Buffalo Grove Commercial Real Estate

Limited retail district: retail stores and services dealing directly with consumers, plus business and professional offices, with dwelling units allowed only above the ground floor. Maximum FAR 0.5; minimum lot 10,000 sq ft; height 3 stories/35 ft. (Section 17.44.020; last amended Ord. 2019-054.)

Permitted by right: Accessory uses, Animal hospitals, Any other similar type retail store, office or service establishment not specifically permitted herein, but which is compatible with the established uses in the surrounding area, Art and school supply stores, Art galleries, Auction rooms, Banks and financial institutions, not including drive-through service facilities, Barber shops, Beauty shops, Bicycle shops and bicycle service shops excluding those which sell and/or service motorized vehicles and/or motorized bicycles, Book or stationery stores, Camera and photographic supply stores, Carpet, rug and linoleum stores, Child care centers, China and glassware stores, Clubs and lodges (nonprofit), fraternal or religious institutions, Coin and philatelic stores, Commercial radio and television broadcasting stations (excluding transmitting or antenna towers) except as a special use as specified in Section 17.44.020.C.11, Currency exchanges, Custom dressmaking and millinery shops, Department stores, Drug stores, Dry goods or notion stores, Dry-cleaning and laundry-receiving stations; processing to be done elsewhere, Electrical and household appliance stores, including radio and television sales, Florist shops and conservatories, Food stores—grocery stores, meat markets, bakeries (retail), candy and ice cream shops, delicatessens and frozen food stores including locker rental in conjunction therewith, Furniture stores, including upholstering when conducted as part of the retail operations and secondary to the principal use, Furrier shops, including the incidental storage and conditioning of furs, Garden supply and seed stores, Gift shops, Haberdasheries, Hardware stores, Health clubs - under 10,000 square feet in total floor space, Hobby shops, for retail of items to be assembled or used away from the premises, Home occupations, Interior decorating shops, including upholstering and making of draperies, slip covers and other similar articles when conducted as part of the retail operations and secondary to the principal use, Jewelry stores, including watch repairs, Leather goods and luggage stores, Liquor stores, package goods only, Locksmith shops, Massage establishments, Medical and dental clinics, Meeting halls, Musical instrument stores, including minor repair, Nonacademic schools, classes and instruction, Office supply stores, Offices—business and professional, Optician shops, Paint and wallpaper stores, Photographer, Public baths, Residential uses: dwelling units, if business uses, or premises designed for such uses, occupy the ground floor, Restaurants, tearooms, outdoor sidewalk cafes, and outdoor garden cafes, conducted accessory to indoor establishments (drive-in restaurants or food stands for eating in parked autos not permitted), Sewing machine stores, household machines only, Shoe and hat repair stores, Shoe stores, Sporting goods stores, Swimming pools (Public), Taverns, Temporary buildings for construction purposes for a period not to exceed the duration of such construction, Tobacco shops, Toy stores, Variety stores, Wearing apparel shops

Special use approval required: Adult-use cannabis dispensary pursuant to Section 17.28.080 (only on sites with frontage on Lake-Cook Road, IL Route 68 (Dundee Road) or IL Route 45 (Milwaukee Avenue)), Auditorium, stadium, arena, armory, and other similar places for public events, Bus terminal, railroad passenger station, freight terminal or any other public transportation terminal facilities, Business planned unit development, Churches and places of public worship (zoning lot of at least 40,000 square feet, no more than 25% of the lot occupied by buildings, and enough land for the building and off-street parking), Convents, monasteries, rectories or parish houses, Drive-through facilities for retail pharmacies for the drop-off of prescription orders and pick-up of prescription medications and over-the-counter medical items, Golf course (including miniature golf courses), public or private, Police or fire station, Public buildings, including art gallery, library, museum or similar structures, Public or privately owned and operated recreation area, fairgrounds, permanent carnivals, "kiddie parks," or other similar amusement centers, Public or privately owned recreation building or community center, Public park, playground or club, Public utility facilities, Wind energy conversion system

Read the B-1 district in the official code

General retail district permitting all B-1 uses (except animal hospitals) plus a broader range including hotels and motels, automobile service stations, hospitals, theatres and funeral parlors. Maximum FAR 0.5; 1,100 sq ft of lot area per dwelling unit (800 per efficiency); height 3 stories/45 ft. (Section 17.44.030; last amended Ord. 2019-054.)

