Gainesville, FL

Gainesville recognises small and large family child care homes, both licensed by the Alachua County Health Department. Large homes must sit 1,000 feet apart, use the operator’s own…

A home-based business in unincorporated Alachua County must follow the county's general sign chapter rather than a separate home-business sign rule: § 404.62(d) sends every home-based…

Alachua County allows a home-based business as an accessory use to any legal residential dwelling, urban or rural, without a public hearing: County Code § 401.20(b)(7) lets the Growth…

Florida's Cottage Food Operations Act preempts local regulation, allowing home production of non-potentially hazardous foods up to a statewide gross sales limit.

Gainesville's land development code has no short-term rental use category, so no STR-specific parking rule exists. Guest parking is governed by the general residential rules: parking…

Gainesville's code sets no guest cap for short-term rentals. Occupancy floors come from the 2018 International Property Maintenance Code, adopted by section 13-17. The zoning…

Florida law preempts the regulation of vacation rental licensing and inspections to the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), though local zoning and…

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…

Gainesville's animal chapter regulates dogs by behavior, not by breed. Nothing in the city code restricts a breed. Chapter 5 works alongside the Alachua County animal control…

Gainesville's only animal-feeding rule sits in the parks chapter: you may not feed any animal in a city park without authorization from the city manager or designee. Outside parks the…

Gainesville allows up to 10 Gallus Domesticus hens per single-family home in the SF, RC, U1, and U2 districts, but bans roosters, horses, cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, and rabbits as…

Gainesville's zoning code classifies pet grooming as a "personal service," the same category as barbershops and laundromats, not as a "pet service" alongside kennels and veterinary…

Gainesville bars outdoor cages or runs at veterinary facilities except in industrial districts sited at least 500 feet from residentially zoned property. Every facility must also be…

Every dog or cat adopted from Alachua County animal resources must be sterilized before release under Alachua County Code § 72.30(b)(2); if health prevents sterilization at adoption…

Alachua County Code § 72.24.5 requires every dog and cat four months or older that is sold, transferred, exchanged, adopted, or returned to its owner from the county animal shelter to…

Alachua County Code § 72.25 makes sterilize-ear tip-vaccinate-return the county's preferred response to outdoor community cats, exempting compliant cats from licensing and at-large…

Alachua County has no ordinance banning retail dog or cat sales; instead, § 72.44 requires any breeder, hobby or commercial, to hold a county breeder permit before breeding or offering…

Alachua County requires owners to keep physical control of a dog anytime it's off the owner's property, it may not run at large on streets, sidewalks, schools or parks, with narrow…

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

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) regulates exotic and captive wildlife statewide. Possession of Class I, II, and III wildlife requires FWC permits, and state law…

Florida has no standalone hoarding statute; hoarders are prosecuted under Fla. Stat. 828.13 for confining animals without enough good, wholesome food and water, and under 828.12…

Gainesville regulates tiny houses used as single dwelling units under Code § 6-4, capping floor area at 400 square feet excluding lofts. The section sets minimum ceiling heights, loft…

Gainesville allows one attached and one detached accessory dwelling unit per lot, exempt from density calculations, capped at 850 square feet each under LDC § 30-5.36. Each ADU must…

A backyard shed or other accessory structure in Gainesville can't be built before the main house exists, can't exceed 50 percent of the principal building's square footage, and…

Gainesville writes no pool safety code of its own. Section 6-2 adopts the Florida Building Code by reference, and section 30-6.9 says city fence rules do not supersede state…

A residential or public swimming pool built in unincorporated Alachua County must comply with Chapter 424 of the Florida Building Code, per County Code § 334.02, and is subject to the…

Gainesville's noise code bans owning or harboring an animal whose howling, barking or other sounds create a disturbance across a residential property line if it lasts 10 or more…

Gainesville bars operating any radio, sound amplifier, musical instrument or similar device so it creates a noise disturbance across a property line, at any hour, under Code Section…

Gainesville bans operating any loudspeaker or public address system during nighttime hours, 10:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m., if it creates a noise disturbance. The city's noise code defines…

Gainesville caps continuous outdoor sound at 61 dB(A) daytime and 55 dB(A) nighttime for residential source properties, and 66 dB(A) daytime and 60 dB(A) nighttime for commercial ones…

Gainesville bars operating any mechanically, electrically or gasoline motor-driven tool, including leaf blowers, during nighttime hours (10:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.) if it causes a noise…

Gainesville bars construction, drilling, repair or demolition equipment from operating between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. if it creates a noise disturbance across a property line, with an…

Sec. 30-4.26 of Gainesville's Land Development Code creates an airport noise zone around Gainesville Regional Airport with three DNL subzones: A (65 dB), B (60 dB), and C (55 dB). New…

Gainesville prohibits car stereos, tape players or amplified sound audible 25 feet from a motor vehicle on any street or highway under Code § 15-3(d)(9). Officers may cite the driver…

