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

Rules another office applies inside Oconee Township

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

• Building permitRequired

  Structures of any kind on unincorporated land inside Oconee township

  • Improvement location permit (building permit) required before placement, erection, alteration or location of a structure.
  • Traditionally no building permit is required for aluminum car ports or boat docks.
  • Does not apply within incorporated villages, cities or towns.

  “no structure of any kind shall be placed, erected, altered, changed, or located on any land within the jurisdiction of shelby county, illinois, including any unincorporated villages, without an improvement location permit (building permit).”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Unincorporated land inside Oconee township: the Shelby County zoning ordinance (2005) is the zoning ordinance applied there; this is a county rule, not a township ordinance

  • Applies outside villages, cities and incorporated towns; any incorporated municipality inside the township is excluded.
  • Zoning-district land use is set by the county zone map for the township, as amended.

  “the zoning office is responsible for the issuance of building permits and enforcement of ordinance in any unincorporated areas of shelby county”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Unincorporated land inside Oconee township under the Shelby County zoning ordinance

  • Zone maps for each township are adopted as part of the ordinance; the township map for Oconee township was not opened.

  “zone maps for each of the townships, contained in article iv. of this ordinance”

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Mobile homes and replacement homes in the agricultural district inside unincorporated Oconee township

  • Replacement rule applies to homes existing in the jurisdictional area as of July 9, 1997.
  • Minimum is ground floor area per the mobile-home requirements.

  minimum ground floor area: >= 900 square feet (mobile homes in agricultural district; replacement of pre-1997.07.09 homes)

  “all existing homes in the jurisdictional area as of july 9, 1997, may not be replaced with units of less than a minimum ground floor area of 900 square feet.”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Mobile homes on land in the agricultural district inside unincorporated Oconee township (mobile home use requirements only)

  • Applies to mobile homes only; this is not a general lot-size rule for site-built homes in the agricultural district.
  • Values are matched to the labels in sequence from the PDF text extraction, which is garbled in layout; verify against the printed table.

  minimum lot size: >= 1 acre (mobile homes in agricultural district only) · minimum lot width: >= 80 feet (mobile homes in agricultural district only)

  “5. mobile home use requirements: a. minimum lot size: b. minimum lot width: c. maximum building height: d. minimum front yard: e. minimum side yard: f. minimum rear yard: g. minimum square feet: h. minimum street frontage: one (1) acre. eighty (80) feet. twenty-five (25) feet.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Rural-residential (RR) district land inside unincorporated Oconee township, if the zone map places the land in RR

    “the minimum lot size is five (5) acres for this classification with its benefits and requirements; any lot, of less than five (5) acres in an rr zoned area, shall be restricted to r1 zoning”

• Building heightSpecified

  Mobile homes on land in the agricultural district inside unincorporated Oconee township

  • Maximum height figure taken from the mobile-home requirements sequence; verify against printed table.

  maximum building height: <= 25 feet (mobile homes in agricultural district only)

  “h. minimum street frontage: one (1) acre. eighty (80) feet. twenty-five (25) feet.”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Mobile homes on agricultural-district land inside unincorporated Oconee township

  • Permitted subject to the mobile home use requirements in paragraph b.5 (lot, setback, height, 900 sq ft minimum).
  • Not permitted in RR district (see separate claim).

  “mobile homes – homes of these types, as defined in §1, shall be permitted in agricultural districts subject to the use requirements hereinafter designated in paragraph b5”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Prohibited — Mobile homes on rural-residential (RR) district land inside unincorporated Oconee township

    “mobile homes and two-family / multifamily housing is not permitted regardless of lot size”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  Shelby County zoning-office building permit fees for unincorporated land, including Oconee township

  • Fees listed on the zoning office page: residential addition $125, accessory building $125, new commercial building $500, commercial accessory building $250, commercial addition $250.
  • A county fee schedule PDF is linked on the zoning page; its text was not opened.

  new residence permit fee: 175 USD

  “shelby county requires a minimal fee to offset the cost of the zoning office. new residence: $175 residential addition: $125 accessory building: $125 new commercial building: $500 commercial accessory building: $250 commercial addition: $250”

• Permit processPublished (with conditions)

  Building (improvement location) permit process for unincorporated land inside Oconee township

  • Sewer permit from the county health department must come first where applicable.
  • Permit typically issued within 15 business days; one year to begin construction before permit expires.
  • Construction without a permit is a petty offense with a fine not to exceed $500, each week a separate offense.

  typical issuance time: <= 15 business days · time to begin construction: 1 year (permit expires after this period)

  “typically, a permit is issued within 15 business days. you have 1 year to begin construction before the permit expires.”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption for homes inside unincorporated Oconee township
• Building code adopted — Building code adopted for Oconee township
• Inspections — Building inspections for work inside unincorporated Oconee township
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new buildings inside unincorporated Oconee township
• Setbacks — Single-family (R1) and rural-residential (RR) dwellings inside unincorporated Oconee township

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.