Land Use Controls topic guide
Government controls on land use
A parcel can meet its zoning use rules and still need subdivision, construction or environmental approval. Start with the proposed activity and the actual jurisdiction. Then identify the rule, the approval or relief needed, and the conditions that remain.
Last reviewed:
The short answer
Government land-use controls regulate what may occur on land and how it may be divided, developed, built on or occupied. For an exam question, identify the zoning map and text, the proposed use and dimensions, and the applicable approval path. A variation, special use and rezoning do different work. A legal nonconforming use depends on lawful history and continuing protection, while a government permit does not settle every private restriction, title issue or environmental requirement.
Reviewed October 26, 2026. PSI’s National II.B covers government controls on land use. The whole national Land Use Controls and Regulations domain has 5 of the 100 scored broker questions, shared with the other listed controls; that is not five questions on every subject below. Illinois state law, lawful local authority, the actual ordinance and applicable federal requirements matter. The original examples supply their assumptions and do not approve a particular parcel, permit, zoning application or development.
Identify the rule, the route and the remaining conditions
- Identify the proposed activity and the actual jurisdiction. A postal city name is not proof that the parcel lies inside that municipality. Determine the municipal or county setting, current district, applicable overlays and the authorities responsible for the project. Illinois home-rule and statutory powers have limits; county, municipal and state requirements are not interchangeable.
- Read the current map and text together. The map identifies the district; the text defines uses, dimensions, conditions and exceptions. A future-land-use map or comprehensive plan can guide decisions and have legal significance under particular provisions, but a future vision does not by itself establish that the current zoning district has changed. Check the enacted rules and actual approvals.
- Classify the problem before requesting relief. A permitted use must still meet applicable conditions and permits. A dimensional difficulty may call for a variation if the governing framework authorizes it and its standards are met. A listed special or conditional use requires its review and findings. Rezoning changes the zoning classification or rules. A variation is not a universal permission to conduct any unlisted use.
- Separate use from dimensions. Permitting a residence does not settle setbacks, height, lot coverage, floor-area ratio, density or parking. Those controls measure different things. A cap on total zoning floor area is not necessarily a footprint cap or a promise that the maximum theoretical area can actually be built after every other requirement is applied.
- For a nonconforming claim, verify lawful origin and current protection. A use that lawfully preceded a change differs from an activity that was unlawful from the start. A nonconforming use also differs from a nonconforming structure, lot or other development feature. Check expansion, change, discontinuance, casualty and other governing limits; age or a new owner alone does not decide the result.
- Check development layers separately. Plat and subdivision requirements concern division and development of land. Building and occupancy requirements concern their specified construction or occupation, with scope and exceptions. Illinois has statewide building-code frameworks as well as local administration; no locally adopted code does not automatically mean no applicable standard. One approval does not replace all the others.
- Add site and legal constraints. Floodplain, water-resource, wetlands and other environmental requirements can involve separate state, federal or local agencies. A map outside a high-risk flood zone does not establish zero flood risk. Also check enforceable private instruments, legal access and other title matters. A valid private restriction does not rezone land, and government approval does not erase that restriction.
- Use the proper decision and review process. Identify the authorized decision maker, notice, evidence, findings, conditions and review route. Staff encouragement is not final discretionary approval. Constitutional and fair-housing limits still apply, including the distinct issue of a disability-related reasonable accommodation. Document verified facts and unresolved requirements; a broker should not guarantee the outcome or announce a uniform statewide appeal deadline.
