Oak Park, IL Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Oak Park Village Code § 15-9-2 sets a hard surface requirement for every parking area and driveway serving one to four vehicles in the Village: the surface must be standard blacktop or an equivalent paved material, or it must be built by excavating six inches (6") deep and filling that excavation with six inches (6") of compacted gravel or crushed stone. Bare dirt, grass or an unimproved surface satisfies neither option. Article 9 defines a "parking area" in § 15-9-1 as any parcel of land, other than space inside a building, used to park one to four motor vehicles.

Once built, § 15-9-3 requires each individual space to measure at least nine feet (9') wide by twenty feet (20') long, and § 15-9-4 requires the surface be kept free of dirt and ponding water, with any loose gravel or stone that spills onto adjacent public or private property removed. Where more than two spaces sit on a zoning lot in an "R-5" or more restrictive residential zone district, as defined in the separate Zoning Ordinance of the Village of Oak Park, § 15-9-5 requires each space to have its own access so a vehicle never has to be moved to let another one in or out.

Garages covering four or fewer vehicles in residential zones must also be kept in good repair with animal- and rodent-proof doors under § 15-9-6. These surfacing and dimension rules apply Village-wide inside Oak Park; they say nothing about the district-specific setback and lot-coverage standards, which live only in the separate Zoning Ordinance, not this chapter of the Village Code.