This ordinance shall officially be known and referred to as the "Winnebago County Unified Development Ordinance." All references herein to "this ordinance" or "Unified Development Ordinance" shall be interpreted as referring to the Winnebago County Unified Development Ordinance.

This ordinance is adopted pursuant to the statutory authority conferred in 55 ILCS 5/5-1041, 55 ILCS 5/5-1062, 55 ILCS 5/5-12001, 605 ILCS 5/6-325 and 615 ILCS 5/4.9 et seq.

This Ordinance shall apply to all development, public or private, in unincorporated Winnebago County. All structures and land uses constructed or commenced hereinafter, and all enlargements of, additions to, or changes in and relocations of existing structures and uses occurring hereafter shall be subject to this Ordinance, Statutes of the State of Illinois, Winnebago County Building Codes and all other applicable Winnebago County Ordinances.

This Ordinance shall also govern properties in the County of Winnebago that have an annexation agreement with a municipality that is more than 1.5 miles from the property, unless after receiving a request for jurisdiction from the annexing municipality, the County of Winnebago agrees, by the affirmative vote of a majority of its members, that the property covered by the annexation agreement shall be subject to the ordinances, control, and jurisdiction of the annexing municipality.

These regulations shall become effective as of the date this Ordinance is adopted and approved by the Winnebago County Board. Upon such date, these regulations shall supersede, repeal and replace the previous Winnebago County Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 90, and any amendments thereof, and the previous Winnebago County Subdivision Ordinance, Chapter 74, and any amendments thereof.

The purpose of this Ordinance is to provide for the citizens of the county adequate light, pure air and safety from fire and other dangers, to conserve the value of land and buildings, to lessen or avoid congestion of traffic on the public roads and to promote the public health, safety, comfort, convenience, morals and general welfare; to protect the character and the stability of the residential, agricultural, business, and industrial areas within the county and to promote the orderly and beneficial development of such areas; to establish restrictions in order to attain these objectives by adopting a zoning ordinance which will revise the districts into which the county is divided, the restrictions upon the uses to which land and buildings may be devoted, the restrictions upon the location and height of buildings, the restrictions upon the intensity of the use of land and buildings, the requirements for yards, the requirements for off-street parking facilities, the provisions for administration and enforcement of this chapter, the penalties for violation of this chapter, and the procedure, powers and duties of the board of appeals. These purposes shall be achieved in part through the implementation of goals, objectives, and policies of the Winnebago County 2030 Land Resource Management Plan, adopted on May 28, 2009, and as may be amended. This Ordinance sets forth regulations that control the use of land and structures in unincorporated Winnebago County. These regulations are specifically designed to:

A.

Protect the character and the stability of the residential, agricultural, business, and industrial areas within the county and to promote the orderly and beneficial development of such areas.

B.

Establish restrictions in order to attain these objectives by adopting a Unified Development Ordinance which will revise the districts into which the county is divided, the restrictions upon the uses to which land and buildings may be devoted, the restrictions upon the location and height of buildings, the restrictions upon the intensity of the use of land and buildings, the requirements for yards, the requirements for off-street parking facilities, the provisions for administration and enforcement of this chapter, the penalties for violation of this chapter, and the procedure, powers and duties of the board of appeals.

C.

Preserve agricultural land.

D.

Provide a variety of quality housing stock to meet the needs of County residents, while establishing an efficient land development pattern.

E.

Promote economic development throughout the County that balances the needs of the current and future economy with a high quality of life standard.

F.

Promote growth that supports the principals of balanced growth by preserving open space and natural areas, reducing traffic congestion, utilizing existing infrastructure and resources, and preserving the quality of life within our community.

G.

Preserve Winnebago County's green infrastructure by protecting, conserving, restoring and properly managing such assets.

H.

Maintain, develop, and plan for public facilities and utilities in an economical and environmentally sound manner.

I.

Plan, construct and maintain an accessible, efficient, multi-modal, regional transportation system that meets the needs of the public and commerce, while minimizing risks to health, safety and the environment.

J.

Plan for and install state-of-the-art telecommunication infrastructure, attract high-tech businesses, and train a local workforce that can staff such businesses.

The degree of flood protection provided by this Ordinance is considered reasonable for regulatory purposes and is based on engineering and scientific methods of study. Nonetheless, greater floods may occur on occasion and by human made or natural causes. The Ordinance does not imply that areas outside floodplain areas or that land uses permitted within such areas will be forever free from flooding or flood damages. This Ordinance shall not create any liability on the part of or a cause of action against Winnebago County or any other officer or employee thereof, or the Federal Emergency Management Agency for any flood damages that may result from reliance on this Ordinance or any administrative decision lawfully made thereunder.

If the provisions of this Ordinance are inconsistent with those of the State or Federal Government, the more restrictive provision will control, to the extent permitted by law.

If the provisions of this Ordinance are inconsistent with one another, or if they conflict with provisions found in other adopted ordinances or regulations of the County, the more restrictive provision will control. No text amendment, zoning variance or condition of approval placed on a special use or other form of development approval under this Ordinance shall have the effect of nullifying, abrogating or diminishing the provisions of any other County ordinance.

