Fort Myers, FL

Retaining walls that place fill inside a Fort Myers regulated floodway must meet the no-rise floodway encroachment analysis in Sec. 110-93 before the city's floodplain administrator…

Fort Myers caps fences at six feet in residential zoning districts and ten feet in commercial and industrial districts, and requires 70 percent open construction through the corner…

Fort Myers requires an application for a fence permit before installing a fence or wall, capping height at six feet in residential districts and ten feet in commercial and industrial…

Fort Myers bans barbed and electric wire outside industrial districts, prohibits razor wire citywide except at correctional facilities, and limits chain link color to green, brown or…

Lee County's fence rules govern where a fence goes rather than who pays for it. No fence may sit in a street right-of-way or easement, or within five feet of the mean high-water line…

Fort Myers requires a permit to keep up to four backyard hens on single-family homestead-exempt lots; roosters, hogs, and other fowl are banned within 300 feet of any dwelling citywide.

Fort Myers has no separate leash ordinance of its own: the city adopted the Lee County Animal Control Ordinance by reference to govern dogs and other animals within city limits…

Fort Myers allows animal hospitals and veterinary clinics only in commercial and industrial zones, and requires outdoor runs to sit 300 feet from any residential use.

Fort Myers designates the entire city a bird sanctuary, making it unlawful to trap, hunt, shoot or molest any bird or wild fowl, or rob nests.

Fort Myers requires a local business tax receipt for pet groomers, splits mobile grooming vehicles from fixed-location shops at $50 each, and bars kennel operations at shop-based…

Lee County's animal chapter sets no fixed number of dogs or cats per home. Instead it makes it unlawful to keep animals that are dangerous by number or type, treats keeping animals for…

Any cat four months or older in Lee County must be vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian and licensed, with the tag on a collar or harness unless the cat carries a…

Lee County's Land Development Code, not just the state, controls exotic pets. Keeping, raising or breeding Class I or Class II animals, American alligators or venomous reptiles is…

Lee County’s animal chapter names no banned breed. It regulates individual animals by behavior: the animal services director declares an animal dangerous, which triggers confinement…

Lee County will not release an unclaimed dog or cat from a public or private shelter, humane group or animal control facility for adoption unless it has been sterilized. Sec. 4-26 lets…

Lee County bans giving food, tobacco, alcohol or any noxious substance to wild animals anywhere in a County park, and also bans petting them, under Sec. 20-23(d). The same rule bars…

Before Lee County Animal Services releases any dog, cat or ferret from its shelter, Sec. 4-44(h) requires the animal be microchipped and the chip registered to the pet owner. A…

Florida law requires every beekeeper to register their honeybee colonies with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, obtain inspection certificates, and renew annually…

Fort Myers prohibits parking a commercial vehicle of 1½ tons or larger in a residential district for more than two hours, except while loading or unloading.

Fort Myers sets its own maximum towing rates rather than leaving them to Lee County. Sec. 86-265(d) caps a nonconsensual or private-property tow of a car, pickup, van, boat, motorcycle…

Fort Myers limits downtown loading-zone parking to 30 minutes for standard vehicles, or two hours for trucks over 40 feet, and bans parking there for anything but active loading or…

Fort Myers bars parking within 10 feet of any driveway and requires parallel parking headed with traffic, wheels within 12 inches of the curb.

Fort Myers makes it unlawful to store any abandoned, junked or discarded motor vehicle on public or private property unless fully enclosed in a building or tied to a licensed business.

Fort Myers Code of Ordinances § 86-69 confines single-family vehicle parking to the driveway or a permitted improved surface: no parking directly on grass, dirt, or unimproved yard…

Fort Myers, Lee County, lets homeowners park or store a boat trailer or RV in the side or rear yard, but never as sleeping quarters.

The county code sets no countywide overnight street-parking curfew, but you may not park a vehicle more than 24 continuous hours on public property to display it for sale, hire or…

Gasparilla Island's residential parking zones run on a County decal system: A permits for residents, B placards for hotel guests, C decals for island employees, and D placards for…

Florida law protects condominium unit owners' rights to install electric vehicle charging stations in their designated parking areas under Fla. Stat. 718.113(8), while commercial…

Fort Myers bans trimming, cutting or removing street trees in the right-of-way or required street trees without city approval, with a written-request process.

