ADU Pass
Franklin
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Franklin, Morgan County, Illinois navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 1 ZIP code.
Map
ADU details
ADU legality: unclear
Franklin's small size (~250 households) means the village does not maintain a building department or formal zoning code online. New residential construction historically occurs through direct conversation with the Village Board; ADU work would typically be characterized as a 'remodel' or 'addition' on an existing single-family home rather than a separate dwelling-unit category. Any septic-system change requires Morgan County Health Department permit. Owner-occupant precedent is the working assumption for any second-unit conversion.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 280 | $380 | $50,400 | $50,780 |
| 600 | 600 | $720 | $144,000 | $144,720 |
| midpoint | 500 | $580 | $110,000 | $110,580 |
| maximum | 800 | $950 | $208,000 | $208,950 |
Fee breakdown (as of 2026-04)
Permitting process
- Phone the Village Clerk - 217-675-2322 (~3d)
Franklin has no website portal or counter. The Village Clerk at 112 Main Street fields all building inquiries. Confirm whether the Village Board considers the work a permitted addition to existing dwelling, a second dwelling unit, or simply requires no village action. - Morgan County Health Department septic capacity review (~14d)
Mandatory if proposing any additional fixtures or bedrooms. Health Dept reviews Illinois Plumbing Code (77 Ill Adm Code 890) and IL Private Sewage Disposal Code requirements; reserves authority over leachfield sizing. - IRC building plan review (contracted reviewer or county building inspector) (~21d)
Franklin contracts plan review with a third-party (B&F Construction Code Services or similar) or via Morgan County. Plans must be IRC 2021 with Illinois amendments compliant; engineered seal required for lateral framing on tornado-zone parcels. - Village Board agenda placement (informal) (~14d)
Larger projects may be informally placed on the next monthly Village Board agenda for owner courtesy disclosure. No formal CUP or special-use permit process exists in code. - Receive permit / hookup approval (~5d)
Village Clerk issues a hookup-approval letter for water and any village utility tie-in. Building inspection authority delegated to contracted reviewer. - Construction inspections
Footing, framing, plumbing rough-in (Illinois Department of Public Health certified plumber required), electrical, final. Inspections by contracted reviewer; Health Dept inspects septic before backfill. - Final approval / occupancy (~5d)
Final inspection sign-off allows occupancy. No formal Certificate of Occupancy issued by the Village; final inspection card serves the function.
Viability (permitted uses)
- Long-term rental: yes (Default Illinois landlord-tenant law (765 ILCS 705)) Long-term rental permitted; no village rental-registration ordinance found.
- Short-term rental: unclear (No Franklin STR ordinance) Practical view: Franklin has near-zero STR market (no tourist draw beyond a Beardstown-route waypoint). State + county taxes apply if booked through platforms.
- No village STR registration program
- Illinois Hotel Operators Occupation Tax may apply (state)
- Morgan County tourism tax on lodging applies
- Office rental: with-restrictions Home-occupation use is informally accepted; commercial tenancy of detached unit would be unusual and might require Village Board courtesy.
- Home office: yes Home occupation is the dominant historical use of accessory structures in Franklin (workshops, hobby garages); no village-level signage or traffic limit codified.
- Studio / workshop: yes Personal artist/workshop is fully customary on Franklin parcels.
- Agriculture: yes Franklin is surrounded by Morgan County row-crop / livestock farmland; backyard chickens, small-scale livestock allowed by long-standing village practice. Many lots already used for hobby farming.
- Relative support: yes Multigenerational ADU is the dominant use case in Franklin's age-skewed population; no village restriction.
Incentives
- USDA Rural Development Section 504 (Single-Family Housing Repair) — Franklin meets USDA rural eligibility (population under 35K). Section 504 loans up to $40K at 1% for very-low-income owner-occupants; grants up to $10K for 62+ residents. Can fund accessibility ADU conversions.
