To provide for the location of special classes of uses which are desirable for the public welfare within a given district or districts that are potentially incompatible with typical uses herein permitted within them, a classification of conditional uses is established. Procedures for conditional uses are set forth in Sections 17.58.030 through 17.58.090.

(Res. 1-1 §3(E)(1), November 16, 1982)

Where a use exists on the effective date of the ordinance codified in this title, and it is classified as a conditional use in the district in which it is located by said ordinance, it shall be considered to be a lawful conditional use. Additions or alterations to existing buildings, the construction of accessory buildings or land improvements for expansion of lawful conditional uses shall be permitted within the area of the lot included in the ownership existing at the time of adoption of said ordinance; and they shall be subject to yard, floor area ratio, building height, and screening regulations set forth in the ordinance for permitted uses in the district in which they are located. Any such lawful conditional use shall be allowed to reconstruct in the event of destruction by catastrophe.

(Res. 16a §26, November 19, 1985; Res. 1-1 §3(E)(2), November 16, 1982)

The execution of the zoning ordinance is based upon the division of the affected area of the county into zoning districts within any one of which the use of land and buildings and the bulk and location of buildings or structures, as related to the land, are essentially uniform. It is recognized, however, that there are special uses of the land which, because of their unique character, cannot be properly classified in any particular zoning district or districts without consideration, in each case, of the impact of those uses upon neighboring lands, and upon the public need for the particular use or the particular location. These special uses, termed "conditional permitted uses" in this ordinance, fall into two categories.

1. Uses operated by a public agency or public-regulated utilities, or uses traditionally affected with a public interest.
2. Uses entirely private in character, but of such nature that the operation may give rise to unique problems with respect to their impact upon neighboring property or public facilities.

(Res. 1-1 §7(H)(1), November 16, 1982)

Conditional permitted uses shall be authorized by the Sangamon County board, provided that no application for a conditional permitted use shall be acted upon by the county board until after a public hearing has been held by the zoning board of appeals, after due notice by publication as provided by state statutes for amendments, and its report of findings and recommendations has been transmitted to the county board.

The vote required of the county board to grant a conditional permitted use is a majority of the members present and voting.

After an application for a conditional permitted use has been acted upon by the county board, another application requesting the same relief shall not be accepted or considered by the county board for a period of six (6) months after such action, unless the application shows that there has been a substantial change in circumstances as determined by the zoning board of appeals, since such action.

(Res. 14, August 8, 1989; Res. 1-1 §7(H)(2), November 16, 1982)

A petition for a conditional permitted use may be filed by any interested property owner or contract purchaser. In cases where a contract purchaser is the petitioner, the contract purchaser shall provide a letter from the owner which states that the owner is aware of the petition and the request(s) contained therein, that the petitioner is indeed a contract purchaser, and that the owner approves the action. Such petition for a variation shall be filed in writing and shall contain such information as the zoning board of appeals may require by rule.

(Res. 1-1 §7(H)(3), November 16, 1982)

A petition for a conditional permitted use shall be filed with the zoning administrator at least twenty (20) days prior to the date of the hearing. The zoning administrator shall forward such petition to the Sangamon County zoning board of appeals in accordance with the applicable statutes of the state of Illinois and forward a copy of the petition to the Springfield-Sangamon County regional planning commission. The petition shall include a list of adjacent property owners, including owners across the street and across the alley as well as their mailing address(es). A map shall also be submitted which shows the boundaries of the property, the location existing and/or proposed structures of in relation to property lines and adjacent land uses.

