Illinois protects agricultural land through the Agricultural Areas Conservation and Protection Act and limits county zoning over farms outside municipal boundaries.
The Agricultural Areas Conservation and Protection Act (505 ILCS 5) lets owners of 350 or more contiguous acres petition counties to designate Agricultural Areas, restricting state and local actions that interfere with farming for ten-year renewable terms. The Counties Code (55 ILCS 5/5-12001) bars county zoning from regulating agricultural uses on farms larger than five acres outside municipal limits, except for limited livestock setbacks. Municipalities retain broader zoning authority within city limits under 65 ILCS 5/11-13. The Livestock Management Facilities Act (510 ILCS 77) governs siting of large animal feeding operations.
Violations of agricultural area protections or improper zoning may be challenged by injunction in circuit court; LMFA siting violations carry civil penalties up to $10,000 per offense.
Winnebago County, IL
Winnebago County has no county-wide noise ordinance with fixed quiet hours for unincorporated areas. State law (720 ILCS 5/26-1 disorderly conduct) and Illin...
Winnebago County, IL
Winnebago County's Unified Development Ordinance (Chapter 90) regulates fences in unincorporated areas through Article 18 (Temporary and Development Standard...
Winnebago County, IL
Winnebago County Code of Ordinances Chapter 14 (Animals) and the Illinois Animal Control Act (510 ILCS 5) require owners to keep dogs under restraint and pro...
Machesney Park, IL
Machesney Park requires property owners to keep grass and weeds at or below 7 inches as part of property-maintenance enforcement. The Village adopted the 202...
Winnebago County, IL
Illinois prohibits all 'consumer fireworks' (UN0336/UN0337 1.4G/1.4S) under the Pyrotechnic Use Act (425 ILCS 35), making firecrackers, bottle rockets, Roman...
Winnebago County, IL
Winnebago County's Chapter 90 Unified Development Ordinance does not publish a vacation-rental-specific parking ratio. Vacation rental parking in unincorpora...
See how Machesney Park's agricultural zoning protection rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.