Orange County, FL Building Safety: Childcare Center Rules (2026)

Section 9-662(a) dictates where the protection must go. Vehicle impact protection devices and features must be installed between the edge of the right-of-way of the adjacent roadway and the perimeter of any exposed area that runs parallel, or roughly parallel, to the roadway edge. The protection cannot simply stop where the roadway frontage ends: it must wrap perpendicular to the exposed area for a distance of at least 48 inches, so the protected line continues around the corner of the play area rather than ending exactly at its edge.

The devices themselves must meet performance minimums. Each must stand at least 36 inches tall and resist a 5,000-pound impact at 30 mph. Compliance is checked before the doors open: § 9-662(a) requires the devices to be in place before a certificate of occupancy issues, and the county will not issue that certificate without a licensed professional engineer's signed attestation that the barriers comply.

The ordinance carries clear geographic and timing limits. Under § 9-657 it applies only in unincorporated Orange County, so centers inside incorporated cities such as Winter Park follow their own cities' building rules instead. It reaches centers newly built or expanded since June 2016, not every existing facility. An existing center can also satisfy § 9-661(b) by submitting a Florida-licensed engineer's sealed letter confirming the center has no exposed area to protect. Violations are enforced through the county's chapter 11 code enforcement process.