Fort Myers requires owners and occupants to cut weeds, grass, and underbrush to no more than 12 inches, or the city cuts it and bills a $50 abatement fee.

Fort Myers restricts landscape irrigation to two assigned days each week based on address parity, and bans all watering between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. year-round under the city's water…

Cutting down any tree 4 inches or more in trunk diameter within Fort Myers city limits requires a city permit first, and mangroves need one regardless of size.

Fort Myers requires at least 75% of trees and 50% of shrubs used in required landscaping to be Florida native species, under the city's Land Development Code vegetation chapter.

Lee County's water conservation article lets you water any plant material with rain barrels, cisterns or other rain-harvesting devices without regard to the watering days and times it…

Fort Myers lets residents run a home business from any residence citywide, but caps it at one outside employee and 15 percent of the home's living area.

Fort Myers limits home-based businesses to traffic levels reasonable for residential use, barring pedestrian or vehicle activity beyond what a normal home generates, under the city's…

Fort Myers treats child day care as a distinct zoning use, not a general home business: it's barred outright in the RS-E, RS-5 and RS-6 single-family districts and needs…

Lee County's code does not set cottage food standards, but it does govern the business side: home occupations are allowed by right in every district permitting dwellings, and the…

Fort Myers bars new garage-apartment rentals in single-family zoning outside the Dean Park Historic District; only garage apartments that existed before December 31, 2002 and were…

Fort Myers bars renting a registered garage apartment unless the owner lives in the main house as a full-time, Florida-homestead resident, and blocks new garage apartments outside Dean…

Fort Myers bars new garage-apartment conversions in every single-family zoning district except the Dean Park Historic District; older garage apartments needed 2004 registration to keep…

Fort Myers allows one non-commercial guesthouse per single-family lot in RS-E, RS-5, RS-6, RS-7, RS-D, RM-12 and RM-16 districts, but only for an owner-occupant housing family: never…

Carports in Fort Myers are accessory structures and must meet the same setbacks as the main building, never within the front setback or front half of the lot, with a five-foot absolute…

The Land Development Code has no tiny-home category. A small second unit behind a house is an accessory dwelling unit under Section 34-1177, limited to one per single-family residence…

Fort Myers bans any amplified noise disturbance or amplified 'loud and raucous' sound that is plainly audible off the source property, citywide, day or night, enforced by police…

Landing a helicopter anywhere within Fort Myers city limits is a public nuisance violation unless the mayor issues a permit first, with exceptions for government, emergency, and…

Fort Myers bars TVs, radios, phonographs, and yelling or shouting from being audible off-property between 10:30 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., with the 50-foot audibility test serving as prima…

Fort Myers makes it unlawful to keep any animal or bird whose frequent or long-continued noise disturbs the comfort or repose of neighbors, folding barking dogs into the city's broader…

Fort Myers caps sound from radios, TVs, and similar devices at set dBA levels that step down by zone and by time of day, measured from the property line.

Fort Myers bars amplifying a car stereo, radio, or sound device audible 25 feet or more from a vehicle on city streets, and separately requires every vehicle exhaust to run through an…

Fort Myers bars noisy construction, demolition, alteration, repair, or excavation work in or near residential areas outside 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, under the city's…

Lee County does not ban leaf blowers. The Noise Control Ordinance exempts lawn care, domestic power tools, lawn mowers and tree maintenance between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Outside…

Fort Myers keeps recreational fires at least 25 feet from any structure or combustible material unless contained, with constant attendance and a garden hose on hand under the fire code.

