10 rules for unincorporated Lake County, Indiana.
Verified from official government sources
Lake County's UDO sets no blanket ban on keeping an RV, camper, or boat at your home in unincorporated areas, but a recreational vehicle occupied or installed on a site more than 180 days is treated as 'development' needing approval. Off-street storage areas may require screening from R-zoned lots.
Lake County UDO No. 2560, Definitions – "Development, Land"
Installing a manufactured home on a site, preparing a site for a manufactured housing unit or installing a recreational vehicle on a site for more than 180 days;
In unincorporated Lake County, off-street parking is prohibited in front and street-side setback areas in residential (R) districts — except on an approved driveway serving a house, townhouse, or two-to-four-unit home. Parking a vehicle in a subdivision front yard outside an approved driveway is a violation.
Lake County UDO No. 2560, § 154-13-110
Off-street parking is prohibited in front and street side setback areas in R zoning districts. This provision is not intended to prohibit parking on an approved driveway on a lot occupied by a detached house, townhouse, two-unit house, triplex, or fourplex.
Under the Lake County UDO, parking or storing heavy/commercial vehicles — buses, dump trucks, semi-trailer tractors, trucks with dual rear wheels or more than two axles, and trailers over 12 feet — in a zoning district that doesn't permit them is a civil zoning violation in unincorporated Lake County.
Lake County UDO No. 2560, § 154-20-040.E.1.e
The parking or storage in any zoning district, the provisions of which do not specifically permit such a use, of any vehicle used or designed: (1) For use in pulling, towing, hauling, transporting… including but not limited to buses… dump trucks, trucks or tractors having dual rear wheels or more than two axles, semi-trailer tractors, semi-trailers and trailers having dual rear wheels or more t...
Lake County's UDO does not regulate resident on-street parking; it only lets nonresidential uses count striped street spaces toward off-street minimums. On-street parking on public streets is controlled by the city or town you live in and by Indiana traffic law, not the county.
Lake County UDO No. 2560, § 154-13-050
Where on-street motor vehicle parking is allowed, nonresidential uses may count on-street parking spaces on public street rights-of-way abutting the subject property towards satisfying off-street motor vehicle parking requirements. One off-street parking space credit may be taken for each striped parking space on the abutting right-of-way.
Lake County's Unified Development Ordinance sets no overnight on-street parking prohibition for residents. Overnight and snow-route parking bans on public streets are enacted by individual cities and towns; the county only regulates off-street parking design on private developments.
Lake County UDO No. 2560, § 154-13-100.A
Off-street parking areas may only be used for the temporary parking of licensed motor vehicles in operating condition.
Lake County's UDO permits private EV charging stations as an accessory use in all zoning districts, and public charging as an accessory to nonresidential uses. Charging spaces can count toward required off-street parking, and public stations must be posted and reserved for charging.
Lake County UDO No. 2560, § 154-9-070.A
Private (restricted-access) electric-vehicle (EV) charging stations are permitted as accessory uses to lawfully established principal uses in all zoning districts… Public electric vehicle charging stations are permitted as accessory uses to lawfully established principal nonresidential uses in all zoning districts.
Storing inoperable or abandoned vehicles or vehicle parts in an unincorporated Lake County zoning district that doesn't permit it is a civil zoning violation under the UDO. Statewide, Indiana Code 9-22-1 governs how public agencies tag, remove, and dispose of abandoned vehicles.
Lake County UDO No. 2560, § 154-20-040.E.1.d
The storage of inoperable or abandoned vehicles or vehicle parts in any zoning district, the provisions of which do not specifically permit such a use;
The Lake County Unified Development Ordinance sets no curb-color or curb-painting rules for residents. Colored curb markings (red no-parking, yellow loading, etc.) on public streets are established and enforced by individual cities and towns and by Indiana traffic law — the county sets no such rule.
For developments in unincorporated Lake County, off-street loading areas must be designed so all vehicle maneuvering and loading/unloading happens on private property, may not sit in any street yard, and must be surfaced like parking areas. There is no on-street loading-zone permit program at the county level.
Lake County UDO No. 2560, § 154-13-140
Off-street loading areas must be designed so that all vehicle maneuvering and loading/unloading operations will occur on private property. Off-street loading areas may not be located in any street yard. All loading spaces must be surfaced in the same manner as required for parking areas.
The Lake County UDO restricts storing oversized and heavy vehicles at homes: parking trucks or tractors with dual rear wheels or more than two axles, semi-trailer tractors and semi-trailers, or trailers over 12 feet long in a district that doesn't permit them is a civil zoning violation in unincorporated Lake
Lake County UDO No. 2560, § 154-20-040.E.1.e
…trucks or tractors having dual rear wheels or more than two axles, semi-trailer tractors, semi-trailers and trailers having dual rear wheels or more than one axle or having an overall length of more the 12 feet;
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