Kankakee County, IL Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Kankakee County Code § 121-294(b)(7)d
- Baseline rule
- Parking lot lighting must be directed away from residences
- Relief process
- Petition to the zoning board of appeals
- Possible remedies
- Reduced intensity, lowered height, curfew, or shutoff
- Enforcing body
- Zoning Board of Appeals, after hearing
Summary
In unincorporated Kankakee County, off-street parking lot lighting must be directed away from residential properties under Code § 121-294(b)(7)d. Neighboring homeowners or tenants can petition the zoning board of appeals for a hearing, and the board may order the lighting reduced in intensity, lowered, shortened in duration, or shut off after set hours.
d.Lighting. Any lighting used to illuminate off-street parking areas shall be directed away from residential properties. The zoning board of appeals may, on petition of neighboring residential property owners or tenants, and after hearing, require that such lighting be reduced in intensity, height, changed in duration, or turned off after certain hours. In making this decision on any such petition, the zoning board of appeals shall take into consideration the reasonable requirements of the user of the parking area involved.
Full Breakdown
Kankakee County Code § 121-294(b)(7)d addresses light trespass from off-street parking areas anywhere in the unincorporated county. ' That duty runs with every commercial, industrial or institutional use required to provide off-street parking under § 121-294. ' In deciding such a petition the board must weigh 'the reasonable requirements of the user of the parking area involved' against the impact on the neighboring residence, so relief is not automatic. This lighting duty sits alongside the section's screening requirement, which requires open parking areas of more than three spaces located within 40 feet of a residence district lot line to be shielded by a dense hedge five to eight feet tall.
Complaints about parking-lot glare or spillover onto a home are handled through a petition to the zoning board of appeals rather than a citation process, and the board's hearing decision, not a fixed numeric limit, sets any additional restriction. The Planning Department administers the underlying parking standards and reviews the required parking and lighting plan submitted with the building permit application under § 121-294(a)(9).
Violations & Fines
Directing parking-lot lighting toward a neighboring home rather than away from it violates § 121-294(b)(7)d outright. Beyond that baseline, residential property owners or tenants may petition the zoning board of appeals for a hearing, and the board can order the lighting reduced in intensity or height, shortened in duration, or turned off after specific hours if the petition is granted.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Kankakee County regulate glare from a business parking lot onto my house?
What can the zoning board of appeals order if parking lot lights bother my home?
Who enforces the parking-lot lighting rule in unincorporated Kankakee County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kankakee County
Compare Kankakee County to another location·View the Illinois outdoor lighting overview
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