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

Section 38-1272 sets the site development standards for "general commercial" development, meaning commercial construction built as a support use to a residential or industrial project or the wider community, inside a Planned Development (PD) district under Chapter 38, Article VIII. The maximum impervious coverage, covering buildings, parking, driveways and other paved surfaces, is capped at 70 percent of the net land area under subsection (a)(1); the remaining land must satisfy the open-space requirements of Section 38-1234 under subsection (a)(2). Building setbacks layer on top of the coverage cap under subsection (a)(3): front and side-street yards need 30 feet, side yards need 5 feet but jump to a minimum 25 feet where the site adjoins a residential use, rear yards need 10 feet (also 25 feet next to residential), the Normal High-Water Elevation contour needs a 50-foot setback, and the PD's own perimeter needs 25 feet.

Height is capped at 50 feet generally under subsection (a)(5), dropping to 35 feet for any portion of a building within 100 feet of a residential use or residential district, measured from the tall structure to the residential parcel's property line; a developer can request more than 50 feet by demonstrating no detrimental impact on adjacent property. All access cuts and driveways must meet Section 30-248's standards (subsection (a)(4)), general commercial buildings must meet the architectural standards codified at Chapter 9, Article XIII, Sections 9-551 through 9-570 (subsection (a)(6)), and solid waste refuse facilities need their own 30-foot right-of-way setback, 5-foot side and rear yard setback, and 50-foot NHWE setback while staying entirely out of any required buffer yard (subsection (a)(7)).