Permitted by right: Antique shops — a shop selling used antiques may also count as a resale shop, a special use at least 1,000 feet from another pawn or resale shop (Sec. 17.44.030.C.21); confirm with the Village, Any other similar type retail store, office or service establishment not specifically permitted in this Chapter, but which has economic compatibility with the established uses on adjoining premises, Any permitted use in the B-1 business district except animal hospitals, Art galleries and studios, Auditorium — the code also lists auditoriums as a special use (Sec. 17.44.030.C.1); confirm with the Village, Automobile service station, Automobile wash, Bicycle stores, including rental and repair, Blueprinting and photostating establishment, Business college or business school, operated as a business enterprise, Caskets and casket supplies, Catering establishments, Clothing and costume rental shops, Dry-cleaning establishments when employing facilities for the cleaning and pressing of dry goods for retail trade only, conducted on the premises, Employment agencies, Exterminating shops, Feed and seed stores, Frozen food locker, excluding wholesale storage, Hospital or sanitarium, Hotel and motel, Laundromats, automatic or self-service type, Loan offices, Medical or dental clinics and laboratories, Music conservatory or music instruction, Newsstand, Orthopedic, medical and surgical, Personal wireless communications facilities and cellular telephone facilities, including antennas, on public property, quasi-public property and property owned by a public utility, when located within a building or on the exterior of a building (no more than 15 feet above the roof or 15 feet out from the sides; subject to the Village Appearance Plan), Pet shops, Photograph developing and processing shops, Picture framing establishments when conducted for retail trade on the premises only, Plumbing showrooms, Post office, Printing, lithographing or publishing establishments for letter press, business cards, mimeographing and other similar custom services, Private club or lodge, Restaurants, not including drive-through or drive-in service, Second-hand store — the code also lists resale shops (Chapter 5.46, which covers most dealers in used goods) as a special use at least 1,000 feet from another pawn or resale shop (Sec. 17.44.030.C.21); confirm with the Village, Tailor shop, Theatres, excluding drive-in theatres, Ticket agencies—amusement, Travel bureau and transportation ticket offices, Undertaking establishments, funeral parlors, Upholstering shop, Wholesale merchandise broker, excluding wholesale storage

Special use approval required: Adult-use cannabis dispensary pursuant to Section 17.28.080 (only on sites with frontage on Lake-Cook Road, IL Route 68 (Dundee Road) or IL Route 45 (Milwaukee Avenue)), Amusement establishments—bowling alleys, pool halls, dance halls, skating rinks and other similar places of recreation except pistol and rifle ranges, Auditorium, stadium, arena, armory, and other similar places for public events, Automobile laundry, Bus terminal, railroad passenger station, freight terminal or any other public transportation terminal facilities, Business planned unit development, Churches and places of public worship (zoning lot of at least 40,000 square feet, no more than 25% of the lot occupied by buildings, and enough land for the building and off-street parking), Convents, monasteries, rectories or parish houses, Drive-through facilities for retail pharmacies for the drop off of prescription orders and pick up of prescription medications and over-the-counter medical items, Drive-through service facilities for businesses other than pharmacies and restaurants, Golf course (including miniature golf course) public or private, Pawn Shops or Resale Shops (as defined in Chapter 5.46) (at least 1,000 feet from any other pawn or resale shop, lot line to lot line), Police or fire station, Preschool/Elementary School, Public buildings, including art gallery, library, museum or similar structures, Public or privately owned and operated recreation area, fairgrounds, permanent carnivals, "kiddie parks," or other similar amusement center, Public or privately owned recreation building or community center, Public park, playground or club, Public utility facilities, Restaurant drive-in facilities for window service of prepared and packaged food where such foods are not consumed on the premises and drive-in restaurants or food stands catering to customers with facilities for parking on the premises for consumption of food in motor vehicles, Sale of new and/or used automobiles as an ancillary use to an existing auto repair facility, Sale, lease and rental of new motor vehicles [limited to passenger automobiles, light trucks and motorcycles] with or without accessory sales and leasing of used vehicles, including outdoor display of vehicles, and including warranty repair work and other repair service conducted as an accessory use (from a freestanding principal building on a zoning lot of 1 to 3 acres), Wind energy conversion system

