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El Paso City Zoning Code

ARTICLE IV

Residential A-1 District

§ 315-27 Purpose.

The Residential A-1 District is intended to include those portions of the City recently developed, predominantly with one-family dwellings on individual lots, where it is deemed desirable to maintain and encourage this pattern of development, or those undeveloped portions of the City or contiguous areas seeking annexation and proposed for new residential development, where it is deemed desirable to encourage this pattern of predominant land usage and density of population.

§ 315-28 Permitted uses.

No building, premises or land shall be used, and no building or structure shall be hereafter erected or altered, within any Residential A-1 District, except for the following uses, unless otherwise provided for in this chapter:
A. 
One-family detached dwellings.
B. 
Libraries and public museums.
C. 
Churches, temples and other places of public worship.
D. 
Public or private schools offering general instruction between kindergarten and twelfth-grade levels, and public or private colleges offering courses leading toward an associate, baccalaureate or advanced degree in arts or science, or a comparable recognized degree.
E. 
Parks, recreation areas and recreation buildings operated by a unit of government, and government buildings, but not including storage yards or buildings for the housing of trucks, contractor's equipment, poles, pipe, road building materials or similar materials.
F. 
Farming, truck gardening and horticultural nurseries, but not including the raising, housing, pasturing or keeping of bees, fowl or livestock.
[Amended 3-6-2023 by Ord. No. 1060]
G. 
Temporary buildings, structures and uses incidental to construction on the site, for a period not to exceed one year.
H. 
Customary accessory uses, including private garages.
I. 
One nameplate sign, not exceeding one square foot in area, which may include the occupant's name, street address and profession or home occupation, if such is conducted on the premises. One sign advertising the sale or rental of the premises, and not exceeding five square feet in area, and including the zoning classification, may be displayed.
[Amended 3-6-2023 by Ord. No. 1060]

§ 315-29 Height.

[Amended 1-5-2015 by Ord. No. 965; 1-3-2022 by Ord. No. 1048]
No building shall hereafter be erected or altered to exceed 35 feet in height if a main or principal building, nor to exceed 20 feet if an accessory structure. Notwithstanding the maximum height of 20 feet, in the event the primary structure built upon the lot is less than 20 feet in height, the maximum height of the accessory structure shall not exceed the height of the primary structure.

§ 315-30 Lot size.

Every building hereafter erected shall be on a lot having an area not less than 7,500 square feet, if an interior lot, with a width of 65 feet measured along the front setback line; nor less than 8,800 square feet in area, if a corner lot, with a width of 85 feet measured along the front setback line parallel to the lesser street frontage. No lot shall be less than 100 feet in depth.

§ 315-31 Yards for principal buildings.

No principal building shall hereafter be erected or enlarged to extend closer to any lot line than the following distances:
A. 
Sixty feet to the nearest right-of-way line of any federal or state highway.
B. 
Thirty feet to the nearest right-of-way line of any other street, but not less than 60 feet from the center line of such street.
C. 
Ten feet to any interior side lot line.
D. 
Thirty feet to any rear lot line.

§ 315-32 Yards and maximum size of detached accessory structures and attached garages.

[Amended 1-3-2022 by Ord. No. 1048]
No detached accessory structures shall be erected upon any lot until and unless a primary residence is constructed and occupied. Once a residential primary structure is occupied, no detached accessory structure shall hereafter be erected or enlarged to extend closer to any lot line than the following distances:
A. 
Sixty feet to the nearest right-of-way line of any federal or state highway.
B. 
Thirty feet to the nearest right-of-way line of any other street, but not less than 60 feet from the center line of such street.
C. 
Ten feet to any interior side lot line, except that within 30 feet of the rear lot line a detached accessory structure may be located five feet from any interior side lot line.
D. 
Five feet to any rear lot line.
E. 
Any detached accessory structure shall be limited to the least of the following restrictions:
(1) 
One thousand two hundred fifty square feet shall be the maximum square footage of all combined detached accessory structures and this requirement shall include the attached garage of the primary residence.
(2) 
Sixty-five percent of the square footage of the primary structure foundation (footprint) which footprint shall not include the attached garage of the primary structure foundation. This 65% maximum requirement shall be waived if all detached structures on the lot and the primary structure combined (including attached garage) together do not exceed 10% of the total lot area.
F. 
Any attached garage shall not exceed 50% of the square foot of the primary foundation (footprint).