| Supplied problem | Route or issue to check | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Use permitted and all standards met | Ordinary applicable permit/compliance process | Every other approval has been obtained |
| Authorized dimensional relief sought | Variation under the actual standards | A new district or guaranteed approval |
| Use listed subject to review | Special or conditional use | An automatic by-right use |
| Different district sought | Rezoning or map amendment | An application is already an approval |
| Lawful older use conflicts with new rules | Nonconforming status and continuation limits | Unlimited expansion or perpetual immunity |
| Proposed lot division | Plat/subdivision requirements and exceptions | Every new lot is buildable |
| Construction or occupancy | Applicable codes, permit scope and occupancy requirements | Marketable title or all private consents |
| Site hazard or regulated work | Relevant site facts and separate agency requirements | One permit resolves every environmental issue |
The distinctions that matter
| Distinction | How it works | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| Plan and current zoning | A plan describes development policy and may affect particular legal decisions. The actual zoning map, text and amendments establish the rules applicable to the proposal. | Future commercial vision is not proof of current commercial zoning. |
| Variation and rezoning | A variation grants authorized relief from an applicable requirement under its standards. Rezoning changes classification or the applicable zoning rules. | A setback request and a district change are different requests. |
| Variation and special use | A special use is contemplated by the ordinance subject to required review. Variation authority and its limits require a separate inquiry. | Do not substitute hardship language for the listed special-use process. |
| Use and development nonconformity | The activity can conform while a building, lot or dimension does not, or vice versa. The governing classifications and limits can differ. | A permitted shop in an over-height building presents two questions. |
| Subdivision and zoning | Lot creation, platting and infrastructure review are distinct from permitted use and dimensional compliance. | Recorded lot does not mean any desired building is allowed. |
| Building permit and occupancy authorization | Each has the scope and exceptions supplied by the governing code. Neither is a general title warranty. | Permission for specified work does not itself settle all occupation. |
| Public approval and private consent | Government rules and enforceable private instruments have independent operation, subject to applicable law. | Satisfy each valid applicable control; do not erase one with the other. |
| Ordinary regulation and a taking | A use restriction is not automatically a compensable taking merely because value declines. Constitutional property protections and particular takings rules still matter. | No automatic always-compensate or never-compensate answer. |
Work through the facts
A future commercial corridor
The adopted plan depicts future commercial redevelopment, but the current zoning map and text still classify the parcel for residential uses. No effective amendment, special approval or other authority for the proposed shop is supplied.
- The example distinguishes the plan from the enacted current zoning.
- A future-policy depiction is not the missing approval.
Answer: Do not describe the shop as currently permitted merely from the plan. Verify the required lawful approval path under the actual ordinance.
A narrow lot and a setback
The supplied local framework authorizes dimensional variations. An unusually narrow lot creates a qualifying practical difficulty for a permitted home, and the owner seeks limited side-yard relief. Assume no other exception already resolves it.
- The use itself is allowed.
- The stated problem and authorized route concern dimensions.
Answer: A variation is the fitting application category. The authority still must apply its standards and required process; the facts do not guarantee a grant.
A daycare expressly listed for review
The supplied ordinance lists a daycare as a special use in this district and requires specified traffic, drop-off and screening findings after the required hearing. The applicant has not obtained that approval.
- The use is contemplated, but is not automatically permitted by right.
- The stated review route is special use.
Answer: Pursue and satisfy the special-use process. A generic request for a variance does not replace the supplied review requirements.
Seeking another district
An owner seeks to change the parcel from the supplied residential district to a commercial district. The current framework does not authorize the proposed activity through a use variation, special use or existing exception.
- The requested change concerns the district classification.
- The problem expressly excludes the alternative routes.
Answer: Rezoning or a map amendment is the fitting request. Approval remains a separate decision under the controlling law and process.
A lawful shop before the change
A repair shop lawfully operated before a zoning change. The supplied ordinance protects continuation of that use, subject to stated restrictions. There has been no discontinuance or other event ending protection, and no expansion is proposed.
- Lawful origin, the later conflict and continuing protection are all supplied.
- No approval for a larger or different operation follows from those facts.
Answer: The stated facts fit a legal nonconforming use. Read the actual continuation limits before making claims about rebuilding, expansion or change.
Old does not mean lawful
A seller points to twenty years of use but has no evidence establishing whether it was lawful when created. The current public record is incomplete; the facts establish neither lawful origin nor an original violation.
- Elapsed time does not establish the missing lawful-origin fact.
- An incomplete record also does not prove the use was illegal.
Answer: Investigate the actual history and governing rules. Do not declare either protected nonconformity or illegality from these facts alone.
City permission and a valid covenant
A city authorizes a proposed structure under its rules. A valid enforceable recorded covenant separately requires association consent, which has not been obtained. Assume no overriding statute, waiver or other fact removes that requirement.
- The example expressly supplies an enforceable private requirement.
- Government approval does not supply the missing private consent.
Answer: Address the private-consent requirement as well. This is not a finding that every recorded restriction is valid or enforceable.
One water-related approval
A proposed project has one local permit, but the facts identify separate potentially applicable state water-resource and federal discharge requirements. Their applicability and approvals have not been resolved.
- Different programs regulate different aspects of the work.
- A local permit alone does not decide the separate agencies’ requirements.
