St. Clair County, IL Ordinances (2026)

St. Clair County sets no numeric cap on the number of dogs or cats you may own, but every dog and cat four months or older must be registered and rabies-vaccinated. Tethering is…

St. Clair County requires every cat four months or older to be registered annually and rabies-vaccinated. There is no county cat leash law, but cats found running at large can be…

St. Clair County does not ban any dog breed. Regulation is behavior-based: a dog is a 'dangerous dog' by its conduct, not its breed. Illinois law (510 ILCS 5/2.05a) likewise defines…

A dog caught running at large a third time in unincorporated St. Clair County must be spayed or neutered within 30 days of being reclaimed. Refusing the order keeps the dog impounded…

St. Clair County flatly prohibits keeping big cats, bears, wolves, coyotes, hyenas and poisonous reptiles outside licensed facilities such as zoos, circuses or research institutions…

Livestock is a zoning matter in unincorporated St. Clair County. The 'A' Agricultural Industry and RR Rural Residential districts permit raising livestock, poultry and farm animals…

In unincorporated St. Clair County a dog off its owner's property must be under control by leash or other recognized method. A dog loose on public ways or others' land is a stray and…

St. Clair County makes it unlawful to place or distribute animal feed on public property, public easements, or on vacant lots and unoccupied structures. The rule targets feeding that…

A day care or nursery school run out of an occupied residence in unincorporated St. Clair County is capped at five children beyond the operator's own kids, and the property must…

Illinois' Cottage Food law (410 ILCS 625/4) lets you produce many non-hazardous foods in your home kitchen for direct sale. You must register with your local health department, in St…

In unincorporated St. Clair County a home occupation is a Special Accessory Use allowed in the A, RR, SR, and SR-MH districts. It must be clearly incidental to the home, use no more…

A home occupation in unincorporated St. Clair County cannot display any outside evidence of the business except a single nameplate no larger than one square foot, per Zoning Ordinance…

A home occupation in unincorporated St. Clair County cannot be open to the public before 8 a.m. or after 10 p.m., and it must provide off-street parking adequate for the traffic the…

Illinois EPA rules allow burning landscape waste (leaves, branches, brush) only on the premises where it is produced and outside restricted areas. Open burning is prohibited within…

St. Clair County enforces the 2012 International Fire Code. Recreational fire pits must stay at least 25 feet from any structure or combustible material; manufactured portable outdoor…

St. Clair County follows the International Fire Code and Illinois LP Gas rules for propane. For homes, small grill cylinders are fine, but stored LP-gas cylinders and larger tanks must…

Every dwelling in unincorporated St. Clair County must have hard-wired, battery-backup smoke detectors that are interconnected, placed in each bedroom, in hallways within 15 feet of…

Illinois bans consumer fireworks statewide. Firecrackers, bottle rockets, Roman candles, and aerial shells are illegal to buy, possess, or set off in St. Clair County. Only novelties…

Unincorporated St. Clair County has no dedicated outdoor-music ordinance. Live or amplified outdoor sound is handled through the county nuisance code and Illinois disorderly-conduct…

New or redeveloped buildings in the Airport Overlay AO-4 Noise Zones Area, the airfield noise footprint around Scott Air Force Base and MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, fall into one of…

Unincorporated St. Clair County sets no fixed clock quiet hours. Nighttime noise is handled through the county nuisance/zoning code and Illinois disorderly-conduct law. Belleville…

Unincorporated St. Clair County's Zoning Ordinance sets no specific construction-hour window; loud work is limited only as a nuisance beyond the property line. Cities such as…

Illinois law requires every vehicle to have a working muffler that prevents excessive or unusual noise and bans exhaust cutouts and loud modifications, enforced statewide including…

St. Clair County sets no local decibel ordinance. Measurable noise is judged against the Illinois Pollution Control Board's octave-band sound limits (35 Ill. Adm. Code 901), which are…

St. Clair County bans flashing, intermittent or moving-light signs anywhere in the unincorporated county under Zoning Code Sec. 40-7-2(J), a rule that reaches digital billboards and…

The county Zoning Ordinance has no separate political-sign category. Campaign signs fall under temporary signs, limited to 48 sq ft, and a temporary sign cannot stay up more than 30…

The Zoning Ordinance has no garage-sale sign category; such signs would be temporary signs (max 48 sq ft, 30-day display) and cannot sit within 10 feet of a lot line or in the public…

Advertising signs and billboards facing a highway in unincorporated St. Clair County must sit at least 1.5 miles from any city limit, 200 feet from a building, and 500 feet from the…

In unincorporated St. Clair County, a sign within 75 feet of a residential zoning district cannot be illuminated at all. Every illuminated sign elsewhere must hold still and stay…

Outdoor lighting on non-residential and multi-family property inside the Airport Overlay AO-1 District, around Scott Air Force Base and MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, must be placed so…

Every outdoor light fixture on non-residential and multi-family property inside the Airport Overlay AO-1 District, the zone ringing Scott Air Force Base and MidAmerica St. Louis…

