Planning & Zoning Commission Applications

The following is a list of applications required for consideration by the Planning & Zoning Commission with final approval by the City Council. Applications are due before the 1st of the month in order to be placed on the agenda for the following month. Applicants are asked to provide as much detailed information as possible in their answers to questions posed. Each application has its own set of submission requirements which you will find in each application.

SAVE THE APPLICATION(S) TO YOUR DESKTOP BEFORE FILLING OUT THE APPLICATION(S).

  • Conditional Use Permit Application (PDF) - A Conditional Use Permit is granted to a property owner to make use of his/her property in a manner allowed under current City of Waukegan zoning regulations, but only in accordance with conditions to be recommended by the Planning & Zoning Commission. A contractor's yard may be allowed in areas zoned for industrial use, but the applicant may be required to obtain a conditional use permit that can be predicated on lot size, off-street parking availability, screening, lighting, noises, and other such factors determined on a case-by-case basis. This is not the same as a variance, in which the property owner is given permission to use the property in a manner inconsistent with current zoning regulations.
  • Consolidation (of Lots) Application (PDF) - This application is utilized when the property owner seeks to have two or more adjoining lots combined into one lot. This may be requested to make a nonconforming lot conforming, for example.
  • Downtown/Lakefront Overlay Application (PDF) - This application is for projects in excess of 10,000 square feet, whether single buildings or multiple building developments, located within the downtown or lakefront redevelopment area overlay district. The application is developed in accordance with the City of Waukegan Zoning Ordinance, the Waukegan Downtown/Lakefront Master Plan A 21st Century Vision for Waukegan's Downtown and Lakefront, the Waukegan Downtown/Lakefront Design Guidelines, and Waukegan's Comprehensive Plan. It is used as a tool to ensure compliance with the requirements of those documents, and to provide reviewers with the necessary information to determine whether the project will be appropriate for the proposed site.
  • Map Amendment (Rezoning) Application (PDF) - A Map Amendment (or rezoning) is the action a property owner seeks to change the designation of a subject parcel or group of parcels on the official Zoning Map. The effect of a map amendment, or rezoning, is to change the permitted uses for the affected parcel(s), such as changing the property from residential use to commercial use.
  • Planned Development Application (PDF) - A "Planned Development" is a parcel of land or contiguous parcels of land of a size sufficient to create its own environment, controlled by a single landowner or by a group of landowners in common agreement as to control, to be developed as a single entity, the environment of which is compatible with adjacent parcels, and the intent of the zoning district or districts in which it is located; the developer or developers may be granted relief from specific land use regulations and design standards and may be awarded certain premiums in return for assurances of an overall quality of development, including any specific features which will be of exceptional benefit to the community as a whole.
  • Residential Cluster Development Application (PDF) - A residential cluster development is a residential development approved only as a conditional use in which the established district yards and frontage requirements are waived in order to permit the varied design residential living environments and increases in the minimum bulk requirements as they apply to individual lots provided the yards at the exterior perimeter of the development are not reduced below the minimums required for the district, the density is not increased above the maximum allowed in the district, and all other applicable requirements are met.
  • Site Plan Approval Application (PDF) - This application is required for all new construction proposed within the Western Gateway Redevelopment Overlay District (Fountain Square), the McGaw Business Center Overlay District, and any other area designated by ordinance.
  • Subdivision Application (PDF) - This application shall be prepared any time that a parcel of land is divided into two (2) or more lots of any size. However, the division of land into parcels or tracts no smaller than five (5) acres in area and not involving any new streets or easements of access shall not constitute a "subdivision" if no new streets are created.
  • Subdivision (Minor) Application (PDF) - A "minor subdivision" is a subdivision or division of land which is proposed to be created by one of four methods. This type of subdivision is approved administratively and is not subject to a public hearing by the Planning & Zoning Commission. Confirm with the Planning & Zoning Department to see if you qualify for this minor subdivision process.
  • Telecommunications Conditional Use Permit Application (PDF) - This type of application is required for all cellular towers and antennae which are proposed anywhere in the City. Antennae which are co-located on an existing tower and do not exceed the overall height of the existing tower do not need to fill out this application. Only a building permit is required.
  • Text Amendment Application (PDF) - A text amendment changes the written provisions of the regulations contained in the Zoning Ordinance. From time to time, provisions of the Zoning Ordinance may need to be updated or changed in order better serve the needs of the City and its residents. In those cases, the text of the Zoning Ordinance may need to be changed, deleted or revised. In most cases, the City is the initiator of this process, but occasionally a residential, institutional or commercial applicant initiates the process for the change in text to the Zoning Ordinance.
  • Vacation Application (PDF) - A "vacation" is the complete or partial abandonment or termination of the public right to use a street, alley, or public service easement. The owners of an interest in any real property abutting any public street or alley who may desire to vacate the street or alley, or any part thereof, may request such a vacation through this application.
  • Variance Application (PDF) - A variance is the process by which an applicant can request a deviation from the Zoning Ordinance. There are a set of standards for variances and the applicant must demonstrate a hardship, which he/she has not created.