Kendall County, IL Sign Regulations: Freeway-Facing Signs (2026)
Key Facts
- Freeway buffer
- 500 feet from freeways, expressways and toll roads
- Where allowed
- Only in manufacturing (M) zoning districts
- Height cap
- 45 feet above grade in manufacturing districts
- Residential buffer
- 500 feet from any residential district property
- Preemption clause
- Yields to state law under Sec. 36-1058(b)(4)
Summary
Unincorporated Kendall County bars new advertising signs and structures from standing within five hundred feet of any freeway, expressway, or toll road, along with public parks, forest preserves and schools. The rule sits in the manufacturing-district sign standards, the only zoning district where new off-premises billboards can even be sited, and it yields to any stricter state preemption.
(2)No advertising sign or structure shall be located within five hundred (500) feet of any public park, forest preserve, school, or any freeways, expressways and toll roads designated as such in the records of the governing authorities. ... (4)This section shall govern unless pre-empted by the laws of the State.
Full Breakdown
Kendall County Code Sec. 36-1058(b) sets the location and height standards for signs in the manufacturing districts, the only unincorporated zoning districts where outdoor advertising structures, advertising signs, and poster panels are a permitted use under Sec. 36-1058(a)(2), so long as they carry no commercial message and their combined area stays under one hundred square feet. Within those districts, no advertising sign or structure may be located within five hundred feet of any public park, forest preserve, school, or any freeway, expressway or toll road recognized in the records of the governing transportation authorities.
The same five-hundred-foot buffer applies against any property in a residential district under Sec. 36-1058(b)(3), and no manufacturing-district sign can rise higher than forty-five feet above grade under Sec. 36-1058(b)(1). The section closes by stating it governs unless preempted by state law, an acknowledgment that Illinois and federal highway-beautification controls can reach signs along interstates and other regulated highways. Off-premises commercial advertising structures, meaning true billboards rather than on-premises business signage, need a special use permit confined to the M-2 Heavy Industrial and M-3 Aggregate Materials Extraction, Processing and Site Reclamation Districts under Sec.
36-1059, and any such structure sited near a freeway still has to clear the five-hundred-foot buffer of Sec. 36-1058(b)(2) as well as the general sight-triangle and right-of-way setback rules of Sec. 36-1053(a).
Violations & Fines
A sign that violates the freeway setback is unpermitted; the PBZ Department reviews and can deny any sign application that fails Sec. 36-1058 under the review procedure of Sec. 36-1052(c). An existing sign built without the required buffer is unlawful under Sec. 36-1065(c), and PBZ can order it removed within thirty days of written notice, with unrecovered removal costs collectible as a lien on the property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a billboard be built right next to a freeway in unincorporated Kendall County?
Does the freeway setback apply outside manufacturing districts?
What other setbacks apply near a freeway-facing sign site?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kendall County
Compare Kendall County to another location·View the Illinois sign regulations overview
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