§ 315-33 Building coverage.

[Amended 1-5-2015 by Ord. No. 965]
No building, with its accessory buildings, shall occupy in excess of 35% of the lot area.

§ 315-34 Habitable floor area.

A. 
No one-story dwelling shall be erected hereafter with a habitable floor area of less than 1,000 square feet.
B. 
No two-story dwelling shall be erected hereafter with a habitable floor area of less than 1,300 square feet.

§ 315-35 Prohibited parking or storage.

[Added 1995 by Ord. No. 692]
No semitrailers of any type or nature nor any commercial vehicles required by the Illinois Department of Transportation to display a placard indicating the vehicle is carrying hazardous materials shall be parked or stored overnight on any lot in the Residential A-1 District.

§ 315-36 Special uses.

[Added 1979 by Ord. No. 526; amended 2-6-2017 by Ord. No. 994; 3-6-2023 by Ord. No. 1060; 8-5-2024 by Ord. No. 1078]
A. 
Conversion of single-family dwelling to two-family dwelling. Within the Residential A-1 District, a conversion of an existing single-family dwelling to a two-family residence and only a two-family residence may be permitted as a special use by the City Council upon recommendation of the Zoning Board after a public hearing. Such special use shall only be granted upon finding that its establishment will not have an adverse effect on adjoining residential uses; and upon further findings that the following requirements are met:
(1) 
Height: same as Residential A-1 District requirements.
(2) 
Lot size. The lot shall have a minimum of 12,500 square feet if an interior lot, and a minimum of 15,000 square feet if a corner lot. An interior lot shall have a minimum of 120 feet of frontage along the street. A corner lot shall have a minimum of 120 feet of frontage along the front setback line parallel to the lesser street frontage. No lot shall be less than 100 feet in depth.
(3) 
Front, rear and side yards: same as Residential A-1 District requirements.
(4) 
Parking: a minimum of five off-street parking spaces with all-weather surfaces.
B. 
Within the Residential A-1 District, home occupations may be permitted as a special use by the City Council upon recommendation of the Zoning Board after a public hearing. Such special use shall only be granted upon finding that:
(1) 
Its establishment and operation will not have an adverse effect on adjoining residential uses;
(2) 
Sufficient on-site parking will be provided, so that no noticeable increase in on-street parking will result, nor increased traffic hazard due to entry or exiting vehicles;
(3) 
Delivery vehicles serving the home occupation, if any, will be of the size and type commonly observed on the streets in the Residential A-1 District; and
(4) 
The occupation involves no retail or wholesale business or manufacture except as such may be an integral part of, and clearly incidental to, the rendering of a personal or professional service.
C. 
Within the Residential A-1 District, the raising, housing, pasturing, or keeping of bees, fowl or livestock may be permitted as a special use by the City Council upon recommendation of the Zoning Board after a public hearing. Such special use shall only be granted upon finding that:
(1) 
Such a use will not have an adverse effect on adjoining or neighboring residential uses;
(2) 
Animals lawfully kept within the Residential A-1 District shall be kept within the fenced area of the rear yard at all times; and
(3) 
Setback: such a use may only be permitted where the raising, housing, pasturing, or keeping of bees, fowl or livestock is located at a distance of 300 feet or greater from rear and side lot lines.
(4) 
Chickens. Notwithstanding the foregoing, chickens may be kept within the Residential Districts of El Paso if a permit is obtained and the landowner complies with the provisions of § 115-15.

§ 315-37 Wheelchair access improvements.

[Added 1-5-2015 by Ord. No. 965]
Wheelchair access improvements, including but not limited to wheelchair ramps, lifts, elevators, and stairglides, shall be permitted notwithstanding the requirements of §§ 315-31, 315-32 and 315-33, but only upon the written consent of the Zoning Officer of the City of El Paso.