Kendall County, IL Ordinances (2026)

In the R-1 district covering unincorporated Kendall County residential lots, single-family detached dwellings are capped at 40 feet and two and a half stories, while other…

In the R-1 district covering unincorporated Kendall County residential lots, buildings and structures, including accessory buildings, may not occupy more than 10 percent of the zoning…

In the R-1 district covering unincorporated Kendall County residential lots, front yards run 100-150 feet from the roadway or right-of-way depending on road class, and side and rear…

Property owners in unincorporated Kendall County may not let refuse, animal carcasses, tires, or abandoned vehicles pile up if the material could shelter rodents or other vermin, and a…

In unincorporated Kendall County, any new construction or substantial improvement in the regulatory floodplain must have its lowest floor raised to the flood protection elevation: the…

Unincorporated Kendall County bars any development inside a mapped floodplain until the Floodplain Administrator issues a stormwater permit under Sec. 16-138. Sec. 16-140 then forbids…

Kendall County Code § 16-79 requires every new development in the unincorporated county to keep its site reasonably safe from flooding, barring projects that shift flood-protection…

Kendall County Code § 16-106 requires every development site in the unincorporated county to plan erosion and sediment control from the start, favoring erosion prevention over sediment…

In unincorporated Kendall County, residential off-street parking is limited to passenger cars plus one truck of 1.5 tons or less owned by the household. Anything heavier, plus…

Unincorporated Kendall County limits how many unscreened RVs or trailers a residential lot may keep: two in R-1/R-2/R-3, one in other residential districts, unlimited in agricultural…

Kendall County requires commercial loading berths to sit at least 50 feet from a residential district unless screened, stay clear of street intersections, and meet minimum size…

Every principal building in unincorporated Kendall County needs its own driveway connecting to a public street, and the county tiers approval by how many lots share it. Kendall County…

In unincorporated Kendall County, storing an inoperable motor vehicle, one missing or having altered engine, wheels, or other parts for at least seven days, on any property is declared…

On roads under Kendall County's jurisdiction, the County Engineer designates 'no parking, stopping, or standing' zones where parking would be dangerous or block traffic flow, subject…

Kendall County exempts political signs from its sign permit and standards regime entirely: item (13) of the exemption list simply names them, so an election or referendum sign faces…

Kendall County lets residents skip a sign permit for garage sale signs, but only if the sign is 5 square feet or smaller, limited to one per lot frontage, and posted no earlier than…

Kendall County exempts window signs from permits but caps them at 35 percent of the window surface per building face, bars them above the first floor, and lets the Zoning Administrator…

Kendall County allows electronic message board displays only in business and manufacturing districts along an arterial or collector road, with a 2-second minimum hold, a 100-foot ban…

Unincorporated Kendall County bars new advertising signs and structures from standing within five hundred feet of any freeway, expressway, or toll road, along with public parks, forest…

Kendall County caps how much light a nonresidential parking lot can throw onto a neighbor's property: 0.2 footcandles at a residential property line and only fully shielded, cut-off…

In unincorporated Kendall County, every illuminated sign, including any billboard or outdoor advertising structure permitted under the zoning code, must go dark between 11:00 p.m. and…

In R-1 unincorporated Kendall County, lots under an acre keep no farm-type animals except chickens; up to 6 chickens are allowed on lots an acre or smaller, and 12 on lots one to five…

Backyard beekeeping in unincorporated Kendall County's R-1 district is a conditional use: a permit is required, lots need at least one acre for up to two colonies, colonies must clear…

Veterinary clinics are a by-right permitted use in unincorporated Kendall County's B-2 General Business District (and B-3 Highway Business District, which adopts all B-2 permitted…

Open burning of garbage in unincorporated Kendall County is banned outright, and burning leather, rubber, plastic, tires or other toxic material is prohibited everywhere in the County…

In unincorporated Kendall County, an adult-use cannabis craft grower cannot sit within 1,000 feet of a preexisting school, day care, residential property, park, forest preserve, place…

Unincorporated Kendall County has not opted out of adult-use cannabis: a dispensing organization is allowed only as a special use in the B-3 Highway Business District, and it may…

Kendall County reviews complaints filed against a short-term rental every time its registry placement comes up for annual renewal, and can force the owner to present a compliance plan…

Every short-term rental in unincorporated Kendall County must register annually with the Planning, Building and Zoning Department before operating. The application discloses bedroom…

Short-term rentals in unincorporated Kendall County have occupancy set by bedroom count and septic capacity, but no short-term rental may ever house more than sixteen occupants…

Kendall County requires every registered short-term rental in the unincorporated area to comply with the county's Noise Control Ordinance regardless of the property's zoning district…

In unincorporated Kendall County's RPD-1 Residential Planned Development district, base density of 0.33 units per buildable acre can rise to a 0.45-unit maximum through County…

In unincorporated Kendall County it is unlawful to dump any refuse on public or private land unless the site holds an IEPA disposal permit. Sec. 18-21(a) covers open land, farm fields…

In unincorporated Kendall County, every new construction site in a residential, business, or manufacturing district must have an appropriately sized refuse container in place before…

Unincorporated Kendall County has no curbside yard-waste collection ordinance; instead, Kendall County Code § 18-22 regulates what residents may do with yard waste directly, permitting…

Kendall County Code Sec. 18-25 shields agricultural operations in the unincorporated county from being labeled a nuisance when nonfarm neighbors move in nearby, so long as the farm…

Kendall County's A-1 Agricultural District zoning is built to keep farmland in production and protect it from incompatible development. County policy under Section 36-280 puts…