Fort Myers requires a fire marshal permit and pre-burn site inspection for outdoor fires, recreational fires, patio heaters, and open flame devices, with authority to prohibit burning…

Lee County adopts the Florida Building Code by reference in LDC Section 6-111, so the statewide alarm rules apply here. The county adds one of its own: development outside an…

Unincorporated Lee County has its own fireworks article. You may not use, explode or store fireworks without a county display permit unless you fall within the railroad, industrial…

A propane or LNG tank up to 2,001 gallons, installed incidental to a permitted use on the parcel, does not need a Lee County development order, but Section 10-101(a)(3) still requires…

The Florida Forest Service has statewide jurisdiction over wildfire prevention and suppression on non-municipal land under Chapter 590, Florida Statutes.

Fort Myers requires a building permit before any pool construction begins, issued by the building official under the city's Land Development Code permitting chapter: no exemption…

Lee County writes no pool-barrier specification of its own. Section 6-111 of the Land Development Code adopts the Florida Building Code by reference, so the residential barrier…

The Lee County code contains no vacation-rental operating permit. What the county does impose is the tourist development tax: anyone renting living quarters for a term of six months or…

Unincorporated Lee County's code does not require a short-term rental to be your primary residence. The one owner-occupancy rule in the Land Development Code applies to bed and…

Most of unincorporated Lee County's code sets no cap on how many nights you may rent. Captiva Island is the exception: on RSC-2 lots, Section 33-1626 bars renting or leasing for…

Florida imposes a 6% state sales tax, plus county discretionary surtaxes of 0.5 to 1.5%, on rentals of living accommodations for six months or less, applying universally to short-term…

Fort Myers prohibits using or installing any plant on the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council's Category 1 invasive list, and developed sites must stay free of these species permanently.

Fort Myers caps window signs at 25 percent of the window area per building face, with open/closed, hours, and menu signs exempt if under two square feet.

Fort Myers confines digital and traditional billboards to six named corridors, capping them at 400 square feet, 35 feet tall, 1,500 feet apart, and requires digital faces to follow the…

Fort Myers billboards facing I-75 are capped at 400 square feet and 35 feet tall, with a 1,500-foot linear separation along the corridor.

Fort Myers exempts low-wattage holiday lights and seasonal decorations from its outdoor lighting and sign standards, so no permit or dimming compliance is required for typical string…

In Fort Myers, political campaign signs on residential lots count as yard signs capped at 24 square feet total; on non-residential parcels they're limited to 32 square feet per sign…

Fort Myers caps garage sale signs at four square feet, allows posting only two days before the sale, and requires same-day removal after closing.

Fort Myers's sign code exempts seasonal and holiday decorations entirely: the city's Land Development Code says decorations aren't signs, so the chapter's permit, size and placement…

Billboards in Fort Myers may be digital and internally lit or externally lit with floodlights, but external fixtures must be thin-line or gooseneck, aimed down, and shielded from…

Fort Myers requires fully shielded, full cutoff outdoor light fixtures on non-residential and multifamily parking lots, and bans mercury vapor lamps citywide.

Fort Myers caps outdoor lighting at 0.5 foot-candle at the property line and 0.2 foot-candle onto adjacent residential land, and requires fully shielded, full cutoff fixtures under the…

A Fort Myers business that fits more than one local business tax classification must pay and comply with the tax requirement for every classification it falls under.

Fort Myers prohibits planting or installing any Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council Category 1 invasive species and requires developed sites to stay free of them permanently, while…

Owners on 24 named Fort Myers corridors, from McGregor Boulevard to Colonial Boulevard, must plant assigned street tree species at set spacing and replace dead trees within 30 days of…

Fort Myers requires developers to make every reasonable effort to preserve heritage trees, native species like Live Oak or Bald Cypress with a trunk 20 inches or more in diameter…

Fort Myers bars dumping or discharging any nonstormwater material, paint, oil, wastewater, pool backwash, into surface areas or the municipal storm sewer system without prior written…

In flood hazard areas, Fort Myers requires below-grade accessory structures used for parking or storage to have flood-damage-resistant materials and elevated mechanical, plumbing and…

Fort Myers requires a city permit plus state/federal sign-off and bottom-owner consent before building, adding to, repairing, or altering any dock, with fixed dimensional caps for…

Fort Myers requires a written permit before filling, altering, or relocating any drainage canal, ditch, or easement, or installing culverts, pipes, or bridges in city drainage ways.