Answer: Determine which separate authorizations are required and satisfy them before assuming the work is permitted. The example does not decide federal jurisdiction over a particular wetland or waterway.
Floor area and footprint are different caps
For this fictional ordinance, the stated zoning lot area is 6,000 square feet. Maximum FAR is 2.0, meaning counted zoning floor area divided by that lot area. Maximum lot coverage is 40%, meaning the stated building footprint divided by that lot area. Use these definitions without bonuses or exclusions; other standards still apply.
- FAR cap: 2.0 × 6,000 = 12,000 square feet of counted zoning floor area.
- Coverage cap: 0.40 × 6,000 = 2,400 square feet of the stated footprint.
- Setbacks, height, density and other requirements can reduce the feasible project.
Answer: The theoretical caps are 12,000 square feet of counted floor area and 2,400 square feet of footprint. Neither grants a permit or guarantees that a 12,000-square-foot building can be built.
One parcel is not the whole spot-zoning test
A proposed zoning amendment concerns a single tract. An observer declares it unlawful solely because only one tract is involved. No facts about harmony with planning, surrounding zoning, public justification or other validity issues are supplied.
- A single-tract reclassification is not automatically void under the identified Illinois decision.
- The actual zoning pattern, planning relationship and governing legal standards require facts.
Answer: Size alone does not establish unlawful spot zoning. Investigate the substantive standards and record; this example does not find the amendment either valid or invalid.
Mistakes to avoid
- The mailing address identifies every authority. Verify the parcel’s actual boundaries and the authority for the particular issue.
- A future-use map grants today’s permit. Read the current zoning, governing law and actual approval record.
- Variations are always available for any use. Identify the applicable variation authority and its limits.
- A listed special use needs no further approval. Apply the hearing, evidence, findings and conditions required by the supplied framework.
- Twenty years proves grandfathered status. Investigate lawful origin and continuing protection; missing records alone also do not prove illegality.
- One building permit settles the whole project. Check each permit’s scope and the other applicable layers.
- No local code means no code. Illinois statewide requirements and non-code-jurisdiction provisions can still apply.
- Approval is guaranteed because staff support it. Use the final authorized decision, its scope and conditions.
Check your understanding
These are original teaching questions, not recalled or predicted PSI questions. Answer first, then explain why the other choices fail.
1. Which source identifies the parcel’s mapped zoning district, read with the ordinance text?
- A mortgage payoff letter
- A broker’s desired use
- The applicable current zoning map
- A future marketing brochure
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. The applicable current zoning map
The map identifies the district; the text and applicable amendments, overlays and approvals supply the relevant rules. Neither should be read alone.
2. A plan depicts future commercial use, but the current ordinance and map remain residential and no other approval is supplied. What follows?
- The shop is automatically permitted
- The buyer already obtained rezoning
- The plan alone does not establish current commercial permission
- Every current ordinance is void
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. The plan alone does not establish current commercial permission
The problem supplies no effective district change or other authority. A future-policy depiction is not itself the missing approval.
3. A supplied framework authorizes dimensional variations. The owner seeks limited setback relief for a qualifying lot difficulty, with no other exception. Which application fits?
- A variation
- A transfer of ownership
- A tax assessment appeal
- A title-insurance claim
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. A variation
This is the stated dimensional-relief route, subject to the governing criteria and decision. It is not an automatic right to approval.
4. A daycare is expressly listed as a special use requiring findings and a hearing. Which route fits?
- Automatic by-right operation
- A blanket exemption from review
- Only a deed correction
- The required special-use process
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. The required special-use process
The ordinance contemplates the use subject to its stated review, evidence and conditions. A variance label cannot replace that supplied process.
5. The owner seeks a different district and the hypothetical excludes authorized use variations, special uses and other current exceptions. Which request fits?
- A new mortgage statement
- Ordinary repair inspection only
- Rezoning or map amendment
- Nonconforming status based solely on profit
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Rezoning or map amendment
The stated change concerns classification. The problem excludes alternative routes rather than assuming all Illinois jurisdictions have identical use-variation powers.
6. What fact is necessary to the described legal nonconforming-use claim?
- A recent sale price
- Any twenty-year period regardless of legality
- Lawful establishment before the conflicting change
- An owner’s dislike of the ordinance
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Lawful establishment before the conflicting change
Lawful origin and continuing protection must be established under the governing framework. Age alone does not supply them.