Contacts
Staff: Morgan County Health Department - Environmental Health (Septic / private water permits), Morgan County Building / Subdivision Office (Jacksonville) (Unincorporated-area building permits and subdivision review)
Utilities
- Water: Village of Franklin Municipal Water (Mahomet Aquifer wells) · 14d connect · $1,800
- Sewer: Onsite septic (no village sewer system; Morgan County Health regulates) · 21d connect · $9,500
- Electric: Ameren Illinois · 30d connect · $1,700
- Gas: Ameren Illinois (natural gas) or propane via local supplier · 30d connect · $1,300
Property values & taxes
Market rent by ADU size
| Sq ft | Rent |
|---|---|
| 280 | $525/mo |
| 500 | $695/mo |
| 800 | $880/mo |
Construction timeline
Realistic total: best 9mo · typical 14mo · worst 22mo
Rural-village logistics: GC must travel from Jacksonville or Springfield, weather windows tight (April-October framing season), small-batch supply runs to Beardstown or Springfield Menards. Worst-case extends through Illinois winter shutdown.
Modular pathway Illinois Manufactured Building Program (Capital Development Board) · inspectors are occasional with modular · 1 modular permits (last 24mo)
US-67 / IL-104 truck route adequate for 14-ft modules; rural alleys behind original-plat lots may not accept crane setup - some rear-yard delivery requires removal of fence sections.
Financing
State ADU loans:
- USDA Section 502 Direct Single-Family Housing Loan (USDA Rural Development)
- USDA Section 504 Repair Loan/Grant (USDA Rural Development) up to $40,000
- IHDA Smart Move Mortgage (Illinois Housing Development Authority)
Insurance impact
Tornado/hail exposure is the dominant carrier concern in central IL. Carriers: State Farm, COUNTRY Financial (Bloomington-based), Farm Bureau Mutual.
HOA prevalence & preemption
Franklin has zero HOA-governed parcels. All lots are fee-simple platted village blocks dating to the original 1832 plat.
Regulatory overlays (2)
- tornado-zone — Central Illinois Tornado Alley northern reach; Morgan County average 1.4 tornadoes/decade per NWS Lincoln IL records · +3% cost
Continuous load path hardware (Simpson Strong-Tie) recommended; ICC 500 storm shelter optional but locally encouraged. No Franklin code mandate. (map) - agricultural-overlay — Morgan County Right-to-Farm provisions surround Franklin on all sides
ADU dwellers should expect agricultural noise/odor (combine harvest, livestock operations) on adjacent unincorporated parcels; Right-to-Farm shields neighboring ag operations from nuisance suits. (map)
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Illinois Plumbing Code (77 Ill Adm Code 890) — Mandatory; supersedes IPC. Only IDPH-licensed plumbers can perform work.
- Illinois Private Sewage Disposal Licensing Act and Code — Mandatory for septic ADU additions; Morgan County Health implements.
- Illinois state amendment to IRC R313 - residential sprinkler removed — No residential fire sprinkler mandate.
Contractor market (aggregate)
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: Village of Franklin Code of Ordinances (online index incomplete), adopted 1832-01-01, last amended 2024-01-01
- 1832-01-01 — Village of Franklin founded (other)
Franklin platted in 1832 along the Beardstown-Springfield wagon road; named for Benjamin Franklin.
Effect: Original village plat established lot and block geometry that still governs most parcels today; lot widths typically 60-80 ft on alley-served blocks favorable to rear coach-house redevelopment if village adopts an ADU framework. - 1969-01-01 — Illinois Municipal Code (65 ILCS 5/) recodification (state-law)
Recodified non-home-rule village zoning powers under 65 ILCS 5/Article 11.
Effect: Confirmed that Franklin (population well below 25,000 home-rule threshold) operates under enumerated state powers; cannot exceed state-permitted zoning categories. - 2024-01-01 — Village of Franklin tax levy ordinance 2024 (city-ordinance)
Annual tax levy ordinance among posted village ordinances; representative of routine village business.
Effect: Provides budget context: Franklin's general-fund property-tax revenue funds the part-time Village Clerk and Mayor; no dedicated planning or building department.
Known issues (1)
- documentation-gap (since 2024-06) — Property owners cannot verify ADU rules through the village website; must phone the clerk. Title-search and lender questions sometimes delayed. (source)
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
- 62638
Post Office
- 312 Wyatt Ave, 62638