Bloomington, IL Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Bloomington's Zoning Ordinance treats the front yard as off-limits to parking in its single-family and two-family residential districts. Under City Code Section 44-404D(2)(b), the R-1A, R-1B, R-1C, R-1H and R-2 Districts allow off-street parking in the front yard only on an approved driveway serving a single-family, two-family, or attached single-family dwelling. A driveway built to serve just one legal parking space may still hold two cars parked side-by-side, but only if three conditions are met: the driveway must be paved, the driveway approach and the width at the sidewalk must measure between 16 and 24 feet, and parked vehicles may never overhang or extend over the public sidewalk.

An existing driveway narrower than 16 feet may be widened, or flared, out to the required width without widening the driveway approach itself, but only with plans approved by the Director of Development Services. Subsection D(2)(a) adds a citywide rule for every new or approved parking space and driveway: each must sit at least three feet from any side lot line, though a legal nonconforming driveway already closer than that may be reconstructed in its existing location, just not expanded. In every other zoning district, Section 44-404D(2)(c) likewise confines front-yard parking to approved driveways unless the Zoning Ordinance says otherwise.

These driveway standards sit inside Article IV's general standards for residential districts, which also cross-reference Article XII's off-street parking and loading requirements for the number of spaces a use must provide.