Kankakee County, IL Ordinances (2026)

In unincorporated Kankakee County, a single-family home in the R1 district cannot rise above two and a half stories or 35 feet, whichever is lower. The same 2½-story, 35-foot cap…

County Code § 121-292 tells unincorporated Kankakee County landowners exactly where a setback line starts: from the platted or assumed right-of-way on a public or private street, or…

In the R1 Single-Family Residence District, unincorporated Kankakee County caps lot coverage at 30 percent of lot size, pairs it with a 0.2 floor area ratio ceiling, and limits…

Kankakee County bans smoking and e-cigarette use inside all county buildings and vehicles, and within 15 feet of every entrance, exit, operable window and ventilation intake, under…

Kankakee County bars anyone from drinking alcoholic liquor on any street, alley, sidewalk or other public property in unincorporated Kankakee County, and from carrying liquor there…

Kankakee County's liquor code makes it illegal for a licensee to let anyone under 21 or anyone intoxicated loiter on a licensed bar or store's premises in unincorporated Kankakee…

Kankakee County imposes its own $200.00 minimum fine for possessing ten grams or less of cannabis anywhere in the unincorporated county, layered on top of state cannabis law. The…

Animal hospitals are a permitted use only in the C2 general commercial district in unincorporated Kankakee County, and the county defines the term narrowly: short-term boarding…

Kankakee County bars any pet store from selling, bartering, auctioning or giving away a dog or cat. Section 10-15(b) leaves pet stores free only to host animal care facilities or…

Kankakee County's animal code exempts feral cat caretakers from being treated as an "owner" when they take part in a trap, spay/neuter, return or release program. Section 10-13 defines…

Kankakee County does not cap how many dogs or cats a household may keep, but once a resident owns three or more breedable adult dogs or cats, section 10-3 classifies that person as a…

Kankakee County requires every dog to stay on its owner's or custodian's property, or on a leash or other restraint if off it. Section 10-11(b)(1) treats any dog found off-property…

Kankakee County requires every dog and cat to be microchipped for identification at the time of its rabies vaccination. Section 10-2(h) sets a nine-month deadline for puppies and…

In unincorporated Kankakee County, raising farm animals and poultry is part of everyday agriculture in the A1 and A2 districts, but the zoning code bars any new livestock feed lot from…

Raising exotic animals such as fox, mink, and chinchilla in unincorporated Kankakee County is not a by-right use anywhere: an animal farm raising exotic or other farm animals needs a…

Cannabis dispensing facilities in unincorporated Kankakee County must sit at least 1,500 feet from schools, playgrounds, parks, churches, community residential homes, penal…

Kankakee County has not opted out of cannabis retail: dispensing facilities are allowed as a special use in the C1, C2, and I1/I2 districts, but only inside a free-standing building…

Kankakee County caps industrial noise numerically, not with a general 'unreasonable noise' standard. At the 1,000-hertz octave band, an I1 or I2 industrial use cannot exceed 45…

Kankakee County makes it unlawful to own, keep or harbor a dog that disturbs the peace through frequent whining, yelping, barking or howling. Section 10-11(b)(2) treats a chronically…

Unincorporated Kankakee County bars any sound crossing a property line that unreasonably interferes with neighbors between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., on top of a general ban on loud or…

Unincorporated Kankakee County confines general construction work to 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and roofing to 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., unless the code enforcement officer approves shift work. Any…

Adult bookstores, adult theaters, and adult entertainment establishments are a special use in the I2 general industrial district only, and every one must sit at least 1,000 feet from…

In unincorporated Kankakee County, a home auto-repair business must fit inside the county's home occupation rules: work has to happen inside the dwelling, not a garage or shed, and…

In unincorporated Kankakee County's agriculture, residence and rural estate districts, County Code § 121-283(b) allows only one nonagricultural single-family dwelling per lot. That…

In unincorporated Kankakee County, a detached shed or other accessory building must sit at least ten feet from the principal dwelling and five feet from an interior rear lot line. In a…

