Any advantages of living in an unincorporated township? (Joliet, Northlake: insurance, house)

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by emoeskaite

So generally speaking, if you live in an unincorporated area you have more freedom (burning leaves, parking your RV on the yard, having chickens etc). Probably you also don't need buildng permits to do any remodeling. This may be a pain when living in a municipality because some of them require permits for every simple construction job. You also pay lower taxes. But on the other hand you don't have that many conveniences, like sewer system or even running water, many police car patroling the neighborhood etc. Therefore there are good and bad sides of living like that.

If you live in a part of Cook, Lake, DuPage, Will or other counties in Illinois you ABSOLUTELY need a building permit. If you start modifying your home without a permit you will almost certainly have a "Stop Worl" notice posted and the deputies of the Sherif's Police can enforce it by arresting those DIY or professionals that violate it...

This is NOT an advantage as the SPEED of pretty much all municipalities to review / approve building permits is FAR faster than the county.

You get what you pay for...

btw There is a HUGE range of what some folks consider "freedom" and what others would call utter lack of supervision -- Was Autumn Pasquale Killed Over a Bicycle? Teen Brothers Charged - The Daily Beast

[pvande55]

I believe you still need building permits. In Illinois, jurisidiction of unincorporated areas defaults to the County. That means you have to go to the County building department to apply, which is usually further than the City Hall would be.

[solarballoon]

I was told by farmers in Kendall and Kane counties that they were pretty much ignored when it came to putting up new outbuildings. Do those that are living on agricultural land in unincorporated areas--and are actively pursuing agricultural activities--get a lot more leeway from the county officials?

Also, what is the difference between having a ag-zoned lone within village limits versus being in an unincorporated area? I see that Geneva has a couple of plots of land that fall into this category.

[gardener34]

"Probably you also don't need buildng permits to do any remodeling. " WRONG, you just have to deal with things at the county level now. Which I don't know if it is worse than doing anything at a town level. You have county sheriff instead of town police. Well and Septic mainly. Which is fine, but some cheapskates don't like to have theirs maintained which means in springtime (lots of rain) you can drive around the hood and know who has a bad field This is not enforced, but eventually a bad septic will completely stop working which means you will have to get it fixed. That is expensive and you have to jump through county inspections too which dealing with the county is a major PITB.
You have to contract out for your own garbage, which is actually nice, you can use whatever companies serve the area. BUT, you do NOT get leaf pickup. You have to deal with your own leaves, but mostly you can burn.
Which is OK, but again, someone said it is more wooded. Lots of leaves on those trees, and dealing with them can be a huge undertaking, again no leaf pick up remember? Also trees die, fall down, which means they fall on power lines, etc. I could have put our child through college on what we have paid to have trees taken down. We have had to have more than a dozen removed and it is expensive. (our next lot will have very few trees)
You have to check out the zoning specific to the county level. Make sure you can "deal with" whatever might come your way in an unincorporated area because just about anything goes. Which means that a j*ck*** can move his pen with his 15 roosters 5 feet away from your lot line and you won't be able to do anything about it.
Normal health code violations, that attract rats, etc... are covered under county health code though. And most metro counties now have noise ordinances and blight ordinances to prevent inoperable and junk yards from starting up.
Also, because it is more secluded I have noticed, at least in our area, that it attracts more people that do not want attention called to them, i.e. illegal activities. It may take a while for the sheriff to respond as budgets are cut, if it is non-emergency, they may be on the far side of the county.
As for outbuildings, in Kane county, if you are on a farm I guess they would be OK with you. In town, they are like stink on a diaper. They are very particular and very picky and many contractors we talked to did not like to take jobs in Kane because of it. No Pole barns are allowed in Kane county Zone F subdivision lots.
There are lots of Zoned F subdivisions in St Charles township. Which means they are just like a regular subdivision with houses on large-ish lots but they can be treated just like a regular Farm with livestock and all that as long as you have a half acre and keep the livestock pens 5 feet from a lot line and any livestock pen has to be 100 ft away from a residence (other than your own). They are very lax with the livestock rule here in Zoned F.
Even though they are very particular about how many outbuildings (max of 2), their SF, no pole barns (supposedly some nonsense about snow load we were told)... and your taxes will not be less because you are zoned F (Farm) as you are not using your lot as "agricultural"..
YES, this is as all as messed up as it sounds. Don't know if other counties are like this, but before you buy in an unincorporated area check out your zoning CAREFULLY!! Make calls to the county and make them check out the lot you are going to purchase before you put an offer down.
Also have your septic field inspected as these can be neglected and as I stated before can be expensive to replace (thousands). Because if you replace a septic field or a well, it has to comply with new rules and the well has to be a certain foot away from the septic (for obvious reasons) I think 75 feet here, which means you may be tearing up your whole yard to comply.

