Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Sugar Loaf Township, Illinois

Rules another office applies inside Sugar Loaf Township

Sugar Loaf 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

  New residential dwellings on land zoned agricultural ('a' district) in unincorporated Sugar Loaf township

  • Requirement stated for the agricultural district; other county districts were not checked
  • Also applies to other buildings or structures not used or intended for exclusive use for agricultural activities

  “in the agricultural district, a building permit shall be required for all residential dwellings and for all other buildings or structures not used or intended for exclusive use for agricultural activities.”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Unincorporated land inside Sugar Loaf township, where the St. Clair County zoning code (administered by the county, not the township) applies

  • Applies only outside cities, villages and incorporated towns that have in effect municipal zoning codes
  • Scott Air Force Base boundaries are excluded
  • Not verified whether any part of Sugar Loaf township lies inside a municipality with its own zoning code

  “the entire county of st. clair outside the limits of cities, villages and incorporated towns which have in effect municipal zoning codes and outside the boundaries of scott air force base, is hereby divided into the following zoning districts”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts applying in unincorporated Sugar Loaf township

  • District symbols listed in article III include a, rr-1, rr-3, sr-1, sr-2, sr-3, sr-mh, mhp, mr-1, mr-2, i-1 and i-2 (per-district standards not read)
  • Applies only outside cities, villages and incorporated towns with municipal zoning

  “the entire county of st. clair outside the limits of cities, villages and incorporated towns which have in effect municipal zoning codes and outside the boundaries of scott air force base, is hereby divided into the following zoning districts”

• Who permits septicCounty (with conditions)

  Individual private sewage (septic) systems inside Sugar Loaf township, administered by the St. Clair County Health Department under county code Chapter 19 (county-wide rule that applies in Sugar Loaf township)

  • Applies to individual domestic sewage systems within St. Clair County, including Sugar Loaf township
  • Covers systems receiving less than 1,500 gallons per day under the code definition of private sewage disposal system

  “it shall be unlawful for any person to construct, alter or extend individual domestic sewage disposal systems within st. clair county unless he/she holds a valid permit issued by the health department”

• Septic permitRequired

  Constructing, altering or extending an individual septic system on land inside Sugar Loaf township (county-wide rule applied there)

  • Permit issued by the St. Clair County Health Department to the named person for the specific work
  • Initial construction permit fee of $300 (see permit_fees claim)
  • Minimum lot sizes apply (see minimum_lot_size claim)

  “it shall be unlawful for any person to construct, alter or extend individual domestic sewage disposal systems within st. clair county unless he/she holds a valid permit issued by the health department”

• Agricultural exemptionConditional

  Land used solely for agricultural purposes in unincorporated Sugar Loaf township

  • Permits for agricultural buildings are issued free of charge under the cited section
  • Exemption ends for any part of a tract that ceases to be used solely for agricultural purposes
  • Residential dwellings still need a building permit in the agricultural district (see building_permit_requirement claim)

  “in the event that part of a tract of land ceases to be used solely for agricultural purposes, then all the provisions of this code shall apply to that part.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Subdivisions creating lots for private sewage systems inside Sugar Loaf township, reviewed by the St. Clair County Health Department (county-wide rule applied there)

  • Subdivider must furnish soil absorption information on health department forms
  • Review fee applies and scales with the number of proposed lots; the fee table in the OCR text is garbled, so amounts were not recorded and should be re-checked against the PDF

  “the health department shall require persons who subdivide property to furnish information on forms provided by the health department concerning soil absorption capacities”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Regulated (with conditions) — Dividing land into zoning lots in unincorporated Sugar Loaf township

    “no land or zoning lot shall hereafter be divided into two (2) or more zoning lots unless all lots resulting from each such division shall conform with the applicable regulations of the zoning district where the property is located”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  Initial septic construction permit fee for a system inside Sugar Loaf township (county-wide health fee applied there)

  • Fee collected by the health department when the application is submitted
  • Fee applies to initial construction, alteration or extension of an individual sewage system

  initial septic construction permit fee: 300 USD (initial construction, alteration or extension of an individual sewage system)

  “there shall be a three hundred dollar ($300.00) fee charged for the initial construction permit, alteration or extension of an individual sewage system as approved by the health department.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Published (with conditions) — Zoning compliance letter fee for unincorporated Sugar Loaf township parcels

    “* effective january 2020 zoning compliance letters will have a fee of $30.00.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Sugar Loaf Township or St. Clair County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption for homes inside Sugar Loaf township
• Building code adopted — Which building code, if any, governs construction inside Sugar Loaf township
• Inspections — Building inspections for new homes in unincorporated Sugar Loaf township
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate or occupancy permit for new homes in unincorporated Sugar Loaf township
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum dwelling floor area in the sr-1/sr-2/sr-3 single-family districts and in the a agricultural and rr-1 rural-residential districts in unincorporated Sugar Loaf 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.