Read the B-2 district in the official code

Planned business center district: the only use is a planned business center on a tract abutting a major street, approved on application to the Corporate Authorities under the planned unit development procedure (Section 17.28.050). Its uses are selected from the B-2 permitted and special use lists, and the Village may omit uses or add compatible ones as conditions of approval; the district has no use list of its own. (Section 17.44.040; last amended Ord. 2014-43.)

Permitted by right: Personal wireless communications facilities and cellular telephone facilities, including antennas, on a tower or pole on property owned by a unit of local government or a public utility (set back at least the tower height from non-residential property lines and at least twice the height from residential structures and residential zoning), Uses approved for the planned business center, selected from the uses listed as permitted or special uses in the B-2 general retail business district (the Corporate Authorities may omit uses, or add compatible uses not listed in B-2, as conditions of approval)

Special use approval required: Planned business center (the only use allowed: on tracts abutting and contiguous to a major street, on application to the Corporate Authorities under Section 17.28.050)

Read the B-3 district in the official code

Business services and light wholesale district: every B-2 permitted use plus trades such as contractor shops, auto repair, cartage, laundries, and wholesale offices and store rooms with storage limited to 6,250 sq ft per establishment. Limited processing or assembly is allowed in up to 6,000 sq ft, and production or processing is capped at 6,250 sq ft per establishment. Maximum FAR 0.80; height 3 stories/45 ft. (Section 17.44.050; last amended Ord. 2016-008.)

Permitted by right: Accessory uses and accessory buildings, when located on the same premises, Agricultural implement sales and service, Air conditioning and heating sales and service, Any use permitted in the B-2 business district, Automobile repair and service shop, including automobile repair and rebuilding, auto laundries, and painting of automobiles, Bottling, nonalcoholic beverages and distribution, Building materials sales, Carpenter or cabinet shops (excluding furniture manufacture), Cartage and express facilities, Clothing, custom manufacturing and alterations for retail trade only, Contractor or construction shops, such as building, masonry, cement, painting, electrical, plumbing, roofing, air conditioning, refrigeration, heating and ventilating, Dry-cleaning establishments, Exterminating shop, Feed and seed store, wholesale, Garage, public, for the storage of private passenger automobiles and commercial vehicles under one and one half tons capacity, Glass cutting and glazing, Greenhouse, wholesale growers, House trailer sales (mobile homes), Household appliance repair shops, Laboratories, medical, dental, research, experimental, and testing, Laundries, limited to 6,250 square feet of gross floor area per establishment, Linen, towel, diaper and other similar supply services, limited to 6,250 square feet of gross floor area per establishment, Machinery sales and service, Monument sales, Motor vehicles sales, including used car lots, Motorcycle sales, including servicing and repair, Personal wireless communications facilities and cellular telephone facilities, including antennas, on public property, quasi-public property and property owned by a public utility, when located within a building or on the exterior of a building (no more than 15 feet above the roof or 15 feet out from the sides; subject to the Village Appearance Plan), Processing or assembly, limited to: advertising displays; awnings, venetian blinds and window shades; brushes and brooms; bakeries, wholesale; cosmetics, drugs and perfumes; electrical equipment appliances; food processing, packaging and distribution; ice cream; jewelry; medical and dental supplies; optical goods and equipment; pattern making scientific and precision instruments; products from finished materials, such as bone, cloth, cork, feathers, felt, fiber, fur, glass, hair, horn, leather, paper, plastic, precious or semi-precious stones, rubber, shell or yarn; silver plating and repair shop; tool, die and pattern making (space occupied in a building may not exceed 6,000 square feet, and the work must not create noise, vibration, odor, dust or other conditions disturbing neighbors; larger operations belong in the I district), Used automobile sales on an open lot or within a building, Wholesale offices and store rooms with storage limited to 6,250 square feet of floor area per establishment

