§ 1.03. Purpose.

The primary purpose of this zoning ordinance is to implement the goals, objectives, recommendations and policies of the DeKalb County Unified Comprehensive Plan. To this end, this ordinance sets forth regulations that control the use of land, buildings and structures in unincorporated DeKalb County in order to promote public safety, health and general welfare of the citizens.

These regulations are specifically designed to:

A.

Secure adequate natural light, pure air, and safety from fire and other dangers, and adequate access to property, for residents of DeKalb County;

B.

Divide the county into zones or districts regulating and restricting therein the location and use of building, structures and land for residence, business, manufacturing and other specified purposes;

C.

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

D.

Regulate the intensity of use of lot areas, and determine the area of open spaces surrounding buildings, necessary to provide adequate light and air and to protect the public health;

E.

Establish building lines and the location of buildings designed for agricultural, residential, business, and manufacturing or other uses within such areas;

F.

Fix reasonable standards to which buildings or structures shall conform therein;

G.

Prohibit uses, buildings or structures incompatible with the character of development or intended uses within specified zoning districts;

H.

Limit congestion in the public streets and protect the public health, safety, convenience and general welfare by providing for the off-street parking of motor vehicles and the loading of commercial vehicles;

I.

Protect against fire, explosion, noxious fumes, and other hazards in the interest of the public health, safety, comfort and general welfare.

J.

Prevent the overcrowding of land and undue concentration of structures, so far as is possible and appropriate in each district, by regulating the use and bulk of buildings in relation to the land surrounding them;

K.

Conserve and enhance the taxable value of land and buildings throughout the county;

L.

Provide for the gradual elimination of non-conforming uses of land, buildings and structures that are adversely affecting the character and value of desirable development in each district;

M.

Prevent additions or alterations or remodeling of existing buildings or structures in such a way as to avoid the restrictions and limitations lawfully imposed herein;

N.

Facilitate and insure the preservation of sites, areas and structures of historical, architectural and aesthetic importance;

O.

Define and limit the powers and duties of the administrative officers and bodies provided herein;

P.

Enhance aesthetic values within the county;

Q.

Protect the character and the social and economic stability of all parts of the county and to encourage the orderly and beneficial development of the community through appropriate growth management techniques to assure the proper timing and sequencing of development and to protect environmentally critical areas and prime farmland from premature development;

R.

Guide public and private policy and action in order to provide adequate and efficient transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks, playgrounds, recreation, and other public requirements and facilities;

S.

Provide the most beneficial relationship between the uses of land and buildings and the circulation of traffic throughout the county, having a particular regard to the avoidance of congestion in the streets and highways and the pedestrian traffic movements appropriate to the various uses of land and buildings, and to provide for proper location of building lines;

T.

Preserve the natural beauty and topography of DeKalb County and to ensure appropriate development with regard to these natural features;

U.

Preserve the character and quality of county neighborhoods by maintaining the integrity of those areas which have a discernible character and are harmonious in design;

V.

Prescribe penalties for the violation of and methods for the enforcement of the provisions of this ordinance or any amendment thereto;

W.

Prevent unwise developments from increasing the flood or drainage hazards to others, protect new building and major improvements to building from flood damage, protect human life and health from the hazards of flooding, lessen the burden on the taxpayer for flood control projects, repairs to flood-damaged public facilities and utilities and flood rescue and relief operations, maintain property values and a stable tax base by minimizing the potential for creating flood-blighted areas, and make federally subsidized flood insurance available for property in the county by fulfilling the requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program;

X.

Assure that lands best suited for pursuit of agriculture are protected from the encroachment of urban and suburban type residential and business developments in order to promote more efficient use of the increasingly reduced area of land in agricultural uses as the result of expanding growth and development; and

Y.

Assure that development within the county occurs in such a fashion as to minimize conflict between agriculture and other land uses, and the enforcement of any rule, regulation or ordinance is consistent with Illinois State Laws as set forth in Illinois Compiled Statutes, Chapter 505, Agriculture.