7. An incomplete record does not establish whether an old use began lawfully. Best conclusion?
- The use is automatically protected
- The zoning map is irrelevant
- Investigate the missing history and applicable rules
- The use is automatically illegal
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Investigate the missing history and applicable rules
The supplied uncertainty supports investigation. It establishes neither lawful origin nor an original violation by itself.
8. A lawful nonconforming shop has protected continuation under the supplied ordinance. Does that alone authorize unlimited expansion?
- Yes, after sale to a new owner
- No; the governing expansion and other limits still matter
- Yes, if it remains profitable
- Yes, if no neighbor objects
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. No; the governing expansion and other limits still matter
Continuation of the stated existing use is not automatic permission to expand, change or reconstruct it without regard to the applicable limits.
9. Which process most directly concerns a proposed division into new lots with associated plat and infrastructure requirements?
- A mortgage payoff calculation
- Subdivision and plat review
- A personal-property inventory
- Appraisal review only
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Subdivision and plat review
Land division and infrastructure review are distinct from the zoning permission and construction rules for each resulting lot. Applicable triggers and exceptions must be checked.
10. Does recording an approved plat establish that every resulting lot can support any proposed use?
- No; zoning, building, site and other applicable requirements remain
- Only if the owner paid cash
- Only if every lot has a postal address
- Yes, without other review
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. No; zoning, building, site and other applicable requirements remain
Plat approval and recording do not settle every use, dimensional, environmental, title or construction requirement.
11. A structure meets the zoning use rules. What still needs checking?
- Applicable dimensions, construction, occupancy and other approvals
- Nothing once a use is listed
- Only the asking price
- Only the seller’s preference
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Applicable dimensions, construction, occupancy and other approvals
Use permission is one part of compliance. Its dimensions and other applicable approval systems remain separate questions.
12. A valid enforceable covenant requires private consent that has not been obtained. Government approval exists and no overriding exception applies. What follows?
- The broker can waive both systems
- The government approval cancels the covenant
- The private-consent requirement remains
- The covenant automatically changes the district
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. The private-consent requirement remains
The hypothetical expressly supplies an enforceable private control. Compliance with the public rule does not supply the missing private approval.
13. No local building code has been adopted. Is that fact alone proof of no applicable Illinois building standard?
- Yes, for every project
- No
- Yes, unless a lender objects
- Yes, once the property is sold
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. No
Illinois has statewide frameworks and provisions for non-building-code jurisdictions. Determine the project type and applicable state and local rules rather than assuming no standards.
14. A building permit covers specified construction. Does it by itself guarantee marketable title?
- Yes
- Only if the permit fee is paid
- Only if printed in color
- No
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. No
Construction authorization and title quality concern different issues. Read the permit’s scope and independently evaluate title and other relevant restrictions.
15. A project has one local permit and unresolved potentially applicable state and federal water-related requirements. Best next step?
- Assume every agency is bound by the local permit
- Begin the work because only one permit is ever needed
- Resolve each separate applicable authorization
- Assume every water feature is federally regulated
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Resolve each separate applicable authorization
The programs have separate roles. Determine actual applicability without assuming either automatic clearance or federal jurisdiction over every feature.
16. Staff encourage a proposed rezoning, but the final authorized decision has not occurred. What can the broker responsibly report?
- The proposal is already effective zoning
- No conditions can be imposed
- The verified current status and the remaining approval process
- Approval is guaranteed
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. The verified current status and the remaining approval process
Staff comments are not final discretionary approval. Identify the decision maker, applicable conditions and unresolved steps without guaranteeing the result.
17. A zoning change concerns one tract. Is that fact alone enough to establish unlawful spot zoning?
- Yes, whenever surrounding lots have different owners
- No; the governing standards, planning context and actual facts still matter
- Yes, if the owner requested it
- Yes, every single-tract change is void
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. No; the governing standards, planning context and actual facts still matter
Thornber explains that not every reclassification of a single tract is void. Its particular ordinance was upheld on its record; the case does not validate every single-tract amendment.
18. A fictional rule defines FAR as counted floor area/lot area and coverage as footprint/lot area. A 6,000-square-foot lot has FAR 2.0 and coverage 40%, with no bonus or exclusion. Theoretical caps before other constraints?