Special use approval required: Auditorium, stadium, arena, armory, and other similar places for public events — auditoriums also come in as a permitted use through the B-2 list that B-4 takes in (Sec. 17.44.050.B); confirm with the Village, Bus terminal, railroad passenger station freight terminal or any other public transportation terminal facilities, Business planned unit development, Churches and places of public worship (zoning lot of at least 40,000 square feet, no more than 25% of the lot occupied by buildings, and enough land for the building and off-street parking), Convents, monasteries, rectories or parish houses, Drive-through facilities for retail pharmacies for the drop-off of prescription orders and pick-up of prescription medications and over-the-counter medical items, Golf course (including miniature golf courses), public or private, Health clubs — over 10,000 square feet in total floor space, Personal wireless communications facilities and cellular telephone facilities, including antennas, on a tower or pole on property owned by a unit of local government or a public utility (set back at least the tower height from non-residential property lines and at least twice the height from residential structures and residential zoning), Police or fire station, Public buildings, including art gallery, library, museum or similar structures, Public or privately owned and operated recreation area, fairgrounds, permanent carnivals, "kiddie parks," or other similar amusement center, Public or privately owned recreation building or community center, Public park, playground or club, Public utility facilities, Recreation places, including bowling alley, dance hall, gymnasium, skating rink, archery range, golf practice range, miniature golf course or other places of amusement or entertainment when operated for pecuniary profit except pistol and rifle ranges, Restaurant drive-through facilities for window service or prepared and packaged food where said foods are not consumed on the premises and drive-in restaurants or food stands catering to customers with facilities for parking on the premises for consumption of food in motor vehicles, Wind energy conversion system

Read the B-4 district in the official code

Pedestrian-oriented Town Center bounded by Lake-Cook Road, IL Route 83 and Buffalo Grove Road, split into Residential, Commercial/Recreational, Office and Public sub-districts, each with its own permitted list. The combined list is shown: untagged uses are permitted in the Commercial/Recreational sub-district only, and the rest carry their sub-districts, so what a parcel may do depends on the sub-district it is mapped in. (Section 17.44.060; last amended Ord. 2016-008.)

Permitted by right: Antique shops, Art and school supply stores, Art gallery, Auditoriums, Bakeries and confectionaries, retail, Banks, not drive-in, Banks, savings and loans, financial institutions (exclusive of drive-in facilities) (Office sub-district), Barber and beauty schools, Barber shops, Beauty parlors, Bicycle and accessories sales and service store, Book stores, Botanical gardens (all four sub-districts), Bowling alleys, Bus shelters (all four sub-districts), Business offices (Office sub-district), Camera and photographic supply stores, Child care centers, China, glassware and metalware stores, Churches, synagogues and temples (Public sub-district), Clothing stores, Coin and stamp stores, Community and recreation centers (Commercial/Recreational, Public sub-districts), Delicatessens, Department stores, Dinner theaters, Dry goods stores, Electrical appliance shops, Floor covering stores, Florist and plant shops, retail, Furniture stores, Furriers and fur apparel stores, Gift, novelty and souvenir stores, Hardware stores, Health clubs - under 10,000 square feet of total floor space, Hobby shops, Home decorating, Hotel and motel, Jewelry stores, Kitchen and bath cabinet showrooms, Leather shops, Libraries (Public sub-district), Luggage and suitcase stores, Medical appliances and supply stores, Medical offices, clinics and laboratories (Office sub-district), Movie and drama theaters, Multiple family dwellings (Residential sub-district), Museums, Musical instrument stores, Newspaper and magazine stands, Nonacademic schools, classes and instruction, Nursing homes (Residential sub-district), Office supply stores, Optical goods stores, Other retail or service uses determined by the Village Zoning Administrator to be similar to and compatible with the established uses in the B-5 District, Outdoor restaurants, Outdoor theaters, festival drama, excluding movies, Paint and wall covering stores, Parks and playgrounds (all four sub-districts), Personal wireless communications facilities and cellular telephone facilities, including antennas, on public property, quasi-public property and property owned by a public utility, when located within a building or on the exterior of a building (no more than 15 feet above the roof or 15 feet out from the sides; subject to the Village Appearance Plan), Pet shops, Pharmacies, Photographic studies, Postal facilities (Public sub-district), Professional offices (Office sub-district), Public offices (Public sub-district), Record shops, Rectory, Restaurants, with/without dancing and entertainment, Roller and ice skating rinks, Savings and loan institutions, not drive-in, Shoe repair shops, Shoe stores, Specialty shops, Sporting goods stores, Stationery stores, Tailoring and dressmaking stores, Tennis, racquetball, handball, swimming and other private recreational clubs, Tobacco shops, Tool and appliance retail centers, Toy stores, Travel bureaus

