Kane County, IL Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Kane County Code section 6-2 amends Section 105, Permits, of the 2021 International Building Code as adopted for unincorporated Kane County. 2, Work Exempt From Permit, deletes the code's stock exemption for 'tool and storage sheds' and 'similar uses' and replaces the building exemption with a single narrower category: fences of any height that can be seen through. That means any privacy fence, solid wood fence, or masonry wall that cannot be seen through requires a permit, while open or chain-link style fencing does not.

5, Expiration, sets permit life spans: after two years an incomplete permit expires and a new one is required for the remaining work; demolition permits expire in 90 days; and permits for swimming pools, repairs, minor alterations, damage assessment, decks, accessory structures, electric service, privacy fences, temporary structures, tower and control buildings, antenna co-locations, and establishment-of-use permits expire 180 days after issuance, again requiring an extension or new permit if work is unfinished. 8, added by the county, bars issuance of any building permit unless the project conforms with the laws compiled in Chapter 109 of the Illinois Revised Statutes, the county's subdivision regulations, other applicable county ordinances, and the county zoning ordinance, and it blocks a permit in any new subdivision until the required road base has been installed and accepted.

Permits are administered by the Building & Community Services Division of the Kane County Development Department, which section 6-2 designates as the Department of Building Safety, and applicants who dispute a building officer's decision may appeal to the county's Development Committee within 20 days under section 113.