Columbia County, FL Ordinances (2026)

Columbia County imposes a tourist development tax on every hotel, motel, apartment motel, roominghouse, RV park, and condominium rental of six months or less anywhere in the county…

Columbia County's fireworks ordinance declares a standing state of emergency over drought conditions and bans selling, exposing for sale, or using or exploding fireworks or sparklers…

Unincorporated Columbia County does not set its own open-burning limits; the Land Development Regulations instead adopt the state's Florida Administrative Code chapter 17-5…

Columbia County's minimum housing standards require every dwelling unit to have an approved, listed smoke detector installed per the manufacturer's instructions, tested to UL 217…

Before any subdivision or development can move forward in unincorporated Columbia County, the applicant must first request potable water, wastewater, and reclaimed water service from…

The Columbia County Building Inspections Department, created by ordinance, collects a board-set inspection fee schedule at permit application and its building official may enter and…

In unincorporated Columbia County, the National Electrical Code is adopted as part of the Florida Building Code, and no one may connect or supply electrical power to a building without…

Constructing, erecting, altering or repairing any building in unincorporated Columbia County requires a permit from the county building inspector, except for most farm buildings and…

In unincorporated Columbia County, a child care center is a special exception use in the RSF Residential Single-Family district, not a use permitted by right. Outdoor play is barred…

Unincorporated Columbia County enforces the Suwannee River Water Management District's Year-Round Water Conservation Measures under Article V of Chapter 118. The rules cover lawn…

Columbia County treats a lot with an accumulation of trash, filth or excessive growth of weeds or noxious plants as hazardous land, and gives the owner 10 to 30 days to clear it once…

Columbia County's land development regulation administrator can declare a structure a dangerous building for defects like severe deterioration or unfitness for habitation, order repair…

Columbia County has adopted its own designated wind zone map under the Florida Building Code and ASCE 7, setting different design wind speeds north and south of CR 240 that govern roof…

During a declared state of emergency in unincorporated Columbia County, for-profit storm debris contractors must register with the county's emergency management department and haul all…

Before building anything in a Columbia County flood hazard area, owners must first get a floodplain development permit under LDR Sec. 8.4.1, then certify the lowest floor's elevation…

Columbia County levies a flat local business tax of $30.00 per business location or per licensed individual to engage in a business, profession or occupation in the unincorporated…

In unincorporated Columbia County, radios, stereos, boom boxes and musical instruments cannot be played so they're plainly audible to anyone beyond the player, disturb neighbors' peace…

In unincorporated Columbia County, an animal or bird whose unreasonably loud and raucous noise disturbs others violates Sec. 74-105(j) of the county's noise ordinance. Kenneled…

In unincorporated Columbia County, construction, demolition, alteration or repair of buildings and street or highway excavation may not create noise outside 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on…

Columbia County imposes a 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. weekday noise curfew (10:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m. on weekends and holidays) on loudspeakers, amplifiers and PA systems in or near…

In residential or noise-sensitive areas of unincorporated Columbia County, operating a noise-creating blower, power fan or internal combustion engine between 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. is…

In unincorporated Columbia County, playing a car radio, tape player, CD player, loudspeaker or other sound device inside or on a vehicle so it is plainly audible 50 feet away is barred…

Once a code enforcement officer notifies a violator in unincorporated Columbia County, the person gets a correction period capped at 30 days under Code § 2-375(b). That grace period…

In unincorporated Columbia County, code enforcement officers are designated by the county coordinator, and the Sheriff's Office deputies serve as officers too with the sheriff's…

In unincorporated Columbia County, a special magistrate created under Code § 2-345 hears five broad classes of violations: building/fire/sign/tree, zoning and land-use, subdivision and…

In unincorporated Columbia County, loitering or prowling on county-owned property in a manner that creates justifiable alarm for public safety is prohibited conduct under Code of…

In unincorporated Columbia County, Code §§ 10-131 through 10-133 bar drinking or carrying an open alcoholic beverage container at named county recreational sites, including the…

Columbia County does not run a separate adult-business permit or spacing scheme; instead, Code §§ 10-161 through 10-167 flatly ban nude and seminude entertainment at any commercial…

Columbia County's animal control article covers cats under its general 'animal' definition rather than separate cat licensing. Code § 18-79 requires rabies vaccination for cats four…

In unincorporated Columbia County, Code § 18-74 requires every animal, not just dogs, to be confined to its owner's property, on other property with consent, or under restraint on a…

Columbia County regulates dogs by documented behavior, not breed. Code § 18-73 defines an 'aggressive dog' by conduct such as attacking, biting or pack behavior, and Code § 18-75.1…

In unincorporated Columbia County, veterinary clinics are not a permitted use by right. They require a special exception in the Agricultural (A-1, A-2, A-3) districts, where kennel or…

Unincorporated Columbia County bars keeping horses, cows, swine, sheep, goats or poultry in the RSF Residential Single-Family district outright. Raising livestock and poultry is a…

In unincorporated Columbia County, animal grooming is a permitted principal use by right in the CG Commercial, General district under the Land Development Regulations, grouped with…

In unincorporated Columbia County, a commercial establishment such as a bar or nightclub next to residential property may not create unreasonably loud or raucous noise, including from…