Every regulated residential dwelling unit in Gainesville must have working smoke alarms under the city's locally amended International Property Maintenance Code. Alarms are required…

Gainesville bans nearly all open burning and outdoor burning within city limits under Section 10-63, prohibiting fires that consume trash, construction debris, tires, treated wood…

Gainesville allows a patio wood-burning unit, a chimney, patio warmer or portable wood-burning device used for recreation or heating, without a permit, but Section 10-68 requires it to…

Gainesville requires anyone staging a pyrotechnic display, a professional fireworks show, to obtain a one-time permit under Section 10-71 before the event, with the permit fee set in…

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

Gainesville treats a curb painted yellow the same as a posted no-parking sign. Section 26-47(a)(1)i-j bars stopping, standing or parking anywhere official signs or yellow curb markings…

Gainesville lets residents petition for a decal-and-permit controlled vehicular parking area when on-street demand hits 50 percent of legal capacity, under Sec. 26-115 and Sec. 26-117…

Gainesville bans abandoning any vehicle in the city or leaving one anywhere long enough that it reasonably appears abandoned, under Sec. 26-137. An abandoned vehicle's owner cannot let…

Gainesville bars leaving any vehicle on a public street for more than 72 continuous hours under Sec. 26-47(b)(3). The limit doesn't extend shorter posted meter or sign restrictions…

Gainesville's city manager designates passenger and freight curb loading zones and posts the hours each is active under Sec. 26-96. Standing in a passenger zone is limited to…

Gainesville's Sec. 26-47 bars stopping, standing or parking in 16 specific circumstances, including blocking a driveway, parking against the flow of traffic, or stopping within an…

When a Gainesville homeowner has no room in the side or rear yard, LDC § 30-5.46(A)(4)(c) allows a recreational vehicle to sit in the front yard only if it's turned perpendicular to…

Recreational vehicles, a term that includes boats, campers and travel trailers under the LDC, may be parked on a residential lot only for storage, never lived in, under § 30-5.46(A)…

Gainesville bars parking any vehicle over 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight outside an enclosed structure in every residential zoning district. LDC § 30-5.46(C) applies the cap…

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…

Florida caps the drop fee a tower can charge at half the posted rate if the owner shows up mid-tow, requires a signed itemized receipt, and forces storage lots within 10 to 15 highway…

Gainesville allows retaining walls on private property as long as they do not disrupt the natural flow of surface water or harm neighboring properties, but every retaining wall…

Gainesville's Land Development Code requires a building permit before anyone builds a wall on private property, with construction subject to the building department's codes and review…

Fences inside a Gainesville property's required yard setback, or within five feet of the front lot line where no setback applies, top out at eight feet under LDC § 30-6.9(B)(1). Beyond…

Barbed wire and razor wire fencing is prohibited in every residential zoning district in Gainesville under LDC § 30-6.9(B)(4). Chain link, razor wire, barbed wire and wire mesh are…

Florida's one statewide fence statute, §588.011, defines a legal fence as at least 3 feet high with three strands of wire on posts no more than 20 feet apart. Residential height…

Gainesville's Property Maintenance Code caps weeds and plant growth on residential property at 12 inches. The city's local amendment to Section 302.4 of the adopted 2018 International…

Gainesville has no year-round watering-day schedule in its municipal code. Instead, City Code Section 2-67(b) lets the mayor declare a water emergency and, working with the general…

Gainesville's Land Development Code sets a composting rule only for subsistence gardens and urban market farms, its regulated urban agriculture uses. Under LDC § 30-5.30(G), compost at…

Gainesville requires a tree removal permit before any living regulated tree, generally eight inches or more in diameter, is cut down or relocated, plus mitigation for each tree lost…

Gainesville homeowners can grow a natural yard without violating the 12-inch grass rule. Code § 16-17 defines "excessive growth" as vegetation over 12 inches that could harbor pests or…

Gainesville does not issue a door-to-door solicitor permit. Peddlers need a city business tax receipt instead, and both peddlers and canvassers must stop work in residential areas by…

Gainesville’s code creates no opt-out registry. A posted sign does the work instead: peddlers and canvassers may not work premises marked No Solicitors, and must stop by 7:00 p.m. each…

A full-text search of Gainesville's Code of Ordinances turns up no curfew provision of any kind. The nearest time-of-day restriction is park closing hours, which apply to everyone…

Alachua County parks close to the public on hours the Parks and Open Spaces Department sets and posts, and § 76.4(a) makes it unlawful to be or remain in a park after closing without…

Gainesville city crews collect garbage, yard waste and recyclables at the curb from buildings with four or fewer dwelling units. The code sets container, timing and weight rules rather…

Gainesville picks up bundled yard waste at curbside under City Code § 27-76(b)(2), so long as bundles or containers weigh 40 pounds or less and run no longer than five feet. Grass…

Gainesville lets neighboring businesses share one commercial dumpster only if it sits within 500 feet of each generator's service door, one of them holds a franchise hauler agreement…

