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Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Court Upholds County's Interpretation of Zoning Code


Tipton, the owner of property in unincorporated Madison County zoned for agricultural use, built a pole barn on his property. He obtained a permit to construct the barn, but the County issued a stop work order when it learned that he was using the barn to store equipment for his off-site concrete construction business and not farm equipment. He then applied for a rezoning of his property to a business district, but the rezoning was denied. Tipton then sued the County, asking the court to reverse the zoning denial or declare that his proposed use of the barn for construction equipment was lawful. The circuit court ruled in favor of the county, and Tipton appealed. 

The appellate court rejected Tipton's argument that the equipment he sought to store on the property was "substantially identical" to the equipment found on a farm, finding that the uses were not the same since Tipton would be hauling heavy equipment to and from work sites. In addition, the area surrounding Tipton's property was trending towards residential development, giving additional support to the county's denial of the use and rezoning. Tipton v. Madison County, 2015 IL App (5th) 140186.

Post Authored by Julie Tappendorf, Ancel Glink

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