Madison Township, IL: No County Zoning

Richland County, Illinois has no zoning ordinance for the unincorporated land in Madison Township¹. We could not confirm a township zoning ordinance or a building permit requirement for a new home, so ask the township and the County Engineer before you build. Septic plans must be approved under Illinois Department of Public Health rules before construction².

At a glance

Zoning: No county zoning ordinance for unincorporated land; township zoning not confirmed¹
Building permit: Not confirmed for new homes; the state issues none, local government decides³
Septic: Plan approval required before construction; Illinois Department of Public Health sets the rules²
RV living: No county zoning restriction on RV occupancy⁴
Tiny home: No county zoning restriction on tiny-home occupancy⁵
Minimum home size: None set by county zoning⁶
Driveway: Requests for county-highway entrances go to the Richland County Engineer⁷
Floodplain: County floodplain ordinance applies in mapped flood zones⁸

Who to call

Roads & driveways

Richland County Highway Department

Entrances and culverts on county-maintained roads; the County Engineer also serves as County Floodplain Administrator

(618) 392-3141

[email protected]

4334 N. Meridian Road, Olney, IL 62450

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 24, 2026.

Off-grid gear

Going off-grid in Madison Township means bringing your own water and power. The kit we’d start with:

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Does Madison Township, Richland County have zoning?

Richland County, Illinois does not have a zoning ordinance for the unincorporated portions of the county, and Madison Township is not one of the county's incorporated municipalities¹. In practice, Madison Township has no county-set zoning districts, minimum lot size, minimum dwelling size, lot coverage limit or building height limit⁶⁹¹⁰.

Two gaps remain. We could not confirm whether Madison Township has adopted a zoning ordinance of its own, so ask the township before you buy¹. And land near a city or village can fall under that municipality's zoning, because Illinois lets incorporated municipalities extend zoning 1.5 miles beyond their limits; the county names Olney, Noble, Parkersburg, Calhoun and Claremont, so check with that municipal clerk if the parcel is close to one¹.

No zoning does not mean no rules. Richland County has separate ordinances for setback lines, subdivisions, floodplain construction, solar farms and trailer parks¹¹¹².

Do you need a building permit in Madison Township, and who issues it?

We could not confirm that a building permit is required for a new home in Madison Township. The county's published land-use code and zoning memorandum cover mobile-home parks, floods and subdivisions, and neither describes a building permit for houses, so the answer is unconfirmed rather than "none"¹³.

The State of Illinois does not issue building permits for privately funded construction; any permit requirement comes from the local unit of government³. Illinois counties and townships are not required to adopt a building code, and statewide baseline code rules took effect on 1 January 2025¹⁴.

Who to ask: the Richland County Engineer through the Richland County Highway Department at (618) 392-3141, and the Madison Township clerk or highway commissioner¹⁵.

One permit does apply broadly: Richland County's floodplain ordinance requires permits for all proposed construction or other development so the county can determine whether it lies in the floodplain¹⁶.

How do septic permits work in Madison Township?

Septic systems in Madison Township fall under the Illinois Department of Public Health, which regulates private sewage disposal systems that have no surface discharge, such as septic tanks and seepage fields¹⁷. Plans for a private sewage disposal system must be reviewed and approved before construction begins².

About 90 local health agencies in Illinois also review plans, but we could not confirm whether the Richland County health department does so for Madison Township, so ask that office which agency approves your plans¹⁷.

Soils matter here. Only about 3.5% of Richland County soils are rated "not limited" by USDA for a conventional drain field, so most lots need a site evaluation and some will need an engineered system¹⁸.

For a well, Illinois requires a permit from the state health department or an approved local health department before work starts¹⁹.

Can you live in an RV or tiny home on your land in Madison Township?

As a county zoning matter, Richland County does not restrict RV occupancy or tiny-home occupancy on unincorporated land⁴⁵. Accessory dwellings are likewise not restricted by county zoning²⁰.

That answer is narrow. Septic, floodplain and road-entrance rules still apply to a second dwelling or a long-term RV hookup⁵²⁰. Parcels near a municipality may fall under its zoning, and we could not confirm any township ordinance⁴.

A mobile-home park of five or more occupied homes needs a county permit or license, so do not plan to rent out several pads without checking first²¹.

Building a home in Madison Township: the steps, in order

Ask the Madison Township clerk whether the township has any zoning or building rules, and ask the nearest city or village clerk whether the parcel sits inside its 1.5-mile zoning reach¹.
Check the flood zones on the county's web GIS with the floodplain layer turned on, then contact the County Engineer about floodplain permits⁸¹⁶.
If you plan to divide the land, ask about the county subdivision ordinance first²².
Get septic plan approval before construction, and a well permit before drilling²¹⁹.
Request any new entrance onto a county highway from the Richland County Engineer⁷. Entrances onto township roads go to the township highway commissioner.
Ask the County Engineer about setback lines before you site the house¹¹.

What stays with Richland County, and what to check before you buy

Richland County handles floodplain permits, its setback line and subdivision ordinances, and entrances onto county-maintained highways; the County Engineer also serves as County Floodplain Administrator¹⁵. Septic and well rules come from the state health department and any local health agency¹⁷. For land outside Madison Township, see the Richland County page.

Before you buy, confirm the township's rules, flood status, and whether a public water or sewer connection is available, since we could not confirm either connection rule⁸. Richland County's effective property tax rate is 1.5%, with a median bill of $1,618 a year²³²⁴. The nearest city of 100,000 or more is about 56 miles from the county center²⁵.

Watch-outs

We could not confirm whether Madison Township has its own zoning or building rules, so ask the township clerk before you sign a contract¹.
Land within 1.5 miles of Olney, Noble, Parkersburg, Calhoun or Claremont may fall under that municipality's zoning¹.
Entrances onto township roads go to the township highway commissioner, not the county, and we could not confirm that contact⁷.
Setback line distances are set by a county ordinance whose text we could not confirm, so ask the County Engineer before you place a building¹¹.

Sources

Written October 24, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.

Unanswered questions are usually a sign that Madison Township publishes no rule on the point, not that none exists. Richland County’s page lists the county offices to call.

Zoning, building permits and septic in Madison Township, Illinois