Special use approval required: Auxiliary drive-in banking, savings and loan and financial establishments in commercial and office sub-districts, Bakery operations including production, wholesale and storage uses and drive-through service window facilities in the Commercial/Recreational sub-district, Churches, synagogues and other places of public worship in the commercial/recreational sub-district provided that the special use is limited to the second floor area of the building, Drive-through facilities for retail pharmacies for the drop-off of prescription orders and pick-up of prescription medications and over-the-counter medical items in commercial/recreational sub-district, Drive-through facilities for retail uses, including restaurant drive-through facilities for window service of prepared and packaged foods, in the commercial/recreational sub-district, Family entertainment center, in the commercial/recreational sub-district (security plan, event management and liquor-control protocols required), Funeral homes in the Commercial/Recreational sub-district, Health clubs - over 10,000 square feet of total floor space, Liquor stores in the commercial/recreational sub-district, Mixed occupancies: residential/commercial; residential/office; residential/commercial/office; commercial/office, Public utility facilities, Supermarkets and food stores in the commercial/recreational sub-district, Wind energy conversion systems

Read the B-5 district in the official code

Office, research and development district for uses that will not harm the environmental quality of the community; all activities inside an enclosed building and no outside storage. Minimum lot 40,000 sq ft on the district perimeter (20,000 sq ft interior); max height 4 stories/50 ft; max FAR 0.60. (Section 17.48.010; last amended Ord. 2004-100.)

Permitted by right: Accessory retail and services, Banks and financial institutions, not including drive-through service, Civic buildings, Clinics, medical and dental, Engineering and testing laboratories and offices, Laboratories, offices and other facilities for research and development, including basic, applied development and technical services conducted by or for any individual organization or concern, whether public or private, Offices, business or professional, Personal wireless communications facilities and cellular telephone facilities, including antennas, when located within a building or on the exterior of a building (no more than 15 feet above the roof or 15 feet out from the sides; subject to the Village Appearance Plan), Production of prototype products when limited to the scale reasonably necessary for full investigation of the merits of a product, including commercial viability

Special use approval required: Child care center, Drive-through service facilities for banks and financial institutions, Limited industrial and warehousing uses which are directly incidental and accessory to one or more of the principal permitted uses, provided that operations conform with performance standards as set forth in Section 17.48.020.G, Office and research planned unit development, Public and private utility facilities, Wind energy conversion system

Read the O&R district in the official code

Industrial and limited commercial district for manufacturing, processing, assembly, storage and related uses, subject to the performance standards (noise, odor, vibration, smoke, glare) of Section 17.48.020.G; adult entertainment establishments are limited to one mapped area. Min lot 40,000 sq ft (perimeter) / 20,000 sq ft (interior); max height 4 stories/50 ft; max FAR 0.80. (Section 17.48.020; last amended Ord. 2023-020.)