Trucks over one ton in capacity cannot be parked or stored in the RE rural estate or R1 single-family residential districts of unincorporated Kankakee County under any circumstances…

A homeowner in unincorporated Kankakee County may keep exactly one travel trailer or camping trailer parked in the rear yard of a lot with a dwelling. Beyond that single exception…

Kankakee County treats dumping, abandoning or dismantling a junked, inoperable or wrecked motor vehicle on any public or private property, right-of-way, park or street as a health…

Kankakee County requires any nonresidential building of 10,000 square feet or larger in unincorporated areas to provide off-street loading space, and Code § 121-294(c) sets where it…

Kankakee County does not force unincorporated residents onto a single hauler. Section 46-119 encourages every household, business, industry, and institution in the county to use…

Unincorporated Kankakee County requires every house, apartment, and small business to keep a rigid, corrosion-resistant refuse container holding 20 to 30 gallons, with tight lids and…

In unincorporated Kankakee County, the occupant, tenant, owner, or agent of any building or lot is responsible for putting refuse into approved containers and getting it hauled away…

It is unlawful in unincorporated Kankakee County for anyone without a county solid waste license to take, collect, or scavenge recyclables that residents have set out for a licensed…

Kankakee County requires every licensed waste hauler to file a recycling plan describing how bulky, landfill-banned items get handled. Under Section 46-120(c)(5), that plan must spell…

Unlike municipalities in the county, unincorporated Kankakee County does not require curbside recycling for every home. Section 46-120(b)(2) requires a licensed hauler to provide…

Dumping refuse on public or private property, or into any river, lake, or stream in unincorporated Kankakee County, is banned outright except at licensed disposal sites, in a proper…

Every construction site in unincorporated Kankakee County must keep a covered dumpster or container "sufficient in size to handle on-site debris" under Sec. 105-251, debris has to be…

Open burning is banned across unincorporated Kankakee County unless it fits a listed exemption. Agricultural, domicile, and landscape waste burns are allowed only under strict…

Public fireworks displays in Kankakee County require a county permit and must be run by a licensed lead pyrotechnic operator. Applicants apply at least 15 days ahead, pay a $25.00…

Open burning is banned across unincorporated Kankakee County except for specific listed activities, and a legitimate campfire, recreational fire, or cooking fire is one of them, as…

In unincorporated Kankakee County, Code Sec. 105-186(13) adopts the Illinois Smoke Detector Act, 425 ILCS 60, as one of the county's building codes, and Sec. 105-165(b)(4) sets a…

A home occupation in unincorporated Kankakee County may post only a small name plate sign, capped at two square feet on a parcel of one acre or less. Larger parcels may add a…

Unincorporated Kankakee County allows one home occupation per dwelling as an accessory use under County Code § 121-293, but the operator must live there full time, only one…

In the A1 Agriculture district, a home-based child care center serving up to five children is allowed as of right, but caring for six to twelve children in an occupied residence moves…

Kankakee County imposes a 5 percent tax on gross rental receipts from renting hotel and motel rooms in the unincorporated county and in any municipality that has not adopted its own…

Unincorporated Kankakee County caps open fences at four feet in front yards and solid or semisolid fences at six feet along the side and rear under County Code § 121-285. Corner lots…

In unincorporated Kankakee County, barbed wire and electric fences are prohibited outright in every residential district and platted residential subdivision. Even outside those areas…

A fence built in unincorporated Kankakee County falls under the same building-permit law as any other structure: nobody may construct one without first filing an application with the…

Anyone can trigger a Kankakee County health nuisance investigation just by filing a complaint with the county health department; County Code Section 22-25 requires the health authority…

Kankakee County Code Section 22-24 lists 16 conditions the county treats as a "health nuisance," from unfit dwellings and unsecured buildings to attractive nuisances like abandoned…

