Okaloosa County, FL Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

Table 2.3 in Section 2.03.06 of the Land Development Code sets the minimum building setbacks for the R-1 district at 20 feet from the front property line, 10 feet from each side, and 10 feet from the rear. Footnote 1 to the table addresses corner and multi-frontage lots: if a property abuts more than one road, the front setback runs from whichever road the property's address is derived from, with the rear treated as the side opposite the front, but no building may intrude into a visibility triangle at a road intersection or extend into a road right-of-way.

Waterfront R-1 lots carry an additional layer from Section 2.19.00's bulk regulation footnotes. That section's first footnote sets the setback from the mean high-water line for a principal structure on a tidal waterfront lot at 50 feet, though the same footnote exempts boat docks, piers, bulkheads and boathouses from the mean-high-water setback entirely. A second footnote sets a 25-foot setback from the ordinary high-water line of any natural non-tidal water body, with a vegetative buffer required under Chapter 6 of the Code. Buildings three stories or taller, or more than 35 feet high, on the same lot must also be built further apart from each other, 15 feet for three-story buildings and progressively more for taller structures, under Section 2.19.00(2).