Fort Lauderdale, FL Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)
Key Facts
- Coverage
- Applies to every lot and parcel citywide
- Customer categories
- Three tiers: Category I, II, III
- Rate setting
- Set annually by commission resolution
- Nonpayment
- Unpaid fee becomes a property lien
- Foreclosure trigger
- Lien foreclosable after 30 days delinquent
- New annexations
- Exempt from fee for first year
- Adjustment review
- Public works decides within four months
Summary
Every lot and parcel in Fort Lauderdale pays a stormwater management utility fee under Code section 28-195, sorted into one of three customer categories by property type. The fee funds the pipes, canals and retention basins that make up the city's drainage system, and section 28-198 turns an unpaid bill into a property lien.
The city is hereby authorized to impose a stormwater management program assessment to fund the planning, construction, operation, maintenance, and administration of a public stormwater management system upon benefited parcels at a rate of assessment based on the special benefit accruing to such parcel from the provision of a stormwater management system. [...] A stormwater fee is hereby imposed upon each and every lot and parcel within the city for services and facilities provided by the stormwater management program. For purposes of imposing the stormwater fee, all lots and parcels within the city shall be classified by one of the following three (3) customer categories: Category I [...] Category II [...] Category III [...] Any unpaid stormwater fees shall constitute a lien against the property, which lien shall be prior to all other liens on such property except the liens of state, county and municipal taxes and shall be on a parity with the lien of such state, county and municipal taxes.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 67 Update 1 | Unified Land Development Code: Supplement 58 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
0893. Section 28-194 formally establishes the program as the operational arm running the city's inlets, conduits, channels, retention and detention basins and drainage easements. Section 28-195 imposes the actual fee on 'each and every lot and parcel' and sorts every property into Category I (single-family, manufactured and small multifamily residential), Category II (other developed property) or Category III (undeveloped land, parks, airports, golf courses and well fields), using the DOR code on the Broward County Property Appraiser's tax roll. Rates are set annually by the city commission's assessment resolution under section 28-197, not fixed dollar figures in the Code itself.
Section 28-198 bills the fee on the regular monthly utility cycle where possible, and an unpaid stormwater fee becomes a lien on the property, on par with unpaid state, county and municipal taxes. Property owners annexed into the city do not start paying until a year after annexation. Section 28-199 lets an owner apply to the public works department for a category or rate adjustment, but the city has up to four months to rule and requires a Florida-registered surveyor's or engineer's data to support the request; no adjustment is given for facilities a developer was already required to build under city, county or state stormwater rules. Collected fees go into a dedicated enterprise fund under section 28-200 for stormwater studies, permit review, infrastructure maintenance, capital projects and debt service.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 28 treats the stormwater fee as a utility charge rather than a citable code violation: nonpayment does not draw a criminal fine but produces the same consequences as an unpaid water bill. Section 28-198 makes a delinquent fee a lien against the property with the same priority as unpaid state, county and municipal taxes, and the city may foreclose that lien under Florida mortgage-foreclosure procedure once it has been delinquent more than 30 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Fort Lauderdale charge a separate stormwater fee?
How is my property's stormwater fee category decided?
What happens if I do not pay the stormwater fee?
Can I get my stormwater fee category changed?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fort Lauderdale
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Stormwater Management in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Broward County handle stormwater management.