- 12,000 square feet floor area and 6,000 square feet footprint
- 12,000 square feet floor area and 2,400 square feet footprint
- 3,000 square feet floor area and 40 square feet footprint
- 2,400 square feet floor area and 12,000 square feet footprint
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. 12,000 square feet floor area and 2,400 square feet footprint
2.0 × 6,000 = 12,000 counted square feet; 40% × 6,000 = 2,400 footprint square feet. Other standards may reduce what can actually be built, and definitions vary by ordinance.
19. A covered housing-related request seeks a necessary reasonable exception to a zoning rule because of disability. Is ordinary property-hardship variance analysis always the entire legal inquiry?
- No; the applicable fair-housing reasonable-accommodation requirements need their own analysis
- Yes, fair-housing requirements never apply to zoning
- Yes, neighbor opposition decides every request
- No review is needed because every requested exception must be granted
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. No; the applicable fair-housing reasonable-accommodation requirements need their own analysis
A necessary reasonable accommodation in rules is a distinct legal issue. Coverage, necessity, reasonableness and applicable limits require assessment; neither ordinary hardship analysis alone nor automatic approval is the answer.
20. How should a broker identify the review deadline for a particular zoning decision?
- Assume every decision has the same statewide deadline
- Treat staff encouragement as a final appealable approval
- Check the actual decision, decision maker and applicable review statute or procedure promptly
- Start counting only when the property is sold
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Check the actual decision, decision maker and applicable review statute or procedure promptly
Different decisions and authorities can have different routes and deadlines. The problem does not supply a universal period or authorize postponing verification.
Common questions
What are government land-use controls on the Illinois exam?
PSI places government controls in National II.B. Planning, zoning, building, subdivision and related regulatory questions ask what may occur on land and which rules or approvals apply. The whole Land Use Controls and Regulations domain has five of the hundred scored national broker questions, shared with its other listed subjects. These original teaching questions are not PSI items.
Is the comprehensive plan the same as the zoning ordinance?
No. A plan sets development policy and can have legal significance under particular governing provisions. The current zoning map and text, together with applicable amendments, overlays and approvals, determine the proposal’s zoning position. A future-land-use map alone does not prove a parcel has already been rezoned. Avoid the opposite blanket claim that plans never have legal effect.
How do I choose between a variation, special use and rezoning?
Identify the actual issue and the governing authority. A variation supplies authorized relief from a requirement under its standards. A special use is contemplated by the ordinance subject to review and findings. Rezoning changes classification or applicable zoning rules. Dimensional-versus-use shorthand is useful, but Illinois variation frameworks and local authority are not identical; check whether the proposed relief is actually authorized.
Does financial benefit alone guarantee a variation?
No. Apply the relevant practical-difficulty, hardship and other standards, the authority’s permitted forms of relief and the required process. A more profitable proposal is not automatic entitlement. This guide does not assume every jurisdiction uses one identical test or that use variations are universally available or universally prohibited.
Is a special use automatically allowed because it is listed?
No. Under the identified Illinois municipal provision, special uses require the specified public hearing, evidence of compliance with ordinance standards and any lawful conditions. The governing body and applicable local process still matter. A use can be permitted in one district and special in another.
What makes an older use legally nonconforming?
It must have the required lawful origin before the conflicting change and retain protection under the actual rules. A use, structure and lot can raise different nonconformity issues. Expansion, changes, discontinuance and casualty may affect protection. Age alone proves neither legality nor illegality, and a missing permit record does not by itself settle the history.
Does selling a nonconforming property automatically end its protection?
Do not infer that from a sale alone. Determine what the protection attaches to, the applicable transfer or permit terms and whether a stated terminating event occurred. Nor does a new owner automatically gain unlimited expansion or rebuilding rights. The supplied ordinance and facts control.
Does subdivision approval guarantee a buildable lot?
No. Check whether the Plat Act and local subdivision requirements apply, including relevant exceptions, then separately check zoning, site conditions, legal access, infrastructure, construction and other requirements. A recorded parcel, PIN or address is not a universal buildability certificate. The existence of an exception from one platting requirement does not exempt the project from everything else.
Does Illinois leave all building codes to local choice?
No. CDB explains statewide baseline frameworks and the distinction between jurisdictions with compliant adopted codes and non-building-code jurisdictions. State plumbing, energy, accessibility and other applicable requirements also need attention. Project type and governing scope matter; no local adoption is not an automatic exemption. The local authority generally administers its required permits for privately funded work, while state and other project categories have their own frameworks.
