Charlotte County, FL Ordinances (2026)

Florida law overrides HOA solar bans in Charlotte County. Under Fla. Stat. §163.04, a deed restriction or covenant may not prohibit solar collectors, and an association may only set a…

Rooftop solar is protected across Charlotte County. Under Fla. Stat. §163.04, no local ordinance may prohibit installing solar collectors. A homeowner needs building and electrical…

Grading and drainage in Charlotte County are governed by the Environmental Resource Permit and the county land development code. Under Fla. Stat. §373.413, altering land drainage…

Charlotte County wraps around Charlotte Harbor and fronts the Gulf at Manasota Key. Under Fla. Stat. §161.053, an FDEP permit is required to build seaward of the coastal construction…

Any grading, filling, or construction in a Charlotte County flood hazard area needs a floodplain development permit before work starts, and fill placed to support a structure can rise…

A boat dock, lift, ramp or other boating structure in unincorporated Charlotte County needs a building permit before construction, and the structure cannot reach further than 25…

Building or altering a stormwater system in Charlotte County requires an Environmental Resource Permit. Under Fla. Stat. §373.413, the Southwest Florida Water Management District…

Artificial turf on a Charlotte County home is governed by local zoning and stormwater rules, not a state ban. Florida-Friendly protections under Statute 373.185 cover living…

Charlotte County sits in the Southwest Florida Water Management District (Swiftmud) and enforces a once-per-week irrigation schedule assigned by the last digit of the street address…

Charlotte County caps weed and grass height at twelve inches on any developed lot. Sec. 2-5-72 bans 'excessive growth,' defined by Sec. 2-5-71 as weeds or grass over 12 inches tall…

Pruning a tree on your own Charlotte County home draws no county permit, and Florida Statute 163.045 blocks permit or fee demands for documented hazard work. Mangroves along Charlotte…

Removing a tree on your Charlotte County home is protected by Florida Statute 163.045: no local government may require a permit, fee, or mitigation once an ISA-certified arborist or…

State law protects every Charlotte County property owner's right to plant Florida-friendly, native landscaping. Fla. Stat. Sec. 373.185(3)(b)-(c) bars both HOA deed restrictions and…

Charlotte County's noise ordinance (Sec. 2-5-131, Ord. 94-02) bans excessive, unnecessary or unusually loud noise that disturbs neighbors. It sets no countywide decibel limit and no…

Charlotte County (Sec. 3-2-73) bars construction, demolition, and power-tool noise plainly audible across an inhabited residential property line between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Work is…

Charlotte County has no leaf-blower ban and no dedicated lawn-equipment hours. Blowers fall under the general noise ordinance (Sec. 2-5-131); lawn mowers running with proper mufflers…

Charlotte County's noise ordinance (Sec. 2-5-131) bars radios, stereos, instruments, and amplifiers played loud enough to disturb neighbors or louder than needed for listeners present…

Charlotte County exempts motor vehicles from its noise ordinance only when 'functioning with all manufacturer's mufflers and noise reducing equipment in use and in proper operating…

Charlotte County treats a dog whose howling or barking causes unreasonable annoyance, disturbance or discomfort to neighbors as a public nuisance animal under Sec. 1-4-25(y). Owning…

Charlotte County sets a hard decibel ceiling for industrial property under Code Sec. 3-9-75(g)(3), ranging from 70 decibels in IL districts and 73 in IG districts below 75 cycles per…

Charlotte County bars new residential development and schools from a buffer zone stretching half the length of the runway beyond each end of a public airport runway. The rule sits in…

Charlotte County has no STR-specific noise rule; vacation-rental guests follow the same general noise ordinance (Sec. 2-5-131) as residents. Repeated disturbances expose the host…

Florida preempts local vacation-rental bans under Fla. Stat. 509.032(7)(b), so Charlotte County cannot prohibit STRs or cap their duration. Hosts need a state DBPR license, a county…

A Charlotte County vacation rental owes about 12% in taxes: Florida's 6% state sales tax, a 1% county discretionary surtax, and a 5% Charlotte County Tourist Development Tax on stays…

Charlotte County protects specimen and larger trees through its land development regulations on development and non-residential sites. On residential property, Florida Statute 163.045…

Any Charlotte County development that fronts a public right-of-way must plant a landscaped buffer strip along that frontage under Sec. 3-9-100.2(b), at least eight feet wide, planted…

Only medical marijuana dispensaries are allowed. Under Fla. Stat. §381.986(11), Charlotte County and Punta Gorda may ban dispensaries or apply pharmacy-equivalent location rules, but…

Home cannabis cultivation is illegal throughout Charlotte County. Florida allows medical marijuana only, and even registered patients may not grow their own. Recreational use remains…

