ADU Pass
Arlington
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Arlington, Bureau County, Illinois navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 1 ZIP code.
Map
ADU details
ADU legality: unclear
Illinois leaves ADU regulation to local municipalities under home-rule or Dillon-rule authority. Arlington permits ADUs subject to local conditions per its zoning ordinance.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 150 | $2,400 | $41,250 | $43,650 |
| 600 | 600 | $2,400 | $165,000 | $167,400 |
| midpoint | 525 | $2,400 | $144,375 | $146,775 |
| maximum | 900 | $2,400 | $247,500 | $249,900 |
Fee breakdown (as of 2026-04)
Permitting process
- Confirm Bureau County jurisdiction over Arlington (~1d)
Arlington is a small village (pop. ~165 per Census) in Bureau County and does not maintain its own municipal building or zoning department. Per the Bureau County Planning & Zoning Department's published list of Municipal Zoning Agencies, Arlington falls entirely under the County Zoning Ordinance for both planning and building authority. All ADU work routes through the County office in Princeton. - Pre-application zoning consultation in Princeton (~7d)
Schedule a sit-down with Bureau County Planning & Zoning at 700 South Main Street, Room B-5, Princeton (Mon-Fri 8:00-4:00). For an Arlington parcel the staff will identify zoning district (typically R-1 / A-1 around the village edge), confirm whether the ADU is allowed by right, by special use, or only via variance, and identify floodplain status given the proximity of Big Bureau Creek tributaries. - Submit Zoning Application + Building Permit Application (~1d)
Two paper-form package: Zoning_Application.pdf and Building_Permit_Application.pdf, both downloaded from bureaucounty-il.gov and submitted by mail or in person to Room B-5. Plat of survey, plot plan showing setbacks, structural sketch, septic/well documentation if outside Arlington's small water-service area. No online portal. - If Special Use: Zoning Board of Appeals public hearing (~56d)
Where the ADU is not a permitted accessory use in the underlying district, the application is forwarded to the Bureau County Zoning Board of Appeals. Notice published in the Bureau County Republican, abutters notified by mail, hearing held at the County Courthouse. ZBA recommendation forwarded to County Board for final action. - Plan review against IRC 2021 (Illinois amendments) and County Zoning Ordinance (~21d)
County zoning officer reviews dimensional compliance; building review against IRC 2021 with Illinois state amendments (no residential sprinkler mandate). Septic permit goes through Bureau County Health Department on parcels not on village water/sewer. - Pay County fee schedule, receive permit (~3d)
Bureau County publishes a single Fee_Schedule.pdf covering both zoning and building actions. Permit packet picked up in Princeton or mailed. - Inspections by County Building Inspector
Footing, foundation, framing/rough-ins, insulation, final. Inspector drives the Arlington circuit on scheduled days; rural travel time means inspections are typically batched 1-2 weeks out. - Final approval / Certificate of Compliance (~5d)
Final inspection sign-off triggers Certificate of Compliance issued by County. Arlington has no separate village CO process.
Viability (permitted uses)
- Long-term rental: yes Long-term rental of ADU generally permitted; landlord-tenant law and any city rental-registration ordinance apply.
- Short-term rental: with-restrictions STR rules vary by city. Arlington regulates STRs separately from ADU permitting; check local STR ordinance and HOA covenants.
- Office rental: with-restrictions Detached office rental requires home occupation permit or rezoning.
- Home office: yes Home occupation permitted with restrictions on signage and customer traffic.
- Studio / workshop: yes Personal artist studio is a permitted accessory use.
- Agriculture: with-restrictions Limited urban agriculture permitted in residential zones; livestock varies by district.
- Relative support: yes Family-occupancy ADU explicitly permitted in single-family zones.
Contacts
Staff: Bureau County Zoning Office (Permit intake, plan review, inspections), Bureau County Zoning Board of Appeals (Special Use / variance hearings), Bureau County Health Department (Septic / well permits for parcels off Arlington water-sewer)
Utilities
- Water: Arlington Water Utility · 30d connect · $4,500
- Sewer: Arlington Sewer / Wastewater · 30d connect · $5,500
- Electric: Arlington Electric Utility · 21d connect · $1,800
- Gas: Arlington Gas Utility · 30d connect · $1,500
Property values & taxes
Construction timeline
Realistic total: best 7mo · typical 10mo · worst 16mo
Financing
State ADU loans:
Insurance impact
HOA prevalence & preemption
Illinois has no HOA-ADU preemption; HOA covenants restricting ADUs are enforceable.
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Amendment
- Amendment
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: Bureau County Zoning Ordinance (governing Arlington under non-municipal-zoning rule), adopted 1972-08-08, last amended 2024-08-01
- 1972-08-08 — Bureau County Zoning Ordinance adopted by County Board (predecessor to current code) (county-ordinance)
Bureau County established a unified countywide zoning ordinance covering unincorporated areas and all incorporated municipalities that did not adopt their own zoning - Arlington among them.
Effect: Locked Arlington into county-jurisdiction zoning permanently; the village has never created its own building or zoning department, so accessory-dwelling questions sit at the County Office in Princeton. - 2024-02-15 — Illinois HB 4439 (statewide ADU enabling act) introduced (state-law)
Illinois HB 4439 would mandate by-right ADUs statewide, similar to the 2024 Rhode Island H 7062 model. As of the 103rd General Assembly the bill remained in committee.
Effect: If enacted in a future session would preempt Bureau County's discretionary Special Use route for ADUs in Arlington and shift the workflow to ministerial review. Until then, Bureau County's existing zoning categories control. - 2024-07-01 — Bureau County refreshed Forms & Applications package (Building Permit, Zoning Application, Fee Schedule) (county-ordinance)
County re-published the Building_Permit_Application.pdf and Zoning_Application.pdf forms in July 2024 with a refreshed Fee_Schedule.pdf in August 2024; these are the live forms for any Arlington ADU work.
Effect: Establishes the current paper-form pathway. No online intake portal exists at the county level; applications are submitted in person or by mail to Princeton.
Illinois state — ADU law and programs
State financing programs
Illinois does not operate an ADU-specific statewide loan, grant, or forgivable-loan program. The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) is the state's housing finance agency and administers a robust portfolio of homebuyer products: Access Forgivable, Access Deferred, Access Repayable down-payment-assistance variants, the IHDA Mortgage first-mortgage product, and the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit allocation. The 2025 IHDA Access Home program offers DPA equal to 6% of purchase price up to $15,000. None target ADU construction directly; an ADU-bearing primary residence on an Illinois lot can qualify for the underlying mortgage when other criteria are met.
Federal (United States) — ADU-relevant rules and programs
Federal ADU law
The United States has no federal statute that directly regulates accessory dwelling unit entitlement or design. Land-use authority over ADUs resides with states and local governments under the traditional police power. Federal engagement is limited to financing (Fannie/Freddie/FHA/VA/USDA), flood insurance (FEMA/NFIP), and discretionary housing programs (HUD), which are recorded in sibling sections of this file.
Federal financing programs
Federal housing-finance agencies and GSEs set nationwide underwriting rules that govern whether an ADU can be financed, appraised, and counted toward mortgage qualifying income. The relevant actors are Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA (HUD), VA, and USDA Rural Development.
Federal tax credits
There is no ADU-specific federal tax credit. ADUs may incidentally qualify for existing federal energy-efficiency and clean-energy tax credits when the ADU construction includes qualifying measures.
Federal housing programs
HUD administers several discretionary programs that can fund ADU-related activity at the grantee's election, but none is an ADU-specific program.
ZIP Code
- 61312
Post Office
- 203 E Railroad Ave, 61312