St. Clair County has no dedicated short-term rental permit. In unincorporated areas, an occupancy permit and inspection are required on any change of rental occupancy. Cities like…

Illinois charges a 6% state Hotel Operators' Occupation Tax on rentals under 30 days. Counties may add up to 5% under 55 ILCS 5/5-1030, but only on hotels outside a municipality that…

Dumping litter, garbage, or debris on public or private property is illegal under Illinois' Litter Control Act - a Class B misdemeanor for a first offense (415 ILCS 105/8). The county…

The county Property Maintenance Code requires every dwelling to have approved, leakproof, covered garbage containers and covered rubbish containers, and premises must stay free of any…

There's no county bulk-pickup program. Large items and construction debris must be hauled to a permitted landfill or transfer facility under the county Sanitary Landfill Code (Ch. 32)…

A one-story storage shed of 120 sq ft or less needs no building permit; 120 to 200 sq ft needs a $25 permit and over 200 sq ft a $120 permit. Detached accessory buildings must sit at…

St. Clair County's Zoning Ordinance does not authorize a standalone accessory dwelling unit. Residential districts allow only one detached one-family dwelling; caretaker accommodations…

Backyard grilling at a single-family home is unrestricted in St. Clair County. Under the adopted International Fire Code, charcoal and open-flame grills may not be used on combustible…

St. Clair County sets no blanket overnight on-street parking ban for unincorporated roads. A parked vehicle becomes an issue mainly when it sits unmoved for seven or more consecutive…

In unincorporated St. Clair County, a vehicle left unmoved seven or more days is deemed abandoned. Abandoning a vehicle in public view, or keeping an inoperable vehicle, is a petty…

St. Clair County has no curbside loading-zone program for unincorporated roads. Instead, its zoning ordinance requires certain uses to provide off-street loading berths on the same…

In unincorporated St. Clair County, the zoning ordinance permits one boat and/or one unoccupied camp/utility trailer only in the rear yard or a fully enclosed garage, and it must meet…

In unincorporated St. Clair County residential districts, the zoning ordinance excludes parking of commercial vehicles and trucks over three-quarter-ton capacity from permitted…

In unincorporated St. Clair County, off-street parking has to sit on an improved surface. Zoning Code Section 40-6-2(F) bars parking spaces inside any required yard abutting a street…

St. Clair County Code Chapter 25 names specific weeds (ragweed, thistle, poison ivy, Johnson grass and others) and declares them a nuisance on unincorporated residential lots once over…

St. Clair County has no rule against backyard composting. Statewide, Illinois bans landscape waste (leaves, grass, brush) from sanitary landfills under 415 ILCS 5/22.22, which is why…

St. Clair County adopts the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, 2012, for residential pools. That code requires an enclosing barrier at least 48 inches high around the pool…

Unincorporated St. Clair County requires a permit before building, altering or moving any swimming pool or spa under its adopted International Swimming Pool and Spa Code. Owners file…

St. Clair County bans drinking alcoholic liquor on any public street, alley, sidewalk or other public way, and in county parks without County Board permission. Appearing intoxicated in…

Anyone soliciting door-to-door in unincorporated St. Clair County must register annually with the County Clerk before knocking on a single door. County Code Section 8-1-3 requires a…

A posted no-soliciting notice is legally enforceable in unincorporated St. Clair County: Section 8-1-8 makes it unlawful, and a public nuisance, for anyone to knock, ring a doorbell or…

St. Clair County does not mandate residential fire sprinklers. Building Regulations Sec. 7-2-72(C) instead requires builders of new one- and two-family homes to offer the buyer the…

Unincorporated St. Clair County requires a building permit before any electrical installation, alteration or repair, and enforces the National Electrical Code, 2011 edition, with…

Unincorporated St. Clair County adopts the Illinois State Plumbing Code, 77 Ill. Adm. Code Part 890, as its own plumbing code under Building Regulations Sec. 7-12-1. Any new plumbing…

Any construction, addition, alteration, demolition or occupancy change to a building or structure in unincorporated St. Clair County needs a permit from the county building official…

Every rented dwelling, rooming or housekeeping unit in unincorporated St. Clair County must have a deadbolt lock on its entry door under Property Maintenance Code Section 29-3-35(A)…

Work covered by a St. Clair County building permit must stay open for inspection at each stage under Building Regulations Sec. 7-1-58, and the building official runs through ten…

Since January 1, 2007, every dwelling unit in unincorporated St. Clair County must have at least one approved carbon monoxide alarm within 15 feet of every room used for sleeping, per…

Category 1 and 2 food establishments in unincorporated St. Clair County must hand the Health Department current Food Protection Manager Certificates and ANSI-approved allergen training…

Property Maintenance Code Section 29-3-8 requires every structure and exterior property in unincorporated St. Clair County to stay free of rodent harborage and infestation. Where…

St. Clair County does not post A-B-C letter grades on restaurant doors. Instead, Sec. 19-4-4(D) has the Health Department assign every food service establishment, mobile unit…

