(A) General Intent:
(1) The general purposes of this chapter are as follows:
(a) To secure adequate light, clean air, and safety from fire and other dangers;
(b) To conserve the taxable value of land and buildings throughout the Village;
(c) To lessen or avoid congestion in the public;
(d) To lessen or avoid the hazards to persons and damage to property resulting from the accumulation or runoff of storm or flood waters;
(e) To promote the public health, safety, comfort, morals; and
(f) To ensure and facilitate the preservation of sites, areas, and structures of historical, architectural, and aesthetic importance.
(2) It is the general intent of this chapter to regulate and restrict the use of all structures, lands, and waters so as to:
(a) Regulate and limit the height and bulk of buildings; and
(b) Establish, regulate, and limit the building or setback lines on or along any street, trafficway, drive, parkway, or storm or flood water runoff channel or basin; and
(c) Regulate and limit the intensity of the use of lot areas; and
(d) Regulate and determine the area of open spaces, within and surrounding buildings; and
(e) Classify, regulate, and restrict the location of trades and industries and the location of buildings designed for specified industrial, business, residential, and other uses; and
(f) Divide the entire Municipality into districts of such number, shape, area, and of such different classes (according to use of land and buildings, height and bulk of buildings, intensity of the use of lot area, area of open spaces, or other classification) as may be deemed best suited to carry out the purposes of this chapter; and
(g) Fix standards to which buildings or structures shall conform; and
(h) Prohibit uses, buildings, or structures incompatible with the character of such districts; and
(i) Prevent additions to and alteration or remodeling of existing buildings or structures in such a way as to avoid the restrictions and limitations lawfully imposed under this chapter; and
(j) Regulate or forbid any structure or activity which may hinder access to solar energy necessary for the proper functioning of a solar energy system; and
(k) Gradually eliminate uses, buildings, and structures which are incompatible with the character of the districts in which they are made or located, including, without being limited thereto, provisions for:
1. The elimination of uses of unimproved lands or lot areas when the existing rights of the persons in possession thereof are terminated or when the uses to which they are devoted are discontinued; and
2. The elimination of uses to which such buildings and structures are devoted, if they are adaptable for permitted uses; and
3. The elimination of buildings and structures when they are destroyed or damaged in major part, or when they have reached the age fixed by the Corporate Authorities of the Municipality as the normal useful life of such buildings or structures.
(B) Land Use Patterns: The purposes of this chapter related to land use patterns are to:
(1) Implement those goals and policies of Municipal, County, watershed, or regional Comprehensive Plans or their components adopted by the Village and in general facilitate enforcement of those development standards as set forth in the adopted regional, watershed, County, and Municipal Comprehensive Master Plans, Master Plan, Comprehensive Plan, neighborhood plans, planning district plans, adopted plan components, zoning ordinance, and Building Code of the Village of Lindenhurst, Illinois; and
(2) Establish a rational and orderly pattern of land uses and encourage the most appropriate use of individual parcels of land in the Village; and
(3) Encourage compatibility between different land uses and protect the scale and character of existing development from the encroachment of incompatible uses and land use intensities; and
(4) Regulate and restrict lot coverage and the size and location of all structures so as to prevent overcrowding and to provide adequate sunlight, air, sanitation, and drainage; and
(5) Regulate population density and distribution so as to avoid sprawl or undue concentration and to facilitate the provision of adequate public service and utilities; and
(6) Regulate parking, loading, and access so as to lessen congestion on, and promote the safety and efficiency of, the streets and highways; and
(7) Provide for and protect a variety of suitable residential and nonresidential sites including commercial and industrial sites; and
(8) Provide for the gradual elimination of nonconforming uses that adversely affect the character and value of permitted development; and
(9) Protect the public from harm from the loss of natural resources by encouraging, enhancing, and furthering the wise use, conservation, protection, and proper development of the Village's natural resources including soils, topography and steep slopes, water, flood lands, floodplains, shore buffers, drainageways, wetlands, woodland and forests, wildlife resource features, aesthetic natural amenities; and attain a proper adjustment of land use and development to the supporting and sustaining natural resource base; and
(10) Restrict building sites in areas covered by poor soils or in other areas poorly suited for development due to natural resource features or other characteristics; and
(11) Preserve and protect the beauty of the Village of Lindenhurst, Illinois and environs; and
(12) Secure adequate natural light, clean air, privacy, convenience of access to property, and securing safety from fire, flooding, pollution, contamination, panic, and other dangers.
(C) Public Infrastructure: The purposes of this chapter related to public infrastructure are to:
(1) Facilitate the most efficient use of existing and planned public facilities and utilities; and
(2) Protect existing public facilities and utilities from being overloaded due to excess development or development incompatible with the capabilities of the Village's utility systems; and
(3) Protect and enhance a pattern of interconnected streets and highways that is unified, integrated, safe, effective, and efficient; and
(4) Protect the traffic carrying capacity of existing and proposed arterial streets, highways, and collector streets; and
(5) Reduce congestion and promote safety on streets and highways by limiting traffic generation through the control of land use intensity and location; and
(6) Facilitate adequate provision for transportation, water supply, stormwater, wastewater, schools, parks, playgrounds, and other public facilities and services; and
(7) Avoid or lessen the hazards of flooding and stormwater accumulation and runoff.
(D) Justifiable Expectations And Taxable Value: The purposes of this chapter related to justifiable expectations and taxable value are to:
(1) Protect and respect the justifiable reliance of existing residents, business people, and taxpayers on the continuation of existing, established land use patterns; and
(2) Protect and enhance the taxable value of land and buildings, including among other things the value and use of publicly owned land and buildings; and
(3) Stabilize and protect existing and potential property values.
(E) Administration: The purposes of this chapter related to administration are to:
(1) Provide for the administration and enforcement of this chapter; and
(2) Define the powers and duties of administrative officers and bodies necessary to administer this chapter; and
(3) Establish procedures for the efficient and effective use of the provisions of this chapter; and
(4) Establish standards for the review of applications filed pursuant to this chapter; and
(5) Prescribe penalties for the violation of the provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 17-2-2065, passed 2-27-2017)