Sangamon County, IL Parking Rules: Loading Zones (2026)

Section 17.50.070 sets one test for every use that moves goods: "All uses involving receipt or distribution of goods by vehicles shall have space on the premises for the pickup, delivery and service vehicles necessary for normal daily operation." The space has to sit on the business's own premises, so a shop, warehouse or plant cannot count on the road, an alley or a neighbor's lot for its trucks. The section prints no delivery hours and no berth dimensions. The measuring stick is what normal daily operation needs.

Loading space is counted separately from parking. The section says these spaces "shall be in addition to the parking spaces required as set forth in Section 17.50.020." That table ties parking to use, for example one space per three employees plus one space per company vehicle for wholesale, manufacturing and industrial plants, and one space per two employees for truck terminals. A stall counted toward those minimums cannot also serve as the loading space.

The loading space is also "subject to Section 17.50.060." That section requires all parking facilities and access ways to be improved with at least a bituminous seal coat, and requires paving for parking areas located between a public street and the principal building. Lighting has to be arranged so it does not shine directly upon any adjacent residence or street. Each off-street facility must have vehicular access to a street or alley in a forward manner only, except for single-family and duplex residences.

The county zoning code defines off-street loading as a space, accessible from a street, alley or way, in a building or on a lot, for the use of trucks while loading or unloading merchandise or materials. Next to homes the rules tighten. Section 17.38.040 covers the B-1, B-2, B-3, I-1 and I-2 districts and requires loading and unloading spaces within 200 feet of a residence district boundary line to be inside completely enclosed buildings, unless they are completely screened by a solid wall or uniformly painted solid fence at least eight feet in height. Inside the 50-foot strip along that boundary, off-street loading spaces are still allowed under Chapter 17.50.

This is county zoning for the unincorporated area. Springfield, Chatham and the other incorporated municipalities apply their own codes to loading zones and curb space inside their limits.