Charlotte County requires a building permit for almost every shed: even one 100 square feet or smaller. Only plastic or rubber manufactured sheds of 68 square feet or less are…

Charlotte County's zoning code lets residents build one accessory guest home beside a single-family house, but the county defines it for occupancy without compensation, meaning it…

Charlotte County allows one accessory dwelling as a conditional use tied to a single-family home, never as a separate rental. Standards differ by zoning district: RSF and MHC parcels…

Charlotte County's curbside program requires garbage in a wheeled garbage cart and recyclables in a separate recycling cart, both set within three feet of the curb or road edge for the…

Once you set your recycling out at the curb, Charlotte County owns it. Taking recyclables from a bin without the county's consent, sometimes called scavenging, is banned countywide and…

Multifamily and commercial properties in unincorporated Charlotte County must site dumpsters, roll-off containers, and compactors behind the building line, set back at least 10 feet…

Charlotte County bans depositing litter, garbage, or construction debris in any canal, waterway, lake, public property, or someone else's land unless the county has permitted it. The…

Charlotte County requires every multifamily and nonresidential dumpster, roll-off container, compactor, and recycling dumpster in the unincorporated county to sit on a concrete pad and…

Unincorporated Charlotte County, which covers Port Charlotte, Englewood, Rotonda and South Gulf Cove since only Punta Gorda is a city, requires every residential parcel to subscribe to…

Charlotte County caps residential yard waste at ten 45-gallon cans, bags or bundles per week, collected on the same day as garbage. Bundles must weigh under 40 pounds and run shorter…

Curbside service includes up to 4 cubic yards of bulk items a week - furniture and appliances with refrigerant removed. Construction debris and larger loads go to the Charlotte County…

Florida sets counties a 75% recycling goal, not a homeowner mandate, so no Charlotte County resident is fined for skipping the bin. Waste Management collects single-stream recycling…

Surprisingly, Charlotte County's lot-maintenance code doesn't cover vacant lots, so overgrown grass or weeds on an empty parcel isn't a code violation. Storage and illegal dumping are…

Charlotte County's Lot Maintenance Standards forbid 'excessive growth' on any developed lot: weeds or grass over twelve inches tall covering half or more of the cleared…

Neither Charlotte County nor the City of Punta Gorda can control rent. Florida's 2023 Live Local Act rewrote Fla. Stat. §125.0103 into a flat ban, deleting the old housing-emergency…

Charlotte County cannot add local just-cause eviction protections. Fla. Stat. §83.425 preempts residential tenancy regulation to the state, so evictions in Port Charlotte, Englewood…

Beekeeping is lawful throughout Charlotte County, and Florida preempts local bans. Section 586.10 gives the state exclusive authority to regulate and permit managed honeybee colonies…

Charlotte County requires every cat four months or older to carry a current rabies vaccination and county license tag under Sec. 1-4-28, but Sec. 1-4-25(n) exempts genuinely feral cats…

Charlotte County allows veterinary clinics and boarding kennels outright in its General Commercial (CG) and Tourist Commercial (CT) districts, but treats the same use as a conditional…

Charlotte County makes it a violation to let a dog stray or run at large on any public street, sidewalk or someone else's property without consent, under Sec. 1-4-31(a). Off the…

Charlotte County allows backyard chickens as a conditional 'domestic animal breeding, boarding and training' use only on rural-service-area property, under Sec. 3-9-69(b)(2). Coops…

Charlotte County lets a resident run an at-home animal grooming business only as a major home occupation, which needs a Board of Zoning Appeals special exception under Code Sec…

Breed-specific dog bans are prohibited in Florida. Section 767.14 lets local governments regulate dangerous dogs but bars any rule specific to breed, weight, or size. A 2023 amendment…

Florida bars keeping captive wildlife without a state permit. Section 379.3762 makes it unlawful to possess any wildlife, native or not, until the owner holds an FWC permit. FWC sorts…

Under Fla. Stat. 705.103, abandoned and derelict vehicles on public or private property can be taken into custody and removed after notice. Charlotte County code separately bars…

Charlotte County bans overnight parking on five specific streets rather than setting a blanket overnight rule countywide. Sec. 2-4-79(b)(25)-(29) prohibits overnight parking on…

Charlotte County requires required parking, driveways and access aisles to be graded and paved with a hard surface of asphalt, concrete or brick under Code Sec. 3-9-79(g)(5), with…

Charlotte County bans parking any tandem-axle truck or trailer, or one with dual rear wheels per side, on private property in a residential district or development under Code §…

Any commercial or industrial building over 6,000 square feet in unincorporated Charlotte County, including Port Charlotte, must set aside a dedicated off-street loading space under…

Charlotte County lets residents park a boat, RV or trailer on their own developed residential lot, but Code § 3-9-79.1(c)-(e) fences the privilege tightly: it must belong to a…