St. Clair County requires a floodplain development permit from the Zoning Director before any grading, filling, or construction begins in a mapped floodplain outside incorporated…

St. Clair County sets its flood protection elevation, the height a building must clear, at the base flood elevation plus two feet of freeboard. Every new floodplain building…

Building a boat dock in unincorporated St. Clair County requires a floodplain development permit from the Zoning Director before work starts, under Floodplain Code Sec. 13-1-5. A minor…

Unincorporated St. Clair County requires a Stormwater Management and Erosion Control Permit from the Building and Zoning Department before any new development or redevelopment that…

Any new development or land-disturbing project in unincorporated St. Clair County that disturbs an acre or more, adds 10,000 square feet of impervious surface, moves more than 100…

St. Clair County requires anyone operating a massage establishment in the unincorporated county to hold a permit from the County Clerk under Sec. 8-3-2, on top of a separate permit for…

St. Clair County requires a $500 annual license from the County Clerk before anyone operates a pawnshop in the unincorporated county, under Sec. 8-7-1. The Sheriff investigates every…

St. Clair County exempts farm buildings from most zoning regulation under County Code Sec. 40-1-13. If land is used primarily for agriculture, structures used for farming are not…

Operating a food truck in unincorporated St. Clair County takes an annual permit from the St. Clair County Health Department under the county's Retail Food Establishment Sanitation…

Unincorporated St. Clair County treats a vacant, unsafe or dangerous structure as a blight nuisance under Property Maintenance Code Section 29-3-3, and the code official can condemn…

Vacant land and structures in unincorporated St. Clair County must be kept clean, safe, secure and sanitary so they don't become blight (SCC 29-3-3). A separate Garbage and Debris…

Groups wanting the Silver Creek Preserve pay a $25 permit fee to the County Treasurer under Section 27-2-2, and the Sheriff's Office reviews the application before it's approved. Foley…

Anyone organizing a festival, musical program, or public assembly in unincorporated St. Clair County needs a permit from the County Board Chairman before the event, under County Code…

Zoning Ordinance Sec. 40-5-5(C) bars building a retaining wall inside any public street or alley right-of-way in unincorporated St. Clair County unless the County Board specifically…

Unincorporated St. Clair County bans barbed wire fencing below ten feet off the ground, any other sharp-pointed fence, and any electrically charged fence in every zoning district…

Any fence erected in unincorporated St. Clair County needs a Certificate of Zoning Compliance before construction under Zoning Ordinance Sec. 40-11-2. The certificate confirms the…

St. Clair County's zoning code sets no cost-sharing rule for boundary fences. The Illinois Fence Act (765 ILCS 130) governs statewide: adjoining owners each maintain a just proportion…

Fences, walls, and hedges in unincorporated St. Clair County may run along any lot line up to six feet without extra setback, but a taller fence must meet the district's minimum yard…

Property Maintenance Code Section 29-5-3 requires every dwelling unit in unincorporated St. Clair County to have its own working bathtub or shower, lavatory, water closet and kitchen…

St. Clair County bars minors from public places and business premises during set curfew hours under County Code Section 26-2-2. Weeknights run 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through…

St. Clair County's Silver Creek Preserve stays open all year, seven days a week, from dawn to dusk under Park Regulations Section 27-2-1(A). Foley Park runs on a seasonal daytime…

Adult-use cannabis facilities in unincorporated St. Clair County must clear fixed distance buffers from schools, homes, and worship or park land before a special use permit can issue…

St. Clair County has not banned adult-use cannabis businesses; instead, Zoning Code Section 40-5-31 routes state-licensed dispensaries, cultivation centers, craft growers, processors…

Unincorporated St. Clair County caps how much of a lot a building can cover under Zoning Code Sec. 40-3-7's bulk table. Agricultural (A) and three-acre Rural Residential (RR-3) lots…

St. Clair County caps residential building height at 35 feet across every zoning district that allows a dwelling, from the Agricultural "A" District through RR-3, RR-1, SR-1, SR-2…

Unincorporated St. Clair County sets minimum yard setbacks by zoning district in Zoning Code Section 40-3-7. Every agricultural and residential district, from "A" Agricultural through…

St. Clair County allows personal solar panel systems as an accessory use in every zoning district, but the Building and Zoning Department requires a building permit before…

St. Clair County requires zoning code complaints to be filed in writing with the Zoning Administrator. Under Zoning Code Sec. 40-11-8, the Administrator records every complaint…

Unincorporated St. Clair County levies a 2% tax on hotel and motel room rent under Chapter 36, Article III of the county code. Hotels and motels with 35 rooms or fewer are excluded, so…

Unincorporated St. Clair County limits garage and yard sales to two per calendar year per property, and every sale requires a $10 permit from the Zoning Administrator before it can be…

St. Clair County bans erecting or keeping any building, fence, sign or other structure inside a road or project right-of-way. Only a narrow class of overhanging awnings and marquees…