Columbia County, FL Code Violation Reporting: Common Violations (2026)

The Board of County Commissioners dissolved its former code enforcement board in 2015 (Ord. No. 2015-15) and replaced it with a special magistrate appointed for three-year terms from the Florida Bar. Under Code § 2-345, that magistrate's jurisdiction in unincorporated Columbia County covers housing and building codes, fire, sign and tree ordinances; zoning, land development regulations, the comprehensive plan, abandoned vehicles and landscape ordinances; subdivision, water and drainage, and county right-of-way work; litter and solid waste ordinances; and any other county ordinance the board later assigns by resolution.

County code enforcement staff handle the investigation of a case; the county attorney's office bears responsibility for prosecuting it before the magistrate. Fines are set out separately at Code § 2-344: the magistrate may impose up to $1,000.00 per day per violation for a first offense, up to $5,000.00 per day for a repeat violation, and up to $15,000.00 per violation where the violation is found irreparable or irreversible, plus additional costs the county incurs enforcing the case. Unpaid fines become liens against the violator's property and are deposited into the county's general fund.

An aggrieved party, including the board itself, may appeal a final order of the special magistrate to the circuit court within 30 days of the order's rendition under Code § 2-347; the appeal is a record review, not a new hearing.