9 rules for unincorporated Santa Rosa County, Florida.
Verified from official government sources
Santa Rosa County Code Enforcement does NOT investigate vegetative overgrowth (grass, limbs, woods) on private lots. The county enforces no residential grass-height limit in the unincorporated area. Inside Milton, Jay, or Gulf Breeze, the city rules apply instead.
Santa Rosa County Code Enforcement Handout
WHAT WE DO NOT INVESTIGATE: Vegetative overgrowth (grass, limbs, woods)
Routine trimming of trees on your own residential lot needs no county permit. Under Florida law, a homeowner may even remove a tree without any county notice or fee when a certified arborist documents it poses an unacceptable risk. Utility line-clearance trimming is handled by the utility.
Santa Rosa County LDC 4.07.05.A.1
Existing Single Family Residential or Duplex Structures — Santa Rosa County will not require a tree removal permit for the removal of a tree on a parcel that has an existing single family residential structure located onsite.
On a lot with an existing single-family or duplex home, Santa Rosa County requires NO tree-removal permit. Florida law also bars any permit or fee when a certified arborist documents a tree poses an unacceptable risk. Development parcels must still permit protected trees.
FS 163.045(2)
A local government may not require a notice, application, approval, permit, fee, or mitigation for the pruning, trimming, or removal of a tree on residential property if the property owner obtains documentation from an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) or a Florida licensed landscape architect that the tree presents an unacceptable risk to persons or property.
Santa Rosa County Code Enforcement does not investigate vegetative overgrowth — grass, limbs, or woods — on private property. There is no active county weed-height citation program in the unincorporated area. Trash and illegal dumping are enforced; routine weeds are left to cities and HOAs.
Santa Rosa County Code Enforcement Handout
WHAT WE DO NOT INVESTIGATE: Vegetative overgrowth (grass, limbs, woods)
Santa Rosa County lies in the Northwest Florida Water Management District, which imposes NO day-of-week landscape-irrigation limits. Everyday lawn watering is allowed, subject to any local utility rules. State law also requires a working rain/moisture sensor on automatic irrigation systems.
FS 373.62(1)
Any person who purchases and installs an automatic landscape irrigation system must properly install, maintain, and operate technology that inhibits or interrupts operation of the system during periods of sufficient moisture.
Rain barrels and rainwater harvesting are legal and encouraged in Santa Rosa County. Florida places no state restriction on collecting rainwater for irrigation. No county permit is needed for a typical residential rain barrel; large cisterns tied to plumbing may need a permit.
New development in Santa Rosa County must use native, Florida-Friendly species and may not plant invasive exotics. Existing single-family and duplex homes are exempt from the landscape code. State law protects a homeowner's right to install Florida-Friendly landscaping despite HOA rules.
Santa Rosa County LDC 4.07.01.G
Landscaping shall utilize native species as recommended by the Florida Friendly Landscaping (FFL) program and the University of Florida. Landscaping shall not utilize any exotic vegetation which is likely to out-compete or otherwise displace native vegetation as identified in the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council Invasive Plant Lists.
Santa Rosa County has no ordinance banning residential artificial turf, and it is not counted as required landscaping. The county's landscape code favors native, living, Florida-Friendly plantings for regulated development. HOAs may separately restrict synthetic turf.
Backyard composting of yard and food scraps is allowed in Santa Rosa County with no permit for home-scale piles. Keep compost contained and free of odor and vermin so it doesn't become a nuisance. Illegal dumping of waste is separately prohibited.
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