The Urbana Zoning Ordinance is one of the main tools the City uses to regulate development. Each property within the City is assigned to one of the 21 residential, commercial, or industrial zoning districts. There is a Zoning Description Sheet for each Zoning District in the City of Urbana. Each Description Sheet states the intention of the district, uses that are permitted by right, uses that are allowed with approval of a Special Use Permit, uses that are allowed with approval of a Planned Unit Development, uses that are allowed with approval of a Conditional Use Permit, as well as noting the development regulations for the district.
The Official Zoning Map depicts the current zoning for every property in the City.
Amendments to the Zoning Ordinance and Zoning Map
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Map Amendment - Property owners may request that their property be rezoned to another zoning district.
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Text Amendment - Occasionally, the City Council adopts an ordinance to amend text in the Zoning Ordinance. Such text amendments may include new regulations, clarifications, and/or deletions of existing regulations.
Staff review these requests to determine if they are consistent with the goals and policies outlined in the City's current Comprehensive Plan. The request is then reviewed by the Urbana Plan Commission and the Urbana City Council.
APPLICATION
The Application for Zoning Map Amendment and the Application for Zoning Text Amendment are available on the CitizenServe portal, which is an online program that allows applicants to submit applications and pay application fees online.
A digital pdf of the Application for Zoning Map Amendment and the Application for Zoning Text Amendment are available below. You can save the application to your computer and fill in the information requested. You can either submit the application (including the application fee) in person, mail it to our office (City of Urbana | Planning Division, 400 South Vine Street, Urbana, IL 61801), or email it to Planning [at] UrbanaIL.gov (Planning[at]UrbanaIL[dot]gov).
Note: If additional space is needed, please provide answer(s) on separate sheet of paper.
FEES
Application
The application fee must accompany the application when submitted for processing. For the current fee, please refer to the most recent version of the City’s Schedule of Fees - Excluding Liquor License Fees for processing.
Legal Ad
The Applicant is responsible for paying the cost for a legal ad in the News-Gazette. The News-Gazette will bill the applicant directly.
Zoning Verification Letter Request
There are two types of Zoning Verification Letter requests. They are as follows:
- Simple - Letter stating only the zoning of a specific property. There is no fee for this type of request.
- Detailed - Letter stating the zoning, land use, and any other information requested by the applicant. There is a fee associated with this type of request.
APPLICATION
The Zoning Verification Letter Request is available on the CitizenServe portal, which is an online program that allows applicants to submit applications and pay application fees online.
FEES
Application
The application fee must accompany the application when submitted for processing. For the current fee, please refer to the most recent version of the City’s Schedule of Fees - Excluding Liquor License Fees.
PROCESSING TIME
It can take up to 14 business days after a request has been submitted for Planning staff to research and create a Zoning Verification Letter.
ASSISTANCE
It is strongly recommended and sometimes required to have a phone conversation or meeting with Planning staff (depending on the type of application) prior to an application being submitted. This is an opportunity to find out what regulations and requirements are expected to be met and followed. This includes what application(s) you will be required to apply and get approval for. City staff will inform you what the process and time frame will be for getting application(s) for your intended plans reviewed and hopefully approved.
If, when you are filling out a Planning | Zoning application, you have questions or require assistance, please contact the Planning Division staff by email at Planning [at] urbanail.gov (Planning[at]UrbanaIL[dot]gov) or by calling 217.384.2440.
LINKS TO RELATED WEBPAGES
Articles of the Urbana Zoning Ordinance
Zoning District Description Sheets
Urbana Zoning Map (The Urbana zoning layer is accessible by selecting "Additional Overlay Layers" and then "Urbana Zoning.”)