Permitted by right: Accessory uses to the above permitted uses, Adult Entertainment Establishment (only in the area bounded by Busch Parkway on the south; Corporate Grove Dr. from Busch Parkway to Asbury Dr. and Asbury Dr. extended north to Aptakisic Creek on the west; and Aptakisic Creek on the north and east), Any manufacturing, fabricating, processing, assembly, repairing, storing, cleaning, servicing or testing of materials, goods or products, and related office uses, Building material sales, Clinics, medical and dental, and immediate care facilities, Contractors' shops, Garages for storage, repair and servicing of motor vehicles, including body repair, painting and engine rebuilding, Machinery sales, Offices, business and professional, Personal wireless communications facilities and cellular telephone facilities, including antennas, when located within a building or on the exterior of a building (no more than 15 feet above the roof or 15 feet out from the sides; subject to the Village Appearance Plan), Public utility facilities

Special use approval required: A building connecter between two structures on two separate zoning lots (exempt from yard setbacks if it does not unduly interfere with traffic, pedestrian movement or easement access), A dwelling unit for a full-time resident manager and his/her immediate family as an accessory use in a self-storage facility, provided that the manager is an employee of the owner of the facility, Adult-use cannabis dispensary pursuant to Section 17.28.080, Air, motor and railroad freight terminals, Airports and heliports, Cemeteries, crematories, or mausoleums (tract of at least 160 acres), Child care center, Eating and drinking establishments, Health Clubs, Industrial planned unit development, Landscape waste transfer station, Medical cannabis cultivation center (as defined in Section 17.12.397), Medical cannabis dispensing organization or dispensing organization or dispensary organization (as defined in Section 17.12.399), Nonacademic schools, classes, and instruction, Outside storage (at least 150 feet from a residential district boundary, enclosed by a solid wall or fence at least six feet high and no lower than the stored material), Park and ride facilities for commuter bus and commuter rail services, including accessory retail and service uses (serving commuters' convenience needs, with no customer parking required), Personal wireless communications facilities and cellular telephone facilities, including antennas, on a tower or pole (up to 80 feet; set back at least the tower height from non-residential property lines and at least twice the height from residential structures and residential boundaries), Pet Resort (indoor establishment pursuant to Section 17.12.449), Police station, fire station, or public works facility, Preschool/Elementary School, Railroad rights-of-way, Recreation and social facilities, Retail uses, accessory to the primary use located on the premises (only products manufactured on the premises or incidental to the primary use; no more than 5% or 1,000 square feet of the floor area, whichever is less), Retail uses, including the sale of items not manufactured on the premises, occupying a minimum building floor area of 50,000 square feet accessible to the public (premises adjoining IL Route 83 (McHenry Road), IL Route 22 (Half Day Road), Lake-Cook Road or Milwaukee Avenue), Sale and/or leasing of new and/or used automobiles within an enclosed structure, Sanitary landfill, Stadiums, auditoriums and arenas, Veterinary services (for animals allowed in the Village by Title 6 of the Buffalo Grove Municipal Code), including animal imaging, radiation therapy and similar services, but not including kennels (indoor overnight boarding only when medically necessary), Wind Energy Conversion System

Read the I district in the official code

Mixed-use planned development accommodating retail, service, office and residential uses as an integrated unit. Minimum three different land uses per tract; efficient access to a Strategic Regional Arterial required. Min tract 10 acres; min zoning lot 3 acres; max FAR 1.0; max density 15 DU/acre; max height 100 ft (residential) / 130 ft (office/service/retail). (Chapter 17.50; last amended Ord. 2004-100.)

Permitted by right: Food service and restaurants (including outdoor seating, but not including drive-through facilities) accessory to hotel, office or residential uses, Hotels, Multiple family residential units, including assisted living facilities and nursing homes, Offices, including general, professional, medical and dental, Personal wireless communications facilities and cellular telephone facilities, including antennas, when located within a building or on the exterior of a building (no more than 15 feet above the roof or 15 feet out from the sides; subject to the Village Appearance Plan), Retail stores, Service uses, including physical fitness facilities, accessory to hotel, office or residential uses (not including automotive repair facilities and gas stations, or banks with drive-through facilities), Transportation facilities, including bus shelters, as an accessory use to hotel, office or residential uses

Special use approval required: Auditoriums and conference/convention facilities, Child care centers, including outdoor play facilities, Movie theaters and performing arts theaters, Open space, parks and playgrounds (publicly or privately owned)

Read the MX-PD district in the official code