Kankakee County requires periodic cutting of weeds and grasses on any parcel of five acres or less in unincorporated territory. County Code Section 22-24(16) lists an uncut lot as a…

Unincorporated Kankakee County exempts small backyard composting from zoning entirely: a garden compost operation can hold up to 25 cubic yards of material on-site if it is not run…

Kankakee County treats the presence of rats or other vermin, and any condition that breeds flies, rats or vermin, as a health nuisance under County Code Section 22-24(1) and (2). The…

Operating a mobile food unit in unincorporated Kankakee County requires a health department license under County Code Section 22-83; the license runs one calendar year and costs $250…

In unincorporated Kankakee County no one may begin construction, filling, grading, or any other development in the mapped floodplain without a development permit from the county…

Kankakee County's stormwater management ordinance keeps surface water on its existing natural course in unincorporated areas unless a grading and drainage permit changes it, and bars…

In unincorporated Kankakee County, any new building in the mapped floodplain must be protected below the flood protection elevation (FPE), which the code defines as the base flood…

Before grading starts on a construction site in unincorporated Kankakee County, § 109-351 requires silt fences, sediment traps or similar BMPs to keep sediment on site. Disturbed…

Anyone going door-to-door to sell goods, take orders, or solicit contributions in unincorporated Kankakee County must first obtain a certificate of registration from the Kankakee…

Kankakee County bans anyone under 17 from public places overnight in the unincorporated county: 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. for those under 16, and 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. for 16- and…

Short-term rentals in unincorporated Kankakee County, including Airbnb and VRBO listings, are taxed as hotels and motels under the county's Hotel and Motel Operators' Occupation Tax…

In the RE-Rural Estate zoning district of unincorporated Kankakee County, a subdivider who preserves at least 50 percent of the site as permanent open space under a conservation design…

In unincorporated Kankakee County, the Illinois Carbon Monoxide Alarm Detector Act (Public Act 094-0741) is one of the technical codes adopted under Code Sec. 105-186 to control…

In unincorporated Kankakee County, no plumbing installation or alteration may start without a building permit from the Building Division under Sec. 105-66, and Sec. 105-186(9) makes…

Kankakee County does not require residential fire sprinklers outright. Sec. 105-211(7), amending the 2021 International Residential Code, instead waives the county's half-inch gypsum…

In unincorporated Kankakee County, no electrical wiring or service change may be made without a building permit under Sec. 105-66, and Sec. 105-218 amends the 2020 National Electrical…

Before covering up any framing or plumbing, the owner or contractor building in unincorporated Kankakee County must notify the Planning Department's building division that the work is…

In unincorporated Kankakee County, no one may construct, enlarge, alter or demolish a structure, or change a building's occupancy or use, without first filing an application with the…

In unincorporated Kankakee County, a residential building permit covers "swimming pools (24 inches or deeper)" under Sec. 105-166(a), and Sec. 105-220 amends the 2021 International…

In unincorporated Kankakee County, any building or wall that is unsafe, fire-prone or structurally dangerous is declared a nuisance under the county building code. The code enforcement…

Kankakee County's zoning purpose clause states that existing farm operations in agricultural areas must be shielded from public and private nuisance suits triggered by nearby land-use…

The A1 Agriculture district covers unincorporated land best suited to farming, requiring a five-acre minimum lot for agricultural uses, 330 feet of lot width and frontage, and generous…

In unincorporated Kankakee County, a building, site, or object gains protection only after the County Board designates it a landmark by ordinance on recommendation of the Historic…

Commercial-district signs in unincorporated Kankakee County, including electronic and digital displays, may carry constant or flashing illumination under Code § 121-398(2), but no sign…

In unincorporated Kankakee County, off-street parking lot lighting must be directed away from residential properties under Code § 121-294(b)(7)d. Neighboring homeowners or tenants can…

Kankakee County bars illuminated signs, including advertising billboards in commercial districts, from beaming light onto neighboring homes. Code § 121-398(2) requires that where a…