This ordinance is not intended to abrogate, annul or otherwise interfere with any private easement, agreement, covenant, restriction or other private legal relationship. The county does not enforce private agreements, easements, covenants or restrictions except those specifically required for the administration and enforcement of this Ordinance.

The following rules shall govern the transition to the new Winnebago County Unified Development Ordinance:

Complete zoning applications submitted prior to the effective date of this Ordinance may be reviewed wholly under the terms of the previous zoning ordinance or wholly under the terms of this Ordinance. Whether such review takes place wholly under the provisions of the previous zoning ordinance or under this Ordinance is at the applicant's discretion.

Applications for special use permits and variance applications that were submitted in complete form and are pending approval before the effective date of this Ordinance may be reviewed wholly under the terms of the zoning ordinance in effect immediately before the effective date of this Ordinance or they may be reviewed wholly under the terms of this Ordinance. Whether such review takes place under the provisions of the previous zoning ordinance or under this Ordinance is the decision of the applicant. The applicant's decision about which ordinance applies, once submitted, may not be changed. All development applications submitted on or after the effective date of this ordinance will be reviewed wholly under the terms of this Ordinance.

Any development or structure for which a final zoning clearance was issued before the effective date of this Ordinance may be completed in conformance with the issued zoning clearance and other applicable permits and conditions, even if such development or structure does not fully comply with the provisions of this Ordinance. If construction is not commenced and pursued within the time allowed under the original permit or any extension granted, then the development or structure must be constructed, completed and occupied only in strict compliance with the standards of this Ordinance.

All special use permits, including planned unit developments, vested rights, subdivision plans, site plan approvals, sign permits and variances granted prior to the effective date of this Ordinance shall remain in full force and effect under the terms and conditions of the approval and the ordinance in effect immediately before this Ordinance, subject to the expiration limitations of Article 4, Section 4.3. Any change of use in a previously approved special use will require compliance with this Ordinance.

Any violation of the previous zoning and subdivision ordinances shall continue to be a violation under this Ordinance and be subject to penalties and enforcement under Article 6 (Enforcement), unless the use, development, construction or other activity complies with the provisions of this Ordinance. Payment shall be required for any civil penalty assessed under the previous Ordinances, even if the original violation is no longer considered a violation under this ordinance. The adoption of this ordinance does not affect nor prevent any pending or future prosecution of, or action to abate, violations of the previous Ordinance that occurred before the effective date specified in Section 1.4 of this Article.

The Winnebago County Planning and Zoning Officer may review or extend the time of a previous approval of a zoning clearance if the project complies with all the requirements of this Ordinance. Any extension granted shall not exceed one (1) year in length, and no more than one (1) extension shall be granted. Any re-application for an expired project shall meet the standards in effect at the time of re-application.

Any legal nonconformity under the previous ordinances will also be a legal nonconformity under this Ordinance, as long as the situation that resulted in the nonconforming status under the previous ordinance continues to exist. If the nonconformity under the previous ordinance becomes conforming because of the adoption of this Ordinance, then the situation will no longer be nonconforming. A situation that was unauthorized and did not constitute a nonconforming situation under the previously adopted ordinance does not achieve nonconforming status under this Ordinance merely by repeal of the previous zoning ordinance.

When a lot is used for a purpose that was a lawful use before the effective date of this Ordinance, and this Ordinance no longer classifies such use as either a permitted use or special use in the zoning district in which it is located, such use shall be considered nonconforming and shall be controlled by the provisions of Article 21 (Nonconformities) of this Ordinance.

Any lawfully established structure or lot that existed on the effective date of this Ordinance does not meet the standards set forth in this Ordinance, such structure or lot shall be considered nonconforming and shall be controlled by the provisions of Article 21 (Nonconformities) of this Ordinance.

If any court of competent jurisdiction shall declare any provisions of this Ordinance to be invalid, such ruling shall not affect any other ordinance provision not specifically included in such ruling.

If any court of competent jurisdiction shall declare invalid the application of any provision of this Ordinance to a particular lot, structure or use, such ruling it shall not affect the application of such ordinance provision to any other lot, structure or use not specifically included in such ruling.

The following uses are exempted by this Ordinance and permitted in any zoning district: Poles, towers, wires, cables, conduits, vaults, laterals, pipes, mains, valves, or any other similar distributing equipment for telephone or other communications, electric power, gas, water and sewer lines, except cell towers, solar panels or wind towers; provided that the installations shall conform to Federal Communications Commission and Federal Aeronautics Administration rules and regulations and the regulations of other authorities having jurisdiction.

The provisions of this Ordinance shall not be exercised so as to impose regulations or require permits with respect to land used or to be used for agricultural purposes or with respect to the erection, maintenance, repair, alteration, remodeling, or extension of structures used or to be used for agricultural purposes upon such land, except that such structures for agricultural purposes may be required to conform to yard or setback lines and such structures may be required to be inspected pursuant to the Building Department.

(Ord. No. 2024-CO-045, 7-25-24)