The Illinois Department of Natural Resources Coastal Management Program regulates Lake Michigan shoreline development, applying uniform permit requirements along the entire Illinois coast regardless of municipality.
Illinois operates a federally approved Coastal Management Program under the Coastal Zone Management Act covering Lake Michigan shoreline counties. The Rivers, Lakes, and Streams Act (615 ILCS 5/) and Lake Michigan rules in 17 Ill. Adm. Code 3704 require IDNR permits for shoreline structures, fill, dredging, and submerged-lands activities below the ordinary high water mark of 581.5 feet IGLD85. Federal consistency review and IDNR permitting apply uniformly to all Lake Michigan coastal projects.
Building seawalls, piers, or fill without IDNR permits, dredging Lake Michigan without authorization, or constructing below the 581.5-foot ordinary high water mark without permission.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Fairview Heights's coastal development rules stack up against other locations.
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