Does a permit or occupancy certificate prove the whole property complies?
Read the scope of the actual document and the code’s requirements and exceptions. It concerns the specified approved work or occupation, not a blanket warranty of title, every use, environmental condition or private consent. An older property’s missing certificate also does not automatically prove illegality without checking whether one was required for the relevant work or use.
Can a flood map establish that a property cannot flood?
No. FEMA’s official mapping is important for the mapped hazard information and associated requirements, but mapped lower or moderate risk does not mean zero risk. Drainage, elevation, site conditions and other relevant information may matter. A map reading is not an individual insurance, engineering or development determination.
Can one environmental approval replace the others?
Do not assume so. Illinois water-resource permissions, state water-quality certification, federal discharge requirements and local rules can address different aspects of a project. Their actual jurisdiction, exemptions and permit conditions must be checked. This guide does not determine whether a particular wetland, ditch or fill project is federally regulated or qualifies for a general permit.
Can government approval override deed or association restrictions?
Government approval and private instruments are distinct. In the example here, the covenant is expressly assumed valid and enforceable, with no overriding law or waiver. Address that control as well as public requirements. In an actual file, a restriction’s validity, scope, enforcement and statutory limits require their own analysis; recording alone does not prove all of them.
What should a broker verify before describing a proposed use as allowed?
Identify the actual parcel and jurisdiction, current zoning map and text, overlays, relevant existing approvals, the proposed activity and required additional permissions. Separate a verified current fact from a pending application, staff opinion or prediction. Check the applicable decision and review route promptly; no one statewide appeal deadline or outcome is supplied by this page.
What is spot zoning, and is every single-parcel change illegal?
A spot-zoning concern involves a change affecting a limited area and its relationship to the surrounding zoning pattern and comprehensive planning. Size alone does not decide legality. In Thornber v. Village of North Barrington, the court rejected the challenge on the particular ordinance and evidence and explained that not every single-tract reclassification is void. This is not approval of any proposed amendment or a current telecommunications-siting manual.
How do fair-housing accommodations relate to zoning relief?
Applicable fair-housing law can require a necessary reasonable accommodation in rules, policies, practices or services to afford a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. HUD and DOJ discuss its application to state and local land-use decisions. Coverage, necessity, reasonableness and applicable limits require individualized assessment; ordinary property hardship is not automatically the whole test. A requested exception is not automatically approved, and generalized neighborhood opposition does not substitute for the governing standards.
Keep practising
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Put land use into practice
Identify the public power or private restriction before choosing the result.
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Official sources and scope
Reviewed October 26, 2026. The identified Illinois authorities, official agency guidance and published decisions support these distinctions. Local examples are labeled and hypothetical rules are stated in the facts. A source’s amendment date is not a new effective date for every rule, and this guide does not certify an individual parcel’s development rights.
- PSI: national government land-use controls
- Illinois Constitution, article VII: local powers and limits
- Illinois Constitution, article I: due process and property protections
- Cedar Point Nursery: regulation and physical appropriation
- 65 ILCS 5/11-13-1: municipal zoning powers
- 55 ILCS 5/5-12001: county authority and territorial provisions
- 65 ILCS 5/11-12-5: comprehensive planning powers
- Illinois municipal variation frameworks
- 65 ILCS 5/11-13-1.1: special-use requirements
- 65 ILCS 5/11-13-14: zoning amendments
- 65 ILCS 5/11-13-25: specified decisions and review
- Chicago example: nonconforming status and continuation
- Chicago example: public and private controls
- Chicago example: scope of a construction permit
- Chicago example: occupancy requirements and exceptions
- 765 ILCS 205/1: land division and platting exceptions
- CDB: Illinois building-code responsibilities and frameworks
- 20 ILCS 3105/10.18: statewide baseline and local codes
- Illinois DNR: water-resource permit programs
- Illinois EPA: section 401 water-quality certification
- EPA: section 404 permit-program roles
- USGS: locating official flood maps
- NFIP FloodSmart: flood zones and remaining risk
- Chicago example: zoning measurement definitions
- HUD and DOJ: fair housing and land-use decisions
- 42 USC 3604: reasonable accommodations and other covered rights
- Thornber: the particular zoning challenge and its outcome
This is exam preparation, not advice for a specific transaction. State law and the applicable facts control. Our editorial and corrections process explains how to report an issue.