(Res. 1-1 §7(H)(4), November 16, 1982)

No conditional permitted use shall be granted by the county board except after a public hearing before the zoning board of appeals of which there shall be a notice of the time and place of the hearing published at least once, not more than thirty (30) days or less than fifteen (15) days before the hearing, in one or more newspapers with a general circulation within Sangamon County. A written notice shall be served at least ten (10) days before the hearing on the owners of the properties located adjacent to and across the street or alley from the location where the conditional permitted use is requested. In addition, at least fifteen (15) days prior to each hearing, notice of such hearing shall be posted on the street frontage of the land proposed as a conditional permitted use. The notice need only to be placed in one place on the site. In the event the hearing is postponed, the property shall be reposted with the new time, place and date, and shall be republished as in the initial case, but with the new time, place and date for the hearing. A copy of such notice shall be mailed to the clerk of each municipality, the corporate limits of which lie within one-and-one-half (1½) miles of the land proposed to be reclassified with a conditional permitted use. If the real estate subject to the petition shall be situated within a township in which there is a newspaper regularly published or in which there is a newspaper generally circulated that is not published in the city of Springfield, Illinois, then there shall be published in said newspaper, a legal publication identical to and in addition to that above stated. Meetings of the zoning board of appeals on conditional permitted uses may be held in the county building.

(Res. 7 §7(part), April 14, 1987; Res. 16a §14(part), November 19, 1985; Res. 1-1 §7(H)(5), November 16, 1982)

No conditional permitted use shall be granted by the county board unless the conditional permitted use:

1. Is so proposed that the proposed location, design and method of operation of such use will minimize the adjacent effects on the character of the surrounding area;
2. Is so proposed to be operated, designed and located so that the public health, safety, and welfare will be protected;
3. Will not cause substantial injury to the value of other property in the vicinity in which it is located;
4. In addition to the above general standards for all conditional permitted uses that may be allowed, no conditional permitted use listed below shall be granted unless the proposed use can meet the standards as noted:
   1. Fairgrounds, public or private outdoor recreation centers - that the principal vehicle access for such use is located on a major thoroughfare or a secondary thoroughfare or within one-quarter mile of a major thoroughfare, that such use is so located as to draw a minimum of vehicular traffic to and through minor and collector streets in residential areas.
   2. Manufactured home parks - must meet the requirements of Chapter 17.48, Large Scale Development, of this title.
   3. Tourist homes, motels, hotels - that the proposed use must be located on or within four hundred (400) feet of a major thoroughfare.
   4. Taverns and liquor stores - that the following distances be maintained: 1) schools - one hundred (100) feet from the property line of the school to the property line of the tavern or liquor store; 2) churches - one hundred (100) feet from the church building to the tavern or liquor store building; and 3) residences - one hundred (100) feet from the tavern or liquor store property line to the residential structure or institutional care facility.
      
   5. Adult-use cannabis business establishments as defined in Chapter 17.04:
      1. that the following distances be maintained from the principal structure of an adult-use cannabis business establishment to the property line of a use defined in Chapter 17.04 as a “sensitive area”:
         1. Adult-use cannabis craft grower – 1,500 feet
         2. Adult-use cannabis cultivation center – 1,500 feet
         3. Adult-use cannabis dispensing organization (dispensary) – 250 feet
         4. Adult-use cannabis infuser organization (infuser) – 1,500 feet
         5. Adult-use cannabis processing organization (processor) – 1,500 feet
         6. Adult-use cannabis transporting organization (transporter) – 1,500 feet
      2. On-premise consumption of cannabis at cannabis dispensing organizations and smoking lounges in unincorporated Sangamon County is prohibited.

(Res. 12, January 14, 2020; Res. 11 Exh. A (part), August 8, 2006; Res. 13 Exh. A (part), June 11, 2002; Res. 16a §9, November 19, 1985; Res. 1-1 §7(H)(6), November 16, 1982)

The zoning board of appeals may recommend, and the county board may provide, such restrictions upon the location, construction and operation of a conditional permitted use, including, but not limited to, provisions for off-street parking and loading, as may be deemed necessary to promote the general objectives of this title and to minimize the injury to the value of property in the vicinity.

(Res. 1-1 §7(H)(7), November 16, 1982)

After any application for conditional permitted use has been acted upon by the county board, another application requesting the same relief shall not be accepted or considered by the county board for a period of six (6) months after such action, unless the application shows that there has been a substantial change in circumstances as determined by the zoning board of appeals, since such action.

(Res. 9, Exh. A (part), September 14, 2004)