Gainesville, FL Accessory Structures: Shed & Carport Rules (2026)

34, titled "Generally," opens Division 2 of the LDC's accessory-uses article and sets baseline rules that apply to every accessory structure, sheds included, before any use-specific standard elsewhere in the chapter kicks in. Paragraph (A) prevents an accessory structure from going up before or independent of the principal structure's construction, so a shed can't be built on a vacant lot ahead of the house. Paragraph (B) similarly ties an accessory use's operation to an active principal use on the same site. Paragraph (C) requires the accessory structure to sit on the same building site as the principal use it serves, absent a specific exception elsewhere in the article.

Paragraph (D) caps size directly: an accessory structure can be no larger than 50 percent of the principal structure's building square footage, so a 1,200-square-foot house limits accessory buildings to 600 square feet combined. Paragraph (E) keeps accessory structures out of the front yard or street-side yard unless another provision specifically allows it, and paragraph (F) requires the shed to conform to the same setbacks that apply to the principal building, unless the chapter states a different standard for that particular use. The LDC's article II definition of "accessory structure" reinforces this framework, describing it as a subordinate structure not exceeding 50 percent of the principal structure's square footage whose use is incidental to the principal structure on the same lot.