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

Village of Lovington’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  New construction, alteration and remodeling inside Lovington village limits

  • Fences are exempt from the permit requirement.
  • Permits are issued by the zoning administrator under Article XI of Chapter 40.

  “it is unlawful to construct any building or structure other than a fence in the village, or to alter or remodel any building or structure so as to change the bearing walls, beams, supports or the roof thereof, without first securing a permit therefor.”

• Certificate of occupancyRequired

  New, altered, extended or changed-use buildings inside Lovington village

  • Certificate is issued within ten (10) days after the work is approved as complying (40-11-7).
  • Certificate must be applied for with the building permit application (40-11-7).

  “all certificates of occupancy shall be applied for coincident with the application for a building permit.”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  All land inside Lovington village limits; the village adopts and administers its own zoning code (Chapter 40)

  • Applies only inside village limits; the code does not govern unincorporated Moultrie County land.
  • Zoning map is adopted by reference under 40-3-2; map boundaries were not reviewed in this research.
  • Document reviewed is the Supplement No. 8 copy dated 05-01-23 on the village site.

  “the village is divided into five (5) districts, known as: a b c d e residential district residential district commercial business district light industrial district agricultural district which areas and boundaries are designated by the official map.”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts inside Lovington village limits

  • Five districts are named in the code: A residential, B residential, C commercial business, D light industrial, E agricultural.
  • District boundaries are shown only on the official zoning map adopted by reference (40-3-2), which was not opened.

  “the village is divided into five (5) districts, known as: a b c d e residential district residential district commercial business district light industrial district agricultural district which areas and boundaries are designated by the official map.”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Main buildings on a lot in the A residential district inside Lovington village

  • Exception: any use permitted in the A district may be built on a smaller lot of record.
  • The B residential district has its own lot rule (8,250 sq ft, section 40-5-7); not treated here as the single-family answer.

  minimum lot area: >= 9000 square feet (smaller lot of record permitted for uses in this district) · minimum average lot width: >= 60 feet

  “every lot upon which a building is erected shall have an area of not less than nine thousand (9,000) square feet, and an average width of not less than sixty (60) feet, except that any of the uses permitted in this district may be erected or constructed upon a smaller lot of record.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Main buildings in the A residential district inside Lovington village: front and side yards

  • Front yard depth is measured from the street centerline and may be adjusted to the nearest building on a block where 30% or more of frontage is built out (40-4-3).
  • Side-yard reduction for lots of record narrower than 50 feet exists in 40-4-4(b) but its text was cut off in the source and is not quoted here.
  • Rear yard for main buildings (40-4-5) was not captured in full; see followups.

  front yard depth: not less than the width of the street as measured from the center (unless 30% or more of frontage has a different built-out depth) · side yard width (each side): >= 10 feet (reduction for lots of record under 50 feet wide in 40-4-4(b), not quoted)

  “there shall be a side yard on each side of the building having a width of not less than ten (10) feet”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Accessory buildings on lots in the A residential district inside Lovington village

    “accessory building setbacks shall be as specified for front and side yards. required rear yard setbacks shall be two (2) feet from the lot line.”

• Building heightSpecified

  Buildings in the A residential district inside Lovington village

  • Stated in both stories and feet; the stricter limit applies in practice.

  maximum building height: <= 35 feet · maximum stories: <= 2.5 stories

  “no building shall exceed two and onehalf (2 ½) stories, nor shall it exceed thirty-five (35) feet in height.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Mobile homes on a lot in the B residential district inside Lovington village (use variance route)

  • Listed as a B-district permitted use only through a use variance granted under section 40-5-3.
  • Requires electric and/or gas service and individual municipal water and sewer connections (40-5-3(a)).
  • Requires a permanent masonry foundation, skirting and anchoring (40-5-3(b)) and a storage locker of at least 50 square feet (40-5-3(c)).
  • The A-district permitted-use list (40-4-2) was only partly opened and did not show mobile homes; the answer for A-district lots is not established.

  accessory storage locker base area: >= 50 square feet

  “a permit for a mobile home to be placed upon a lot as a use variance shall be issued by the zoning administrator if the following conditions are met: (a) the mobile home is to have utility connections for electric, and/or gas distribution service where needed and individual connections to the municipal water and sewer system.”

• Who permits septicMixed (with conditions)

  Private sewage disposal systems on lots inside Lovington village

  • Health department issues the construction permit; the village superintendent inspects and collects a fee (38-4-11, 38-4-12).
  • Systems must meet the Illinois private sewage disposal licensing act and code and IEPA requirements (38-4-13).
  • Health department (not named in the code) identity and service area were not verified; no county or health district page was opened.