In unincorporated Kendall County, any person can nominate a building, site, or district as a historic landmark by filing an application with the Planning, Building and Zoning…

Unincorporated Kendall County has no maximum weed or grass height ordinance. When the County adopted the 2024 International Property Maintenance Code at Kendall County Code § 8-64, it…

Kendall County requires new subdivisions to plant naturalized open space areas with true native vegetation, species that grew in northeastern Illinois before European settlement, and…

Kendall County requires developers of unincorporated subdivisions to submit a preliminary tree preservation plan with every concept plan, identifying which significant native trees…

Door-to-door solicitors and peddlers working the unincorporated areas of Kendall County must register with the County Clerk before knocking on doors. Registration requires a written…

Unincorporated Kendall County limits door-to-door soliciting to Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., with no soliciting allowed on Sunday. Residents can also post a No…

Unincorporated Kendall County does not allow a standalone rental accessory dwelling unit: Section 36-971(a)(6) permits only a non-paying guest house or guest rooms without kitchen…

A garden shed in unincorporated Kendall County can encroach into the side and rear yard setback, but not the front yard, under the Section 36-971(b)(2) obstruction table, and every…

Before a short-term rental in unincorporated Kendall County can be placed on the county registry, the Planning, Building and Zoning Department must inspect the property, and smoke and…

Kendall County Code § 8-58 requires every elevator, escalator, automobile lift, man lift, personnel hoist and moving sidewalk in the unincorporated county to meet county and State Fire…

Unincorporated Kendall County requires a building permit before any covered construction begins, and the County Board deleted the International Residential Code's entire 'Work Exempt…

Unincorporated Kendall County does not require automatic fire sprinklers in new one- and two-family homes. When the County Board adopted the 2024 International Residential Code, it…

Unincorporated Kendall County wires new construction to the 2023 National Electrical Code (NFPA 70), adopted as part of the County Building Code. Kendall County Code § 8-26 confirms…

Unincorporated Kendall County regulates plumbing work under the Illinois Plumbing Code rather than the model International Plumbing Code. Kendall County Code § 8-27 adopts the state…

New construction in unincorporated Kendall County goes through a fixed sequence of inspections from site staking to final occupancy. Kendall County Code § 8-33 requires the owner or…

Kendall County's zoning code defines a day care facility as one supervising more than three unrelated children for less than 24 hours a day, cross-referencing the Illinois Childcare…

Kendall County caps noise reaching residential land in the unincorporated county at sixty (60) dBA during the day and fifty-five (55) dBA at night. Kendall County Code § 24-23 sets the…

Construction noise in unincorporated Kendall County is exempt from the county's decibel limits only between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Kendall County Code § 24-24(9) lets the Planning…

Kendall County requires new subdivisions in the unincorporated county to protect at least seventy (70) percent of significant trees outside rights-of-way and easements from…

Kendall County protects specific native tree species by name during subdivision development in the unincorporated county. Kendall County Code § 30-2 defines a significant tree as a…

In unincorporated Kendall County's RPD-1 and RPD-2 residential planned developments, the County Code sets a numeric parkway tree ratio: one shade tree for every 40 feet of street…

Unincorporated Kendall County caps home-based business traffic at ten vehicle trips a day. Kendall County Code Section 36-973 limits a residential home occupation to ten combined trips…

Kendall County bans exterior signage entirely for standard residential home occupations, while agricultural home occupations may post one unlit sign up to eight square feet. Kendall…

Running a child day care out of a home in unincorporated Kendall County's R-1 district requires a special use permit, not a by-right business license: the County Code defines any…

Kendall County allows a home business in unincorporated residential and agricultural zoning under Sections 36-972 and 36-973, but only if it stays inside the dwelling, is run by a…

Unincorporated Kendall County enforces substandard-building and blight conditions through the 2024 International Property Maintenance Code, adopted with local amendments at Kendall…

Kendall County's home occupation rules make it nearly impossible to run a legal auto repair business from a residential dwelling. Kendall County Code Section 36-973 requires the work…

Kendall County treats adult bookstores, theaters, entertainment facilities and similar uses as regulated uses that need a special use permit and cannot sit closer than 1,000 feet to…

Kendall County treats tattoo parlors and permanent body art establishments as adult regulated uses confined to the M-1 Limited Manufacturing District by special use permit, and it…

Unincorporated Kendall County treats lawn ornaments like sun dials and bird baths as one of the most lightly regulated yard features in its zoning code: Section 36-971(b)(2) lets them…

Building an in-ground or permanent swimming pool in unincorporated Kendall County requires a building permit. The fee schedule at Kendall County Code § 8-46 sets a flat $200.00…

Unincorporated Kendall County requires a temporary fence around every in-ground swimming pool while it is being excavated and built. Kendall County Code § 8-55 puts the design of that…

Unincorporated Kendall County caps front-yard fences at four feet and lets side and rear yard fences run six to eight feet depending on the neighboring zoning. Kendall County Code…

Kendall County bans barbed-wire and above-ground electric fences in residential districts and residential subdivisions, with one exception for the A-1 Agricultural and R-1 districts…

Every private solar energy system in unincorporated Kendall County needs a county building permit and administrative plan approval before installation, with fees running $150 to $6,000…

In unincorporated Kendall County, County Code Section 16-208 governs any homeowners association that accepts maintenance of a subdivision's stormwater facilities. The bylaws must…

Kendall County's natural open space standards name seventeen invasive plant species, including reed canary grass, purple loosestrife, buckthorn, honeysuckle, and multiflora rose, that…