[Brssplr]

Originally Posted by middle-aged mom

Generally speaking:

Lots are larger
You can usually burn leaves
Your neighbor could park 27 beaters on his front lawn
Property taxes are cheaper than a corporated area. Given the lion's share of our property taxes go to schools, the tax benefit trends insignificant
Police, Fire Protection, street maintenance, snow plowing and garbage removal may differ from an incorporated area
You will pay non resident rates to use some services in parks in incorporated areas
Not all neighborhoods within unincorporated areas are alike
Those who live in unincorporated areas tend to place a strong emphasis on privacy

Townships frequently have fire departments which are combined paid-volunteer, if not all volunteer. This is certainly not always the case, but if it is, it might affect your home insurance rates.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by emoeskaite

Are there any good sides of buying a house in an unincorporated area? I mean for instance Leyden Township or Norwood Park Township. These are small areas adjacent to the City of Chicago which are not part of any municipality, they are governed by the township which is subordinated to the county.

I think you misunderstand townships in Illinois, particularly in Cook County. They often overlap incorporated areas. There is no part of Norwood Park township that is not in some incorporated area, namely Harwood Heights, Norridge, or Park Ridge. Leyden Township also overlaps several incorporated cities/towns/villages including Park Ridge, Franklin Park, Schiller Park, River Gorve, Northlake, Elmwood Park, and probably some others.

[Brssplr]

Originally Posted by Drover

I think you misunderstand townships in Illinois, particularly in Cook County. They often overlap incorporated areas. There is no part of Norwood Park township that is not in some incorporated area, namely Harwood Heights, Norridge, or Park Ridge. Leyden Township also overlaps several incorporated cities/towns/villages including Park Ridge, Franklin Park, Schiller Park, River Gorve, Northlake, Elmwood Park, and probably some others.

Okay, point well taken. When I think of townships, I think of unincorporated areas. I wouldn't refer to a city or part of it as being a township. I think of the township as being the basic governmental unit when there is no city, town, or village on top of it to assume responsibility for the public services. I didn't know there were any townships left in Cook County that actually levied taxes and provided services to their residents.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Brssplr

Okay, point well taken. When I think of townships, I think of unincorporated areas. I wouldn't refer to a city or part of it as being a township. I think of the township as being the basic governmental unit when there is no city, town, or village on top of it to assume responsibility for the public services. I didn't know there were any townships left in Cook County that actually levied taxes and provided services to their residents.

Some of them do still provide basic social services and utilities like water even when they overlap incorpororated areas, but the scope of their power and services is very limited.

[Resident in Leyden twshp]

I live in an unincorporated area (Leyden Township) and we love it!! We are in a beautiful community and our neighbors all look out for each other. Yes, we can have bonfires and burn leaves when we want to. I see the cook county police cars always driving around our area and it is safe. There is a negative and a positive to not having sidewalks, I don't have to shovel them! Our street is ALWAYS plowed first thing after a snowfall. Never has it gone without being plowed. We do not have wells or septics. We get our water like everyone else, from Lake Michigan. We use the surronding libraries and parks and do not pay anything extra. Every town has their positive and negatives!

[gardener34]

I have to say, our snow removel here in St. Charles township is STELLAR. Much better than anything I have experienced living in Cook, or Dupage prior to this.