Fort Myers adopts FEMA's Lee County flood maps by reference and requires a floodplain development permit before any construction in a mapped flood hazard area.

Florida regulates construction seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line through state permits, with uniform standards administered by the Department of Environmental Protection.

Fort Myers requires every residential, commercial and multi-family property to separate recyclable materials from trash and set them out for collection, with the city as the mandatory…

Fort Myers requires dumpster and recycling container enclosures serving any development other than a single-family or duplex home to sit at least five feet from side or rear property…

Fort Myers bans dumping, throwing, or scattering litter, debris, trash, or hazardous material on any land, stormwater system, or water body within city limits, backed by a…

Fort Myers collects household trash, recycling, and bulk waste at curbside once a week each, with food establishments serviced twice weekly by dumpster under the city's solid waste…

City of Fort Myers offers curbside recycling collection to residential users; if declined, residents must deliver program recyclables to a recycling facility themselves. Commercial…

Fort Myers caps curbside bulk piles at 4 cubic yards of junk/white goods or 10 cubic yards of horticultural waste per parcel before special-pickup fees kick in.

Fort Myers collects bagged, bundled, or curbside-piled vegetative waste weekly, with strict size and weight limits before oversized loads trigger special-pickup charges.

Fort Myers residents must place solid waste and recycling containers at the curb no earlier than noon the day before pickup and remove them by 7:00 p.m. on collection day.

Fort Myers collects household garbage and curbside recycling once a week, and every single-family, multi-family, and commercial property in the city must subscribe to city solid waste…

Fort Myers requires residential, commercial, and industrial property owners to separate compostable materials from solid waste and set them out for collection, or deliver them to an…

Single-family detached homes in Fort Myers's RS-E, RS-5, RS-6, RS-7, RS-D, RM-12 and RM-16 districts are capped at 35 feet under the city's dimensional standards table.

Fort Myers sets minimum front, side, rear, and waterfront yard setbacks by zoning district in its Land Development Code dimensional tables, from 20-foot fronts in RS-E through RM-16 to…

Fort Myers caps building coverage, the share of a lot covered by roofed or walled structures, at 35 to 45 percent depending on the residential zoning district, set by the Land…

Fort Myers bans willfully blocking streets, sidewalks or alleys, including by crowds, animals or vehicles, and enforces it with a warning first, then citations.

Fort Myers repairs, repaves, and reconstructs sidewalks through a special assessment process: the city council orders the work under Sec. 74-51, then bills the cost to the abutting…

Fort Myers requires a sidewalk café business tax receipt before any restaurant can place tables and chairs on a downtown sidewalk, with fees, multi-department review, and a mandatory…

Fort Myers adopts the Florida Building Code, Plumbing as the minimum construction standard citywide, with permits required for plumbing work under the state-adopted code.

In Fort Myers, Lee County, a building permit expires 180 days after issuance if work hasn't started, or 180 days after the last passing inspection, triggering stop-work orders and…

Fort Myers adopts the National Electrical Code as the minimum electrical construction standard citywide, permitting local amendments only under Florida's building code amendment…

Fort Myers requires a building permit from the building official or fire official before any construction, development, sign installation, or other work begins within city limits…

Lee County does not require fire sprinklers in one- and two-family homes or manufactured homes; Section 6-553 exempts them from the supervisory-facility standard applied to other…

Fort Myers requires a citywide micromobility agreement before any shared scooters operate, caps the program at one operator, and confines riding to downtown streets or sidewalks…

Fort Myers lets e-bikes, e-scooters and other micromobility devices use bike lanes, buffered lanes and protected bicycle lanes unless signs say otherwise, but bars parking them in a…

Fort Myers treats electric bicycles as regulated "micromobility devices": downtown, they may use the street but not the sidewalk; everywhere else in the city, they must stay on the…

Florida flips the usual assumption: a golf cart is barred from public roads unless a county, a municipality, or a water control district has affirmatively designated that road for cart…

Fort Myers makes it unlawful to urinate or defecate in any public place unless disposed of into an enclosed, sanitary receptacle provided for that purpose.

