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

Richmond Township’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  A house built in the unincorporated McHenry County portion of Richmond Township.

  • A Richmond Township Road District driveway, culvert, or right-of-way-access permit is needed before the county grants the building permit.
  • The Road District says the access permit is available only in person at its office.
  • This does not establish rules for incorporated Village of Richmond or Village of Spring Grove land.

  driveway permit fee: 150 USD (Due before issuance of the Road District access permit.) · typical bond: 1000 USD (Refunded after work is complete and installation passes inspection.)

  “You will also need this permit before the county will grant you a building permit if you are building a house in unincorporated McHenry County section of Richmond Township.”

• Driveway accessRequired

  Installation of a driveway, culvert, or right-of-way access point subject to the Richmond Township Road District.

  • The permit is available only in person at the Road District office.
  • The $150 permit fee is due before issuance.
  • A typical $1,000 bond is required and refunded after work is complete and the installation passes inspection.
  • A separate county, state, or other road authority may govern access to roads outside Road District control.

  permit fee: 150 USD (Due prior to permit issuance.) · typical bond: 1000 USD (Refunded after work is complete and installation passes inspection.)

  “Installing a driveway [...] requires a permit.”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  Richmond Township Road District driveway, culvert, or right-of-way access permits.

  • The $150 permit fee is due before issuance.
  • A typical $1,000 bond is required and refunded after work is complete and the installation passes inspection.
  • This claim concerns Road District access permits, not county building-permit fees or health-department septic fees.

  permit fee: 150 USD (Due before issuance.) · typical bond: 1000 USD (Refunded after work is complete and installation passes inspection.)

  “permit fee of $150 [...] Bond of $1000.00 (typical amount) is required”

Rules another office applies inside Richmond Township

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

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Onsite septic sanitation serving land in Richmond Township.

  • A septic permit is required before installation, repair, extension, replacement, or abandonment except for listed very minor repairs.
  • Septic systems must be installed by a licensed private sewage system installation contractor.
  • The system must be installed according to the approved septic design; a revised design must be submitted and approved before installation if listed design changes are required.

  “Septic systems must be installed by a Licensed [...] Contractor.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-performed residential construction inside Richmond Township.
• Building code adopted — Construction inside Richmond Township.
• Inspections — Building construction inside Richmond Township.
• Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy of new or altered buildings inside Richmond Township.
• Local zoning — Land inside Richmond Township, including areas where incorporated-village rules may apply.

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.