date of this ordinance shall be used for any purpose until a certificate of occupancy has been issued by the zoning enforcing officer.”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts for unincorporated land inside Weller township (Henry County, IL), under the Henry County zoning ordinance, as the county rule that applies there

  • Districts named in the ordinance include ag-1, ag-2, co-1, hi-1, r-1, r-2, r-3, r-4, r-5, b-1 and m-1; use rules differ by district.
  • District maps are kept by the zoning enforcing officer and are said to be part of the ordinance; the township-by-township maps were not opened.

  “the location and boundaries of the districts established by this ordinance are set forth on the zoning maps for the townships and the enlarged maps for intense use areas”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Agriculture district AG-1 (ag-1), county zoning applying to unincorporated land inside Weller township

  • Same bulk-table row as R-1; the PDF text is garbled, so confirm against the printed table.
  • Manufactured-home minimum living areas (825 sq ft) are separate rules in section 7.5.

  ground floor living area per dwelling: >= 825 sq ft

  “ag-1, r-1 43,560 150 40 10 40 825 20% m-1 80%”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Single-family residence district R-1 (r-1), county zoning applying to unincorporated land inside Weller township

    “ag-1, r-1 43,560 150 40 10 40 825 20% m-1 80%”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Single-family residence district R-1 (r-1), county zoning applying to unincorporated land inside Weller township

  • Lot size and width are read from the bulk table row shared with AG-1; the PDF text is garbled, so confirm against the printed table.
  • Lots of record and recorded-subdivision exceptions are not stated in the bulk table; not checked further.

  minimum lot area: >= 43560 sq ft · minimum lot width: >= 150 ft

  “ag-1, r-1 43,560 150 40 10 40 825 20% m-1 80%”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Agriculture district AG-1 (ag-1), county zoning applying to unincorporated land inside Weller township

    “ag-1, r-1 43,560 150 40 10 40 825 20% m-1 80%”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Single-family residence district R-1 (r-1), county zoning applying to unincorporated land inside Weller township

  • Front yard 40 ft, side yard 10 ft, rear yard 40 ft per the bulk table.
  • Section 7.6 also sets minimum setback distances from township/private roads (40 feet back from common right-of-way/property line boundary) for agricultural buildings and structures; confirm whether it applies to R-1 dwellings.
  • Variances may modify setbacks under the ordinance's hardship appeal provision.

  front yard setback: >= 40 ft · side yard setback: >= 10 ft · rear yard setback: >= 40 ft

  “ag-1, r-1 43,560 150 40 10 40 825 20% m-1 80%”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Agriculture district AG-1 (ag-1), county zoning applying to unincorporated land inside Weller township

    “ag-1, r-1 43,560 150 40 10 40 825 20% m-1 80%”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  Agriculture district AG-1 (ag-1), county zoning applying to unincorporated land inside Weller township

  • Maximum lot coverage 20% per the bulk table row shared with R-1; confirm against the printed table.

  maximum lot coverage: <= 20 %

  “ag-1, r-1 43,560 150 40 10 40 825 20% m-1 80%”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Single-family residence district R-1 (r-1), county zoning applying to unincorporated land inside Weller township

    “ag-1, r-1 43,560 150 40 10 40 825 20% m-1 80%”

• Manufactured homesProhibited

  Manufactured homes not built to the HUD code or the Illinois mobile home and manufactured housing safety act standard, on unincorporated land inside Weller township

  • Applies in every zoning district of unincorporated Henry County.

  “manufactured homes/housing not constructed in compliance to the hud code or il code shall not be permitted to locate in any zoning district in unincorporated henry county.”

• Agricultural exemptionConditional

  Agricultural land, farm dwellings and farm structures on unincorporated land inside Weller township

  • The owner must show the property and buildings are primarily adapted and used for agricultural purposes.
  • Agricultural buildings still must meet the county's floodplain rules and road setbacks.

  “c. it shall be the responsibility of any person or group claiming that certain property is entitled to exemption on the basis of this article to demonstrate that the property and buildings are primarily adapted and used for agricultural purposes.”

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Development or excavation in the designated Henry County floodplain inside Weller township, including agricultural buildings

  • Applies only in the designated Henry County floodplain.
  • Floodplain permit procedure and fees were not located in the text reviewed.

  “agricultural buildings and land uses are not exempt from complying with any federal, state or local regulations concerning developing, depositing or excavating in or on the designated henry county floodplain.”

• Permit processPartial

  Building permit payment and filing for land inside Weller township, handled by the Henry County Zoning & Building Department

  • Payment by check only, payable to Henry County, mailed to the courthouse c/o Zoning & Building.
  • Application forms, review steps and fees were not found in the sources opened.

  “zoning & building department can only accept checks as the form of payment. checks should be made payable to "henry county" and then mailed into the courthouse address c/o zoning & building.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder construction on land inside Weller township
• Building code adopted — Adoption of a building code for land inside Weller township
• Local zoning — Whether Weller township itself adopts and administers a zoning ordinance for land inside Weller township (Henry County, IL)
• Building height — Maximum building height for land inside Weller township under Henry County zoning
• Living in an RV — Occupancy of recreational vehicles on land inside Weller township

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.