Fort Myers bans smoking and vaping in all city-owned parks and in county parks within city limits, punishable by a $100 civil fine.

Fort Myers prohibits skateboarding, roller skating and roller blading in the downtown core area, on public parking lots and garages, and anywhere it damages property, citywide in Lee…

Fort Myers bans yelling, shouting, and amplified sound audible beyond your property between 10:30 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., with nighttime residential noise capped at 60 dBA and fines up to…

Drinking alcohol or carrying an open, unsealed alcoholic beverage on any Fort Myers street, sidewalk, parkway, parking lot or semipublic parking lot is illegal, with narrow exceptions…

Fort Myers bans soliciting, begging or panhandling for alms in every city park, and separately bars pedestrians from standing in road medians or trading items with vehicle occupants on…

Fort Myers prohibits sleeping on park benches, loud or threatening language, and disorderly conduct in every city park, backed by a $25 to $250 fine under the parks chapter's loitering…

Fort Myers requires grills and hibachis to stay at least 10 feet from structures at apartments and condos, and requires a fire marshal permit for outdoor fireplaces, patio heaters, and…

In Fort Myers apartments and condos, propane grills, hibachis and similar cooking devices can't be used on balconies, under overhangs, or within 10 feet of any structure: a rule aimed…

Fort Myers requires prior fire marshal approval before any outdoor fireplace, permanent barbecue, or grill is built, installed, or maintained, under the city's outdoor fires ordinance.

Fort Myers requires every property owner to keep weeds, grass and underbrush cut to 12 inches or less and clear junk, or the city does it and bills a $50-$150 fee.

Fort Myers cites and orders repair, vacation, or demolition of unsafe or condemned structures under Code of Ordinances Article IV, with code enforcement board hearings and liens up to…

Fort Myers requires a $150 sidewalk café business tax receipt before selling food or drinks on a city sidewalk, but only within the Downtown Redevelopment District and only next to a…

Events on Fort Myers public land or in a city facility must follow the Special Events Handbook or the facility's event fee structure before they can be held.

Fort Myers requires a permit and a $250-per-day recycling deposit before any group can close a city street for a street fair that blocks normal vehicular traffic.

Fort Myers requires a written city permit, its code term is "street fair", before anyone can close a public street for a block party, festival, or neighborhood gathering that blocks…

Fort Myers exempts city-issued parade permits from its street-obstruction ban, so a parade needs city permission before stepping off: without one, blocking a public street is an…

Lee County doesn't require a film permit for ordinary shoots, but Sec. 19-185(a)(4) pulls filming into the special event permitting law the moment a production uses pyrotechnics…

Fort Myers code inspectors document violations and set a correction deadline; uncorrected cases go to the city's Code Enforcement Board, which can fine violators up to $250 a day for a…

Residents, employees and officers of Fort Myers or Lee County can file a written nuisance complaint with the city attorney, who investigates and can request a hearing before the…

Fort Myers city parks are open daily from 6:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. unless the recreation manager posts different hours, and overnight camping in parks is banned.

Fort Myers bars minors from public places between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. on school nights and 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weekends, with civil fines for repeat violations.

Fort Myers grants a 30% bonus above base density for downtown/midtown parcels over half an acre, or 40% for smaller parcels, through the Smart Code's PUD-reviewed bonus allocation…

Fort Myers's Downtown Smart Code sets binding exterior-material, window-glazing and roof-pitch rules for every building in the Downtown and Midtown Future Land Use districts, not just…

Fort Myers rental dwellings are inspected roughly every three years, but the city steps up the schedule when tenants or neighbors file legitimate complaints about a unit or building.

Fort Myers requires residential rental units to pass periodic inspections for building, fire, and property maintenance code compliance, roughly every three years.

Fort Myers Code § 10-33 says the city does not regulate massage establishments; that authority belongs to Florida's state Board of Massage under F.S. ch. 480.

Fort Myers's home business rules expressly exclude repair shops, so residents in any zoning district cannot legally operate an auto repair business out of a house or home garage.