Florida law, not a county ordinance, sets the baseline rules for on-street parking here: F.S. § 316.1945 bars stopping or parking in front of driveways, within 15 feet of a fire…

Charlotte County bars unpermitted structures, irrigation pipes and sprinklers, and non-frangible objects from county rights-of-way and the ten-foot clear zone that runs beside every…

Charlotte County requires a right-of-way permit before anyone builds, installs or alters a driveway, culvert, utility line, drainage swale or other facility in a county road…

Charlotte County caps what tow operators can charge for nonconsensual towing, vehicle immobilization on private property, and wrecked-vehicle removal from accident scenes throughout…

Any adult bookstore, adult theater, or adult dancing establishment in unincorporated Charlotte County needs a sexually oriented business license from the Community Development…

Charlotte County regulates junk and scrap dealers under its secondary metals recycler ordinance. Before buying any used metal, a dealer must register the location with the Florida…

Charlotte County bars vehicle repair, assembly, or storage work as a home occupation outright under Code Sec. 3-9-74(b)(12)a, covering automobiles, motorcycles, marine engines, golf…

Charlotte County charges a local business tax under Sec. 1-10-32 before anyone may engage in or manage a business, profession, occupation, or lease department in the unincorporated…

Charlotte County requires commercial exterior lighting to be shielded and directional so it never spills onto neighboring properties. Fixtures cap at thirty feet over parking areas and…

Charlotte County has no general inland dark-sky ordinance, but its Gulf beaches carry a real sea-turtle lighting rule. On Manasota Key, Don Pedro Island, and the Englewood beaches…

Anyone selling door-to-door in unincorporated Charlotte County must first obtain a home solicitation permit from the Clerk of the Circuit Court under Sec. 1-10-77, issued under state…

Unincorporated Charlotte County bans door-to-door and home solicitation sales between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. under Sec. 1-10-78(a), a restriction layered on top of the separate permit…

Charlotte County Utilities supplies reclaimed water for irrigation once a customer signs a service agreement, installs a CCU-approved backflow preventer, and passes inspection…

Charlotte County sets no blanket height cap on retaining walls, but any retaining wall placed in a regulated floodway or coastal high hazard zone, common along the county's canals and…

Charlotte County lets residential fences and walls up to six feet stand without meeting side or rear setbacks behind the front setback line, while front-yard fences are capped at three…

Charlotte County bans electric fences and barbed wire on residential lots outside a narrow set of exceptions. Electric fencing is allowed only in agriculture and excavation/mining…

Charlotte County's Historic Preservation Board can designate any prehistoric or historic building, site, structure or object of local significance and place it on the county's Local…

Charlotte County's floodplain ordinance triggers full compliance with flood-resistant construction once repair or improvement costs reach fifty percent of a building's pre-damage…

Charlotte County code section 2-1-44 gives property owners just 30 days after hurricane season ends on November 30 to take down unpermitted storm shutters. Permitted shutters and…

Condominium and cooperative buildings three stories or taller in Charlotte County must file a milestone inspection report under Florida Statutes § 553.899 by the year the building…

Any plumbing work in unincorporated Charlotte County, from a new water heater line to a full repipe, needs a permit before work starts. Sec. 3-2-27 makes it unlawful to alter or repair…

Charlotte County requires a building permit before anyone constructs, moves, demolishes, erects or repairs any building, structure, roof structure, or electrical, plumbing or…

Charlotte County runs a voluntary 'Livability/Green Building Program' that lets private homebuilders, remodelers, commercial developers and land developers earn fast-track permitting…

Charlotte County requires a permit and inspection before connecting temporary electrical work like carnival, circus, road-show or radio-station installations, and requires any wiring…

Charlotte County closes its parks and recreation facilities every night. Unless a sign says otherwise, no one may use or access a county park between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., with…

Charlotte County has not adopted a general county-wide juvenile curfew. Florida offers a ready framework in Fla. Stat. §877.20–877.25, but a curfew only takes effect where a county or…

Charlotte County restricts open flame on its parks to propane grills and designated fireplaces, firepits, or grills. Anything else, including a campfire against vegetation or a park…

Open burning anywhere in Charlotte County needs authorization from the Florida Forest Service before ignition, whether it is a homeowner's yard-trash pile or a certified land-clearing…

Florida law lets Charlotte County residents use consumer fireworks on three designated holidays. New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, and the Fourth of July. Every other day, only…

Central air conditioners running in unincorporated Charlotte County are specifically exempted from the county noise ordinance, but only 'when functioning in accord with the…

Charlotte County's noise ordinance bans the unreasonable use of any vehicle horn or alarm signaling device countywide, from Port Charlotte and the unincorporated fringes around Punta…

Charlotte County has no separate generator-noise ordinance, so a portable or standby generator running loud enough to disturb neighbors falls under the county's general noise…

