Lake County, IL Landscaping Rules: Rainwater Harvesting (2026)

112(II) sets the use standards for a "local food garden," an agriculture use category that applies when the garden is a principal use of the parcel, not a backyard hobby bed. Operations are limited to daylight hours, weed and grass growth must stay under ten inches, and composting areas are capped at four feet high and 100 square feet per pile, fenced with a six-foot solid fence and set back 30 feet from any structure on an adjoining parcel. " There is no numeric size or capacity limit for the cistern itself; the Director decides whether to allow it and can condition approval on screening.

All accessory structures, cisterns included, must sit at least 30 feet from any existing structure on an adjoining parcel, excluding garages and sheds. Off-street parking sufficient to serve the garden operation is likewise set by the Director's determination rather than a fixed ratio. 146(D)(1)(f)) only lists "rainwater harvesting practices" as one option developers may choose within the runoff volume reduction hierarchy for regulated site development, ranked behind preserving natural drainage features and disconnecting impervious surface; it does not create a homeowner permit or standard for rain barrels or cisterns generally.