Fort Myers requires tattoo parlors to hold a $50 annual local business tax receipt, conditioned on approval from the zoning official, police department with background check, county…

Fort Myers requires wrecker operators to register vehicles and hold a police-issued permit before towing cars from private lots without the owner's consent.

Fort Myers requires an occupational license for adult bookstores, theaters, and performance establishments, and bans them within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, or other adult…

Fort Myers requires anyone operating as a pawnbroker, secondhand dealer, junk dealer or precious metals dealer to hold a city license before doing business, approved by city council…

Fort Myers requires anyone buying, pawning, consigning, or dealing in secondhand goods to hold a city license, post a bond, and follow strict recordkeeping and holding-period rules.

Florida Statute 569.315 expressly preempts the regulation of the marketing, sale, and delivery of nicotine products and dispensing devices to the state, voiding most municipal…

Fort Myers caps garage, yard, and rummage sales at twice per calendar year, three consecutive days, and 8 a.m.–6 p.m. hours under City Code § 66-33.

Fort Myers limits stand-alone food trucks and carts to CG, CI, IL, and IH zoning districts, while dedicated food truck parks may locate in any district except RS, RM, and MDP with…

Fort Myers requires anyone peddling goods street-to-street, house-to-house, or from a vehicle within city limits to obtain a police-issued license before doing business, under City…

Fort Myers requires county health department approval, a notarized property-owner letter, and a fire marshal inspection before the city will issue a business tax receipt for any food…

In Fort Myers, Lee County, running a noisy generator, blower, or power fan without a muffler is a declared nuisance under the city's noise ordinance, punishable by citation.

Fort Myers bans sounding any vehicle horn or signaling device, including a car alarm, for an unreasonable period or as a harsh, unreasonably loud sound, except as a genuine danger…

Fort Myers explicitly counts rhythmic, reverberating bass as 'plainly audible' noise: officers don't need to identify the song, just detect the thumping bass beyond your property line…

Fort Myers's noise ordinance exempts residential air conditioners from its decibel limits and quiet-hour restrictions, so a running AC condenser isn't itself a violation in the Lee…

Fort Myers caps entertainment-venue sound at 75 dBA from 2:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. and 70 dBA overnight, measured at the property line under the city's electronic sound-level ordinance.

Fort Myers can designate any building, site, or structure a local historic landmark by ordinance, even over an owner's objection, once two National Register criteria are met.

Fort Myers bans camping or sleeping overnight on city-owned buildings, grounds, streets, parks, sidewalks and rights-of-way unless the site is designated for recreational camping, with…

Fort Myers requires residential rental dwellings to pass periodic inspections for Florida Building Code, Fire Prevention Code and International Property Maintenance Code compliance.

Fort Myers requires residential rental dwellings to hold a current certificate of compliance, with owners keeping records current with community development and posting the certificate…

Fla. Stat. § 83.56 requires a 3-day notice to pay rent or vacate for nonpayment, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays from the count. For lease violations, the landlord…

Florida's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Chapter 83 Part II, exclusively defines lawful eviction grounds and procedures statewide, preempting cities from adding just-cause…

Under Fla. Stat. § 83.53, a Florida landlord must give at least 24 hours' notice to enter for repairs and may enter only at reasonable times, defined as between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m…

For a month-to-month tenancy, Fla. Stat. § 83.57 now requires 30 days' written notice (raised from 15 days by 2023's HB 1417). Breaking a fixed-term lease triggers landlord remedies…

Florida effectively bans local rent control. State law bars any city or county from imposing controls on rents, and the 2023 Live Local Act removed the old narrow exception that had…

Florida has no rent control and no statute setting a maximum rent increase or a dedicated advance-notice period. On a month-to-month tenancy, a new rent takes effect only through the…

Florida places no dollar limit on residential security deposits, but it enforces tight deadlines. If the landlord makes no claim, the deposit must be returned within 15 days of…

Adverse possession in Florida requires 7 years of actual, continued, exclusive possession plus paying all taxes within a year and filing a return with the property appraiser (Fla…

