Bradenton, FL Building Setbacks & Zoning: Lot Coverage Limits (2026)

The Land Use Regulations of the City of Bradenton limit lot coverage through the maximum percent impervious surface row of schedule 3.2.2.1. The caps are 50% in R-1, 60% in R-2, 70% in R-3, 70% in UV and 70% in R-4. Footnote (5) defines what counts: the building footprint, paved drives, paved terraces, impervious decks, swimming pools, and other impervious surfaces. A lot is measured on everything that keeps water from soaking in, so a driveway and a pool deck count against the same cap as the roof.

Chapter 10 defines an impervious surface as a surface that does not permit the absorption of fluids, such as roads, rooftops, patios or parking lots, and notes that such surfaces produce runoff in greater quantities or at an increased rate compared with natural conditions.

The cap also shapes what lots can hold. Minimum lot area for one dwelling unit on the same schedule is 7,200 square feet in R-1, 6,500 in R-2, 5,000 in R-3, 5,000 in UV and 3,000 in R-4, and maximum density is 6 units per acre in R-1, 10 in R-2, 15 in R-3 and R-4, and 25 in UV. Section 5.1.2 ties accessory structures to the same figures: they are limited by the ground coverage maximums listed on schedule 3.2.2.1. Swimming pools under 5.1.2.2 must meet a five-foot setback from any side or rear yard and count as impervious surface.

In the Village of the Arts Overlay, section 3.4.5.6 repeats the 70 percent figure for lots with an accessory dwelling unit: no more than 70 percent of the lot may be impervious. Because R-1 is held to 50 percent, an R-1 owner planning a driveway, patio and pool has less room than an R-3 owner on a smaller lot.