Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Hillsboro, Illinois

Hillsboro’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Land development, new uses or structures, and enlargement or alteration of structures inside Hillsboro city under Chapter 40 (zoning certificate, with building permit under §40-9-3)

  • Construction may proceed after the certificate of zoning compliance is issued.
  • Section 40-9-3 says a fee is required for the application.
  • Building-code and inspection requirements were not checked.

  “no land shall be developed, no new use or structure shall be established or erected, and no existing use or structure shall be enlarged, extended, altered, relocated, or reconstructed until a certificate of zoning compliance has been issued.”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Hillsboro city's corporate limits. The city's Chapter 40 zoning code is the city's own ordinance.

  • Section 40-1-3 applies the code within the corporate limits and also 1 1/2 miles outside the city limits; land outside the limits takes the zoning district of the territory most nearly adjacent inside the city.
  • The county in which the city sits was not stated on the opened pages; see search_notes.

  “this code shall be applicable only within the corporate limits of the city and one and one-half (1 1/2) miles outside of the city limits of hillsboro.”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts of Hillsboro city under Chapter 40

  • The district list is from the code's table of contents; the zoning map (§40-3-2) was not opened.
  • Districts listed include A (agricultural), R-1, R-2, MR-1, MH-1, B-1, B-2, I-1, and the O-FP flood plain overlay.

  “division ii - single-family district (r-1) section 40-4-7 - "r-1" - single-family residence district (large lot)”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Principal buildings in the single-family R-1 district inside Hillsboro city (§40-4-9; the code's text reads "r-l")

  • The 10,000 square foot figure applies with both water and sewer.
  • With water only, the lot area is set under §38-5-13 of the city code, which was not opened.

  minimum lot area with water and sewer: >= 10000 square feet (with water only, based on §38-5-13 of the city code)

  “(a) minimum lot area with water and sewer: 10,000 square feet minimum lot area with water only shall be based upon the provisions of section 38-5-13 of the city code.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — Principal buildings in the agricultural "a" district inside Hillsboro city (§40-4-3)

    “every principal building erected in the "a" district shall conform to the following requirements: (a) minimum lot area: 3 acres (b) minimum lot width at the established building line: 150 feet (c) minimum lot depth: 200 feet”

• SetbacksDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Principal buildings in the agricultural "a" district inside Hillsboro city (§40-4-3(d))

  • Other intrusion and yard rules in §40-3-12 and §40-3-10 to §40-3-11 were not opened.

  front setback: >= 40 feet · total of both side yards: >= 25 feet · each side lot line: >= 10 feet · rear setback: >= 25 feet · side yard abutting street: >= 40 feet

  “(d) minimum setbacks: (1) from front lot line: 40 feet (2) total for both side yard lines: 25 feet (3) from either side lot line: 10 feet (4) from rear lot line: 25 feet (5) from side yard abutting street: 40 feet”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — Principal buildings in the single-family R-1 district inside Hillsboro city (§40-4-9(d); the code's text reads "r-l")

    “(d) minimum setbacks: (1) from front lot line: 20 feet (2) from either side lot line: 5 feet (3) from rear lot line: 8 feet (4) from side yard abutting street: 20 feet”

• Lot coverageDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Manufactured housing (MH-1) district inside Hillsboro city only (§40-4-53(f)); no lot-coverage limit was seen for the A or R-1 districts

  • Lot coverage limits for other districts were not confirmed.

  maximum percent coverage per lot: <= 25 percent

  “(f) maximum percent coverage per lot 25% (g) minimum off-street parking per unit 2 spaces”

• Building heightDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Principal buildings in the agricultural "a" district inside Hillsboro city (§40-4-3(e))

  • The 35-foot limit does not apply to accessory agricultural structures.

  maximum building height: <= 35 feet (does not apply to accessory agricultural structures)

  “(e) maximum building height: 35 feet (does not apply to accessory agricultural structures.)”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — Principal buildings in the single-family R-1 district inside Hillsboro city (§40-4-9(e); the code's text reads "r-l")

    “(e) maximum building height: 35 feet *(see section 40-3-14 of this code.)”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Existing manufactured homes in the R-1 single-family district inside Hillsboro city (§40-4-8, the code's text reads "r-l")

  • A special-use permit from the zoning board of appeals is required before an existing manufactured home in this district can be immobilized.

  “(1) no existing manufactured home in the "r-l" district shall be immobilized unless a special-use permit is granted by the zoning board of appeals and installed pursuant to manufacturer's requirements.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Limited — Manufactured housing units outside an approved manufactured home park in the MH-1 manufactured housing district inside Hillsboro city (§40-4-52 and §40-4-53)

    “all manufactured housing units located outside an approved manufactured home park shall be located on property owned by the owner of the manufactured housing unit.”

• Mandatory utility hookupSewer (with conditions)

  A building in Hillsboro city where a public sanitary sewer is within reach

  • Connection is required only when the nearest public sewer with available capacity is within 100 feet of the property.
  • Where the sewer is not reasonably accessible, a private system is allowed (see off_grid_sanitation).
  • The city's water-connection rule was not confirmed; §38-5-13 of the city code is cross-referenced in the R-1 lot section but was not opened.

  distance to nearest public sewer with available capacity: <= 100 feet

  “whenever the public sanitary sewerage system is reasonably accessible (that is, when the distance from the property in question to the nearest public sewer with available capacity does not exceed one hundred (100) feet), all sewage shall be discharged into such system whether or not a private sewerage system already exists or is more convenient.”

• Permit processPartial

  Applications for an initial certificate of zoning compliance and permit to construct in Hillsboro city

  • The zoning administrator decides which information items apply to each project.
  • Section 40-9-3 notes that a fee is required; the fee amount was not located on the opened pages.
  • The permit-application form was not opened.

  “40-9-3 application for initial certificate of zoning compliance and permit to construct.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder construction exemption inside Hillsboro city
• Building code adopted — Building codes for new construction inside Hillsboro city
• Inspections — Building inspections for construction inside Hillsboro city
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificates of occupancy for buildings inside Hillsboro city
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum dwelling size inside Hillsboro city

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.