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

Rules another office applies inside Village of Harvel

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

• Local zoningAbsent

  Zoning of land inside the Christian County part of Harvel village: the village does not zone itself, and the county zones it

  • Christian County zoning applies inside the village per the county code table note; this is county zoning, not a village ordinance.
  • Only the Christian County part of Harvel village was checked; the Montgomery County part was not researched.
  • Based on the 2020 county code copy; a March 21, 2024 revision was listed on the county site but was not opened.

  “[note: currently the villages of harvel, owaneco, morrisonville and jeiseyville are zoned by the county.]”

• Zoning districtsPartial

  Christian County zoning districts that apply to land inside the Christian County part of Harvel village

  • The code table lists nine districts in this order: agricultural (AG-1), one and two-family residential (R-1), multiple family residential (R-2), country homes (R-3), general retail (C-1), service retail (C-2), light industrial (I-1), heavy industrial (I-2), flood plain overlay (0-FP); the names are matched to codes by table order.
  • The zoning map that places each Harvel parcel in a district was not opened, so the district for a given parcel is unverified.
  • Based on the 2020 county code copy; a March 21, 2024 revision was not opened.

  “the boundaries of the districts are hereby established as shown upon the zoning maps of christian county, and the villages of harvel, owaneco, morrisonville and jeiseyville, illinois, which maps are hereby made a part of this code.”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Private on-site sewage systems for buildings inside the Christian County part of Harvel village where a public sewer is not reasonably available

  • Allowed only where the public sewer is not reasonably available (more than 600 feet from a public sewer with available capacity under the county test).
  • Private systems must be designed, constructed, operated and maintained under the Illinois Private Sewage Disposal Licensing Act and the state code it cites.
  • Permit and inspection requirements for private systems were not verified; see the septic unknown claims.

  “whenever the public sewer system is not reasonably available, a private sewer system (whether central or individual) shall be installed and used.”

• Mandatory utility hookupSewer (with conditions)

  New buildings where people live, work or assemble inside the Christian County part of Harvel village, when a public sewer is reasonably available

  • Connection is required only where the distance from the property to the nearest public sewer with available capacity does not exceed 600 feet.
  • Where the public sewer is not reasonably available, a private system is required instead (see off-grid claim).
  • The code does not address a water connection requirement; water was not researched further.
  • Any Harvel village-owned sewer system and its own connection rules were not located.

  distance to nearest public sewer with available capacity: <= 600 feet (reasonably available test; above this distance a private system is used)

  “whenever the public sanitary sewerage system is reasonably available (that is, when the distance from the property in question to the nearest public sewer with available capacity does not exceed six hundred (600) feet), all sewage shall be discharged into such system, whether or not a private sewer system is more convenient.”

Still unanswered

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

• Building permit — Building permit requirement for new homes inside Harvel village
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption for building inside Harvel village
• Building code adopted — Building code adopted for construction inside Harvel village
• Inspections — Building inspection requirement inside Harvel village
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new homes inside Harvel 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.