Kendall County, IL Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

Kendall County Code Section 36-334 sets two height tiers for the R-1 One-Family Residential District. A one-family detached dwelling, the principal use of nearly every R-1 lot, may not be erected or structurally altered to exceed 40 feet and two and one-half stories. Other nonresidential buildings and structures permitted or allowed as a conditional use in the district, such as fire stations, schools or places of worship, are capped higher at 45 feet and three stories, reflecting their institutional scale. Special uses approved through the special use permit process under Article II are treated differently again: the code does not fix a single number for them, instead directing that the maximum height limitation for a special use be specified individually when the special use permit is granted, letting the County Board tailor the limit (for example, the graduated height rules tied to nearby airport approach zones in Section 36-330) to the specific use and site.

The height cap works together with the district's yard setbacks in Section 36-332 and the 10 percent lot-coverage limit in Section 36-333 to define the overall bulk envelope for a home or accessory structure built on unincorporated R-1 land.