  “the type, capacities, location and layout of a private sewage disposal system shall comply with all recommendations of the state of illinois private sewage disposal licensing act and code and with the state of illinois environmental protection agency.”

• Septic permitRequired

  Construction of a private sewage disposal system on a lot inside Lovington village where no public sewer is available

  • Permit is issued by the appropriate health department; the village also collects a permit and inspection fee (38-4-11).
  • Private systems are allowed only where no public sanitary sewer is available under section 38-4-7 (38-4-10).
  • No permit for a subsurface soil absorption system on a lot under 40,000 square feet (38-4-13).

  village permit and inspection fee for private sewage system: 100 USD · minimum lot area for subsurface soil absorption permit: >= 40000 square feet

  “before commencement of construction of a private sewage disposal system the owner shall first obtain a written permit from the appropriate health department.”

• Septic inspectionRequired

  Private sewage disposal systems installed inside Lovington village

  • Inspection must occur within 72 hours of written notice (38-4-12).
  • Owner must also notify the village before the sewer connection is backfilled (38-4-82).

  “the inspection shall be made within seventy-two (72) hours of the receipt of written notice by the superintendent.”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Private sewage (privy, septic tank, cesspool) on lots inside Lovington village

  • Private disposal is allowed only where no public sanitary sewer is available under section 38-4-7.
  • Once a public sewer becomes available, the building must connect within 90 days and the private system must be abandoned and filled (38-4-14, 38-4-17).

  “where a public sanitary sewer is not available under the provisions of section 38-4-7, the building sewer shall be connected to a private sewage disposal system complying with the provisions of this division.”

• Mandatory utility hookupSewer (with conditions)

  Houses and buildings used for occupancy inside Lovington village that abut a street or right-of-way with a public sanitary (or combined) sewer

  • Connection is required only if the public sewer is within 200 feet of the nearest property line and adequate to handle the added flow, where determined to be required.
  • Owner has 90 days after official notice to connect (38-4-7).
  • Connection is made at owner expense by a state-licensed contractor under village supervision (38-4-82).

  distance from nearest property line to public sewer triggering connection: <= 200 feet (connection also requires adequate capacity and a village determination of requirement) · connection deadline after official notice: 90 days

  “within ninety (90) days after date of official notice to do so, provided that said public sewer is within two hundred (200) feet of the nearest property line and adequate to handle the additional connection, where determined to be required.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Subdivision and development of land inside Lovington village limits

  • Lot minimums and setbacks are set by reference to the Lovington zoning code (34-3-4, 34-2-2).
  • Interpretations and appeals go to the planning commission and then the village board (34-1-4).

  “this chapter regulates the subdivision and development of land in order to assist in achieving the following specific objectives”

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Development inside a floodplain within Lovington village limits

  • Covers construction, placement of buildings, filling and grading in the floodplain (14-1-2 definition of development).
  • Floodplain areas in the unincorporated extraterritorial area are covered by the code's maps but are outside this village answer (14-1-3(b)).
  • Permit is not issued until all other federal, state and local permits are obtained (14-1-5).

  “no person, firm, corporation, or governmental body not exempted by law shall commence any development in the floodplain without first obtaining a development permit from the zoning administrator.”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  Building permit fees inside Lovington village

  • Fee schedule is cited to ord. no. 22-04 (05-09-22) in the code; the ordinance itself was not opened and no later amendment was found.
  • Higher-cost projects pay an increment on top of the base fee.

  building permit fee, anticipated cost up to $9,999: 25 USD (plus $0.50 per $500 increment over $10,000 as stated below) · increment over $10,000 of anticipated construction cost: per 0.5 USD per $500 (base $25 fee for amounts over $10,000 as stated in 40-11-3)

  “a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) shall be charged for up to nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine dollars ($9,999.00)”

• Permit processPublished (with conditions)

  Building permit applications inside Lovington village

  • Application goes to the zoning administrator with two copies of a layout or plot plan showing lot dimensions and building locations.
  • One plot plan copy is returned when the permit issues.
  • Certificate of occupancy is applied for together with the building permit (40-11-7).

  “application for building permits shall be made to the zoning administrator, and shall have attached thereto two (2) copies of a layout or plot plan”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption from permit or licensing rules inside Lovington village
• Building code adopted — Adoption of a building code for construction inside Lovington village
• Inspections — General building inspections for construction inside Lovington village
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum floor area for a dwelling inside Lovington village
• Lot coverage — Maximum lot coverage for buildings inside Lovington 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.