Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Lacon, Illinois

Lacon’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Work inside Lacon city limits: new buildings, rebuilding, structural alteration, additions, relocation, and new uses of land or buildings

  • Permit issued by the zoning enforcing officer under Chapter 153 (the city's zoning ordinance).
  • Passed by Ord. 2011-7 on 7-11-2011 per the section's history note.
  • Minor-work exemptions were not found in Chapter 150; check the zoning chapter's permit section (153.009) before relying on this claim for small projects.

  “without obtaining a permit from the zoning enforcing officer in accordance with this chapter”

• Local zoningPresent

  Land inside Lacon city limits: the city adopts and administers its own zoning ordinance (Chapter 153)

  • Code table of contents lists residence, commercial, industrial, agricultural and supplementary districts.

  “this chapter shall be known and may be cited as "the city of lacon, illinois, zoning ordinance".”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Land inside Lacon city limits

  • Districts named in the table of contents: R-1, R-2, R-2A, R-3, R-4 residence; C-1, C-2, C-3 commercial; I-1, I-2 industrial; agricultural (AG) district 153.075-153.078. Only R-1, R-2, R-4 and the lot/yard/occupancy rules for those districts were read in text.

  “§ 153.026 r-1 one-family residential districts. § 153.027 r-2 one-family residential districts.”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Residential building in the R-1 one-family district inside Lacon city limits

  • Applies to the ground floor livable floor space.

  minimum ground floor livable floor space: >= 700 square feet

  “any building used as a residence shall contain on the ground floor at least 700 square feet of livable floor space in a r-1 district and 600 square feet in an r-2 district.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Residential building in the R-2 one-family district inside Lacon city limits

    “any building used as a residence shall contain on the ground floor at least 700 square feet of livable floor space in a r-1 district and 600 square feet in an r-2 district.”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Single-family dwelling on a lot in the R-1 one-family district inside Lacon city limits

  • Lot width minimum also applies.

  minimum lot area: >= 7500 square feet · minimum lot width: >= 60 feet

  “each dwelling shall be located on a lot having an area of not less than 7,500 square feet, and lot width of not less than 60 feet.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Single-family dwelling on a lot in the R-2 one-family district inside Lacon city limits

    “each dwelling shall be located on a lot having an area of not less than 6,000 square feet, and lot width of not less than 50 feet.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Principal building on a lot in the R-2 one-family district inside Lacon city limits

  • Front yard is the same as the R-1 requirement.
  • Side yards are each at least five feet; the sum of both side yards must be at least 12 feet.
  • Rear yard must be at least 20 feet and never less than 20% of lot depth.

  minimum side yard each: >= 5 feet · minimum sum of two side yards: >= 12 feet · minimum rear yard depth: >= 20 feet (never less than 20% of lot depth)

  “(2) side yards: each not less than five feet wide, and the sum of the two side yards shall not be less than 12 feet.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Accessory buildings on residential lots inside Lacon city limits (all residential zones)

    “any accessory building shall be located on the same lot with the principal building and not nearer than three feet to any wall thereof”

• Building heightSpecified

  Accessory buildings in residence districts inside Lacon city limits

  • Principal building height limit was not found in the sections read.

  maximum accessory building height: <= 15 feet

  “no accessory building shall exceed 15 feet in height.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Mobile-home (trailer coach) occupancy inside Lacon city limits, in the R-4 mobile home, trailer court district only

  • Permitted in R-4 districts only, as trailer courts, and only if water and sanitary facilities conform to state health department requirements.
  • Other residence districts (R-1, R-2, R-2A, R-3) list one-family, two-family and multiple-family dwellings but not mobile homes in the text read.

  “trailer courts, (mobile homes), provided that the water and sanitary facilities furnished conform to the requirements of the state health department”

• Accessory dwellingsLimited

  Accessory buildings on residential lots inside Lacon city limits

  • Residence use of an accessory building is barred except for domestic employees and their family.
  • Accessory building must be on the same lot as the principal building and not nearer than three feet to any wall of it (153.025(m)).

  “no part of any accessory building may used for residence purposes, except that domestic employees of the owner, lessee or occupants of the principal building, and the family of such employee may have quarters in such accessory building.”

• Who permits septicMixed (with conditions)

  Private sewage disposal systems on land inside Lacon city limits where no public sewer is available

  • City issues the construction permit for private systems (Sec. 52.071).
  • System type, capacity, location and layout must also follow state law and the state EPA (see the companion state claim).

  “before commencement of construction of a private sewage disposal system the owner shall first obtain a written permit signed by the city.”

• Septic permitRequired

  A private sewage disposal system built inside Lacon city limits where no public sanitary sewer is available

  • Required only where a public sanitary sewer is not available (Sec. 52.070).
  • Application must name the responsible person and describe the system and discharge (Sec. 52.071).

  “before commencement of construction of a private sewage disposal system the owner shall first obtain a written permit signed by the city.”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Household sanitation where no public sanitary sewer is available inside Lacon city limits

  • Sanitation must go through a private sewage disposal system that complies with Chapter 52 and state rules; no septic tank or cesspool may discharge to a natural outlet (Sec. 52.073(b)).

  “where a public sanitary sewer is not available under the provisions of § 52.004, the building sewer shall be connected to a private sewage disposal system complying with the provisions of this subchapter.”

• Mandatory utility hookupSewer (with conditions)

  A property inside Lacon city limits served by a private sewage system when a public sewer becomes available

  • Connection is required when public sewer becomes available, as provided in Sec. 52.025; the availability distance rule in Sec. 52.025 was not read.
  • Water connection rule is not answered here (Chapter 51 Water System not opened).

  “at such time as a public sewer becomes available to a property served by a private sewage disposal system, as provided in § § 52.025, a direct connection shall be made to the public sewer in compliance with this chapter”

• Permit processPartial

  Building and land-use permits inside Lacon city limits

  • The code names the zoning enforcing officer as the permit issuer but does not set out application steps, forms, or review times in the sections read.
  • Section 153.025(h)(12) requires home-occupation applications on city forms with a non-refundable $50 initial fee; this is not a general building fee.

  home occupation initial application fee: 50 USD (non-refundable; home occupation only)

  “without obtaining a permit from the zoning enforcing officer in accordance with this chapter”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit exemption inside Lacon city limits
• Building code adopted — Construction inside Lacon city limits
• Inspections — Routine construction inspections inside Lacon city limits
• Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy certificates inside Lacon city limits
• Lot coverage — Building coverage of lot area inside Lacon city limits

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.