New construction and substantial improvements in Fort Myers flood hazard areas must meet Florida Building Code elevation standards, and the city requires accessory structures built…

After a mayor-declared state of emergency, Fort Myers may enter private communities in Lee County to clear storm debris blocking emergency vehicle access on private streets and…

Lee County lets hurricane shutters encroach one foot into a required setback, so an attached accordion or roll-down shutter never needs a variance to install. Every shutter and every…

Lee County's own Wind-Borne Debris Region and Basic Wind Speed Map, adopted under Section 6-112, sets local wind-speed zones tied to Florida Building Code Figures 1609A-C that decide…

Fort Myers reclaimed water service is bulk-only: for industrial/agricultural users and new residential subdivisions that build their own distribution lines. Existing homes don't…

Fort Myers water customers must keep their service pipe, stopcocks, and apparatus in good repair, prevent waste, and repair leaks after written notice or face misdemeanor penalties…

Lee County's Landscape Code makes water conservation an explicit design goal, and backs it with a number: LDC § 10-416(b) caps turfgrass at ten percent of the required landscape area…

Fort Myers makes it a public nuisance for solid waste on your property to attract or harbor rodents, and puts eradication on the owner or tenant.

Fort Myers requires door-to-door solicitors, canvassers, and peddlers to secure a license from the license inspector and police department, complete a background check with…

Lee County parks don't impose their own drone rule; Sec. 20-27(h) simply requires unmanned aircraft use in County parks to comply with federal and state law. That's a lighter standard…

Lee County Port Authority rules bar anyone from flying a model aircraft, drone, rocket, kite, balloon or parachute at or on Southwest Florida International, Page Field or the county's…

Commercial drone operations in Florida are regulated by federal FAA Part 107 and state law; local governments cannot impose additional commercial operation restrictions.

Florida expressly preempts local regulation of drones, reserving authority to the state and federal government, with limited surveillance and trespass exceptions.

Lee County's AG-1, AG-2 and AG-3 zoning districts exist specifically to preserve working farms, per LDC § 34-651, and § 34-652 defers to Florida's Right to Farm Act, F.S. § 604.50…

Lee County's noise ordinance sets a 66 dBA daytime and 55 dBA nighttime limit for agricultural land as a receiving use, the same tier as residential property. But under Sec. 19-152(7)…

Florida preempts local regulation of medical marijuana dispensaries: cities must either treat them like pharmacies or ban them outright.

Florida prohibits home cultivation of cannabis for both recreational and medical use; only state-licensed Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers may grow cannabis.

Florida Statute 218.077 prohibits local governments from establishing a minimum wage other than the state or federal rate, preempting city and county living-wage ordinances except for…

Florida Statute 509.032(7) and broader employment preemption framework prevent local governments from requiring private employers to follow predictive or fair-scheduling rules beyond…

Florida allows permitless concealed carry of firearms by law-abiding adults under FS 790.01 and continues to issue concealed weapon licenses through FS 790.06, with both regimes…

Florida Statute 790.33 expressly preempts the entire field of firearm and ammunition regulation to the state, voiding all local ordinances and imposing personal civil penalties on…

Florida's open carry ban (FS 790.053) was struck down by the First District Court of Appeal in McDaniels v. State on September 10, 2025. The Florida Attorney General issued guidance on…

Florida Statute 790.25(5) allows any law-abiding person 18 or older to possess a concealed firearm in a private vehicle for self-defense, provided the firearm is securely encased or…

Florida cardrooms operate only inside licensed pari-mutuel facilities, dog tracks, horse tracks, and jai alai frontons, under a license from the Florida Gaming Control Commission. Fla…

Florida lets charitable, nonprofit, and veterans' organizations run bingo without applying for any state gaming license: the statute itself sets the eligibility bar and the limits. A…

Florida law exempts small-stakes card and tile games from gambling crimes under Fla. Stat. § 849.085, but only under strict conditions: winnings per hand can't exceed $10, the game…

Sports wagering is legal in Florida only through the Seminole Tribe's Hard Rock Bet platform, authorized under the state's gaming compact codified at Fla. Stat. § 285.710(13)(b)7…