In unincorporated Columbia County, a motor vehicle burglar alarm must stop sounding within 15 minutes of activation unless a real emergency exists, under Code of Ordinances Section…

In unincorporated Columbia County, loading or unloading merchandise, materials or equipment at a business or residence may not create unreasonably loud, raucous or excessive noise…

In unincorporated Columbia County, sleeping or camping on county-owned property is prohibited conduct under Code of Ordinances Section 74-45(7), unless a county rule or policy…

In unincorporated Columbia County a shed or other accessory structure cannot sit in a required front, side, or waterfront yard. It belongs in the rear yard, at least ten feet off the…

Unincorporated Columbia County, Florida, allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot under Section 4.2.33 of the Land Development Regulations, sized between 350 square feet and 75…

Commercial and industrial buildings in unincorporated Columbia County must provide off-street loading space sized 12 by 30 feet with 14 feet of clearance, with the number of spaces…

In unincorporated Columbia County, boats, boat trailers, RVs, and similar recreational equipment may sit in a residential rear or side yard but never a front yard, and can never be…

Unincorporated Columbia County bars owners and occupants of residential property from open-storing an abandoned motor vehicle on the premises and requires the property be kept clean of…

In unincorporated Columbia County, residential land cannot be used as a driveway or access route to a neighboring commercial or industrial parcel, and unlicensed vehicles or trailers…

In unincorporated Columbia County's RSF Residential Single-Family district, storing or parking a commercial or industrial vehicle over one ton overnight is a prohibited use outright…

Unincorporated Columbia County has no dedicated digital billboard ordinance, but its sign code flatly prohibits flashing or revolving lights on any sign and bars illuminated signs that…

In unincorporated Columbia County, Florida, political campaign signs are exempt from the Land Development Regulations' sign permit requirement, may stand up to 32 square feet, and may…

Unincorporated Columbia County bars any use from causing direct glare visible from a residential district when the source is an unshielded floodlight or other high-intensity light…

In unincorporated Columbia County, anyone using a county park or recreational facility for commercial purposes more than six times in any 12-month period must obtain an annual permit…

In unincorporated Columbia County, no bulkhead, dock, pier, wharf, or similar structure on a perennial river may be built or expanded without a special permit from the Board of County…

The Floodplain Management Ordinance in LDR Article 8 reaches every flood hazard area in unincorporated Columbia County, using the November 2, 2018 Flood Insurance Study and FEMA's…

In unincorporated Columbia County, every development must be built and maintained so post-development runoff rates and pollutant loads never exceed pre-development conditions under LDR…

Unincorporated Columbia County withholds final plat approval on any subdivision causing land-disturbing activity until the Suwannee River Water Management District certifies the…

Where a Columbia County parcel sits in an approximate Zone A with no mapped base flood elevation, LDR Sec. 8.5.2.3.b sets the elevation at whichever is higher: two feet above the…

In unincorporated Columbia County, the Board of County Commissioners sets by resolution the regular hours of operation for county parks and recreational facilities, including when they…

In unincorporated Columbia County, 'yard trash' such as tree and shrub trimmings, grass clippings, palm fronds, and tree stumps is defined and specifically exempted from the county's…

In the unincorporated curbside garbage pickup area of Columbia County, the Board of County Commissioners must establish a countywide curbside collection program, and every user within…

In the unincorporated curbside garbage pickup area of Columbia County, participants may not dump waste into county-owned green boxes reserved for nonparticipants, and the Board of…

Dumping garbage, trash, or refuse anywhere in unincorporated Columbia County other than a county-owned refuse container, the county landfill, or a container serviced by a private…

No one may alter, newly construct on, demolish, or relocate a designated landmark or landmark site in unincorporated Columbia County without first getting a certificate of…

Columbia County's minimum housing code puts the duty to exterminate rodents and other pests squarely on occupants and owners under LDR Sec. 9.24.5, backed by a garbage-disposal rule…

In the RSF Residential Single-Family district of unincorporated Columbia County, a single-family home and its accessory buildings may cover no more than 40 percent of the lot, while…

In unincorporated Columbia County's RSF Residential Single-Family district, a single-family home must sit back 25 feet from the front line, 10 feet from each side line and 15 feet from…

In the RSF Residential Single-Family district of unincorporated Columbia County, no portion of a structure may exceed 35 feet under the Land Development Regulations, the same cap…

In unincorporated Columbia County, Florida, the Land Development Regulations do not set a blanket fence height for every yard; instead Section 4.2.26 caps fences, walls, and hedges at…

In unincorporated Columbia County, Florida, a home occupation approved under the Land Development Regulations cannot generate more customer or delivery traffic than a normal…

In unincorporated Columbia County, Florida, the Land Development Regulations expressly exclude a child care center from the home occupation category, so a home daycare cannot operate…

Unincorporated Columbia County, Florida, allows home occupations only with approval from the land development regulation administrator under Section 4.2.31 of the Land Development…

A home occupation in unincorporated Columbia County, Florida, may display exactly one sign under Section 4.2.31(3) of the Land Development Regulations: non-illuminated, no larger than…

Unincorporated Columbia County, Florida, protects farming through zoning rather than a standalone right-to-farm ordinance: the Land Development Regulations' 'A' Agricultural category…