Bolingbrook, IL Special Events & Permits: Sidewalk Dining & Cafés (2026)

Bolingbrook does not treat a sidewalk cafe as a use a restaurant can add automatically. In the B-2 community retail district, § 54-133(b)(21) lists 'outdoor sidewalk cafes and outdoor garden cafes conducted accessory to indoor establishments or as freestanding, independent entities' as a special use, meaning the operator needs a special use permit rather than a standard business license alone. The same special use listing appears in the B-3 highway commercial district (§ 54-134(b)(22)) and the B-4 commercial urban redevelopment district (§ 54-135(b)(17)), but it is absent from the B-1 local retail district's permitted and special use lists, so a sidewalk cafe cannot be approved on B-1-zoned property.

To obtain the permit, an applicant with a proprietary interest in the property files an application with the zoning administrator under § 54-642, triggering a public hearing before the plan commission under the notice procedure in §§ 54-1026 and 54-1027. The plan commission reports its findings and recommendation to the board of trustees under § 54-643, and the board decides whether to grant the permit against the general standards in § 54-609, including whether the use will adversely affect adjacent property, traffic, or the character of the neighborhood.

The board of trustees, not village staff, has final authority to issue the permit and may impose conditions on hours, seating, or fencing under §§ 54-611 and 54-644. Section 54-133(d) specifically exempts a cafe accessory to an enclosed restaurant from the fencing requirement that otherwise applies to outdoor uses in B-2, while a freestanding garden store in the same district must be completely fenced.