Under Fla. Stat. § 720.3085, unpaid assessments become a lien on a parcel, and the homeowners' association may foreclose like a mortgage. Before recording the lien the association must…

Under Fla. Stat. § 720.303(2), Florida HOA board meetings must be open to members with notice posted at least 48 hours ahead. Section 720.306 governs member meetings and elections, §…

Under Fla. Stat. §§ 720.303 and 720.3035, a Florida HOA enforces its recorded covenants and architectural standards, but only where authority is stated or reasonably inferred in the…

Florida Statute 163.04 bars homeowner association deed restrictions and local ordinances from prohibiting clotheslines, solar collectors, or other renewable-resource energy devices in…

Florida law bars HOA declarations, articles, and bylaws from prohibiting Florida-friendly landscaping, defined by statute as drought-tolerant, water-conserving design. Section…

Florida law bars homeowners associations from stopping owners from flying up to two flags, each no larger than 4 1/2 by 6 feet, including the U.S. flag, Florida's state flag, military…

Under Fla. Stat. § 720.305, a Florida HOA may fine up to $100 per violation and $1,000 in the aggregate unless the governing documents allow more. The association must give at least 14…

A Florida association can foreclose an assessment lien in the same manner a mortgage is foreclosed, but only after two separate 45-day notices, and fines are largely off limits: a…

Florida limits how homeowners' associations can restrict renting out a home, but only in communities governed by Chapter 720, not condos or co-ops. Under Fla. Stat. § 720.306(1)(h), a…

Florida allows sobriety checkpoints, and the discretion of the individual trooper is what gets constrained. Fla. Stat. § 321.05(1) gives Florida Highway Patrol officers the power to…

Florida is an all-party consent state, but that rule reaches less far than it sounds. Fla. Stat. § 934.03(2)(d) makes interception lawful only when every party consents, while §…

Florida has no general stop-and-identify statute. The Florida Stop and Frisk Law, Fla. Stat. § 901.151(2), lets an officer temporarily detain you to ascertain your identity when…

Florida wrote the automobile exception into its statutes in 1927. Fla. Stat. § 933.19 adopts the United States Supreme Court's decision of March 2, 1925 in the Carroll case, reported…

Florida Statute 403.7033 preempts the regulation of disposable plastic bags by local governments, prohibiting cities and counties from enacting bans or fees on retailers pending a…

Florida Statute 500.90 preempts the regulation of polystyrene products by local governments, blocking cities and counties from banning expanded polystyrene foam food containers, cups…

Florida law voids any deed restriction, covenant, or HOA agreement that bans or effectively blocks solar collectors on homes or condo units, and boards cannot deny installation…

Florida statute 163.04 prohibits any ordinance, deed restriction, or covenant from preventing installation of solar collectors. Local building permits are required but cannot…

Florida Statute 569.101 prohibits the sale or delivery of tobacco and nicotine products to persons under 21, aligning with federal law and applying uniformly statewide under the…

Florida is one of the states that says yes to underbody lighting in so many words. Fla. Stat. § 316.235(3) provides that any motor vehicle may be equipped with one or more lamps or…

Florida does not give dash cameras a windshield carve-out. Fla. Stat. § 316.2952(2) is written as a closed list of exactly four things that may be attached to, or located in or upon, a…

Florida bans lane splitting in so many words. Fla. Stat. section 316.209(3) states that no person shall operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows…

Florida treats an obscured plate as a crime, not a ticket. Fla. Stat. section 320.061(1) makes it unlawful to apply or attach any substance, reflective matter, illuminated device…

A driver of a private passenger vehicle may use a radar detector in Florida. No section of the Florida Statutes prohibits owning, carrying or operating one, and chapter 316, which…

Florida does not ban studded tires and does not restrict them to a winter season. The one wheel-surface provision in the traffic code, Fla. Stat. section 316.299, prohibits driving on…

Florida sets a separate light transmittance floor for each piece of glass rather than one statewide number. Side wings and side windows forward of or next to the driver must pass at…