Tazewell County, IL Accessory Structures: Shed & Carport Rules (2026)

046. Without a variance, the combined ground floor area of every accessory building on a residential lot cannot exceed whichever is greater: the ground floor area of the house itself (counting attached additions but not decks or open porches), or 4% of the lot's area for the first acre plus 1% of every acre beyond the first. On lots larger than two acres there is no aggregate size cap, but the accessory structures still cannot exceed the district's lot coverage limit, and in the R-1 and R-2 districts any new or expanded accessory building built under this larger-lot allowance must sit back twice the normal required setback from every lot line.

Sheds and other accessory structures also cannot be placed in, or project into, the minimum required front yard in any residential district, and an accessory building cannot be built before the house it serves exists. The section separately addresses shipping and cargo containers used as sheds: in the A-1, A-2, C-1, C-2, I-1, I-2 and Conservation districts they need a building permit, are capped at 400 square feet and two per property, cannot be stacked, modified, wired, plumbed or used for habitation or hazardous storage, and must be painted a solid dark color with any rust repaired.

A container cannot be the only structure on the property, and in the C-1 and C-2 districts it must be screened from view of residential districts. 999, punishable by up to $500 per offense, with each week of an uncorrected violation counted as a separate offense, and the county may sue in circuit court to force removal of a noncompliant structure.