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The Campton Hills village board passed an ordinance that institutes a 120-day moratorium on new building permits for accessory structures larger than 600 square feet in the village's farming zoning (F) district.
The pause gives the village's Planning and Zoning Commission time to study whether current zoning rules adequately address how large outbuildings in agricultural areas are being used.
Here's what to know:
The policy’s purpose: The board identified a pattern of farm-zoned properties being purchased and later used for non-agricultural commercial purposes, with large accessory structures built to support those activities. The ordinance cites contractor yards and equipment storage for off-site business operations as examples. The concern is that these uses conflict with the agricultural character the F district is meant to protect.
What the moratorium does: No new building permits for accessory structures over 600 square feet in the F district will be issued during the 120-day window. Applications can still be submitted, but won't be acted on.
What happens next: The Planning and Zoning Commission is now directed to study the issue and bring recommendations back to the full board. That could include new size limits, clearer definitions of permitted uses, or other zoning amendments. The board can extend the moratorium if more time is needed before acting.
Campton Hills also voted in May to formally oppose the state's proposed BUILD Act, which would have limited municipalities' control over local zoning decisions (it did not pass in the recent legislative session).
The moratorium reflects the same underlying concern, which is that the village wants to maintain local authority over what gets built and how land is used.
View the full ordinance.
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