Charlotte County code enforcement officers cannot write a citation on a hunch. Sec. 1-1-15(e)(1)a. requires a personal investigation establishing reasonable cause that a code or…

Before Charlotte County code enforcement issues a citation, Sec. 1-1-15(e)(1)b. gives the property owner written notice and up to thirty days to fix the problem. Officers skip that…

Charlotte County caps single-family homes in the RSF-2, RSF-3.5 and RSF-5 zoning districts at 38 feet under the development standards table in Section 3-9-33(g), the same 38-foot…

Charlotte County's Section 3-9-33(g) development standards table sets a 25-foot front setback in every single-family district, with side yards running from 15 feet in RSF-2 down to 7.5…

Charlotte County limits how much of a residential lot buildings can cover: Section 3-9-33(g) caps lot coverage of all buildings at 40 percent in the RSF-2, RSF-3.5 and RSF-5…

Unincorporated Charlotte County bans possessing an open container or drinking alcohol on any public right-of-way, from sidewalks to road shoulders, under Sec. 1-3-5. A first conviction…

Charlotte County's only loitering law targets one place: the Gasparilla Road bridges. Sec. 2-4-11 makes it unlawful to loiter on those bridges in a way that blocks pedestrians or…

Charlotte County bans aggressive begging and sets tight limits on roadway panhandling. Sec. 2-5-2 makes it a violation to aggressively beg in any public place by touching, following…

Charlotte County bans smoking outright on every county-owned park and beach under section 2-3-94, and separately bans vaping on any county playground, park, recreation center, or beach…

Charlotte County's Agriculture (AG) zoning district, created under Section 3-9-30, sets aside land for farming, very-low-density housing and rural uses on lots of at least 10 acres…

Charlotte County levies a 5% tourist development tax on every rental of six months or less at a hotel, motel, apartment, condominium, RV park or mobile home park, under Sec. 1-7-46(a)…

Charlotte County has no red-light camera program; it authorizes photo enforcement only for school-zone speed limits. Ord. No. 2025-031, adopted September 9, 2025 and codified at Sec…

Charlotte County's section 2-4-4 lets bicycles, e-bikes, and other electric-powered devices use the public roadways and bicycle lanes it controls, but caps speed at the posted limit…

Charlotte County treats 'electric bicycle (all classes)' as one category under section 2-4-4, borrowing Florida's class definitions from Fla. Stat. § 316.003 rather than writing…

Charlotte County requires every manager, supervisor, and other employee of a food service establishment, food processing plant, food outlet, or abattoir house to complete…

During any Florida election, Charlotte County lets private property carry one temporary sign up to six square feet, or two signs up to four square feet each, from 45 days before the…

Charlotte County caps window signage in the Charlotte Harbor Community Redevelopment Area at 25 percent of a unit's total window area. The limit sits inside the county's Charlotte…

Charlotte County caps client visits to home-based businesses under Code Sec. 3-9-74: a registered minor home occupation may host zero customers on-site, while a major home occupation…

Every home occupation in unincorporated Charlotte County, minor or major, is limited to one nonilluminated wall sign of no more than two square feet under Code Sec. 3-9-74(b)(6), and…

A family day care home is a valid residential use in Charlotte County under Fla. Stat. §125.0109, and providers register or license with the Florida Department of Children and…

Florida Statute 559.955 overrides Charlotte County's own zoning discretion over home-based businesses run from a residential dwelling. A home-based business may not be prohibited…

Fla. Stat. §500.80 lets Charlotte County residents sell homemade, shelf-stable foods direct to consumers, and ship them, earning up to $250,000 a year with no state food permit. Local…

Charlotte County outright bans planting any Category I invasive species from the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council's list under land development code Sec. 3-9-100.3(m), and existing…

Charlotte County lets homeowners run a yard or garage sale without any permit, but only if it lasts two calendar days or less and stays within a Type 1 temporary-use footprint under…

A street fair or festival in unincorporated Charlotte County needs a temporary use permit under Code § 3-9-87. A footprint under 1,500 square feet needs a $150 Type 1 permit; anything…

Florida's Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act requires every new residential pool in Charlotte County to pass final inspection with at least one approved child-safety feature: a…

Commercial drone pilots in Charlotte County need an FAA Part 107 certificate. Under Fla. Stat. §330.41 the county cannot add its own flight rules, but FAA airspace rules near Punta…

Florida law (Fla. Stat. §330.41) reserves drone regulation to the state, so Charlotte County, Punta Gorda, and Port Charlotte cannot limit where you fly. FAA rules govern instead. Give…

Florida law preempts Charlotte County from licensing food trucks: under Fla. Stat. § 509.102(2), the county can't require its own license, registration, or permit fee beyond the…