Gainesville Code § 27-73 bans dumping garbage, trash, or recovered materials on someone else's property or on any public street, sidewalk, alley, park, waterway, or right-of-way…

Gainesville Code § 27-85 requires every commercial generator to separate designated recyclable materials and either haul them to a recovery facility itself or contract a registered…

Every commercial generator in Gainesville must separate designated recyclable materials from its trash and either haul them itself or hire a registered recycler to take them to a…

Furniture, appliances, and other oversized waste that won't fit in a cart or bundle get picked up through Gainesville's on-call special service, not regular curbside collection. The…

Gainesville phased in mandatory food-scrap separation for businesses: generators of a cubic yard or more of food waste per week had to start separating it from trash by June 1, 2023…

Unincorporated Alachua County residents may not set solid waste or recycling containers at the curb before 5 p.m. the day before collection, and must pull them back at least 15 feet…

Alachua County's licensed haulers may only collect residential and commercial solid waste between 7:00 a.m. and sunset, with no collection on Sundays or holidays absent an emergency…

Gainesville’s code says nothing about HOA solar covenants. What it does control is city approval: a heritage overlay district may not regulate solar panels at all, and historic…

Alachua County allows rooftop photovoltaic solar systems on conforming and legally nonconforming buildings in every unincorporated zoning district. Panels on flat roofs cannot rise…

Gainesville's code contains no rent control or rent stabilization provision. The only place the city limits what may be charged is inclusionary affordable housing, where large…

Alachua County enforces the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code as its housing and maintenance code for structures and premises under County Code § 332.01, with local…

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 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 Statute 509.032(7) preempts local regulation of vacation rental bans, duration, and frequency, while FS 83.425 (2023) preempts local regulation of residential tenancies…

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…

Gainesville's land development code defines a medical marijuana dispensing facility and allows it by right in the mixed-use and business districts. The code states no buffer distance…

Alachua County allows medical marijuana dispensaries only as a limited use in the BR, BR-1, BH, BA, BA-1, and HM zoning districts, and County Code § 404.45(a) requires every dispensary…

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

Gainesville bars pumps, air conditioners, air-handling units and other continuously operating motorized equipment from causing a noise disturbance across a property line under Code §…

Gainesville bans radios, sound amplifiers and other audio equipment that create a noise disturbance across a property line under Code § 15-3(d)(2), and lets officers confirm bass-heavy…

Gainesville caps continuous sound from parked or idling delivery trucks and other motor vehicles under Code § 15-3(d)(1) and (c): once off the public street, a truck cannot exceed…

Bars, nightclubs and other commercial venues in unincorporated Alachua County may not play music, use sound amplifiers or run PA systems so loudly that the sound is plainly audible 50…

When a tenant flags a maintenance problem in Gainesville, the city's Property Maintenance Code lets an enforcement officer enter the rental during all reasonable hours to inspect it…

Gainesville caps shared e-scooter and e-bike services at three permitted operators and lets its mobility director carve out no-ride zones and reduced-speed areas under City Code §…

Gainesville runs photo enforcement under two ordinances: the Gainesville Traffic Safety Enhancement Act authorizes red-light cameras at 16 named intersections under F.S. § 316.0083…

Gainesville City Code bars motorists from stopping, standing or parking a vehicle on a sidewalk, bike path or bike lane, one of sixteen prohibited-location rules in Sec. 26-47(a)(1). A…

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…

Gainesville defines "obstruct" broadly to cover blocking, digging or interfering with any public right-of-way, and separately bans public camping or sleeping on any public property or…

Gainesville requires a public works permit before anyone blocks, digs up or otherwise obstructs a public sidewalk or right-of-way. Sec. 23-105(a) makes unpermitted obstruction unlawful…

Gainesville's Dangerous Building and Hazardous Land Code, Chapter 16 Article II, lets the city order repair, board-and-seal, or demolition of unsafe structures and requires owners to…

Gainesville's Perilous Land Code makes it a public nuisance to let weeds, undergrowth or other plant life pile up on a vacant or unimproved lot to the point that the property becomes a…

Gainesville bans selling, possessing, or drinking from an open container of alcohol on city-owned property, on city or county parking lots and garages, and on any public right-of-way…

Any party or gathering whose sound crosses a property line as a 'noise disturbance' violates Gainesville Code § 15-3(a), and § 15-6(d) makes the property's owner, tenant or lessee…

Gainesville bans aggressively begging, panhandling or soliciting anyone in public, defined as approaching someone with unwanted touching, detaining, impeding or intimidation to get…

Gainesville bans smoking outdoors in every city park under Section 11.5-42, and separately bars it within 20 feet of any RTS bus facility under Section 11.5-41, unless the city manager…

It is unlawful in Gainesville to urinate or defecate in, or in view of, a public place other than one designated for that purpose. Code § 17-8 lets police issue a civil citation for…

Skateboards, roller skates and roller blades are banned in Gainesville's city parks except on facilities specifically designated for that purpose. Code § 18-20(19) lists the…

Alachua County lets law enforcement issue a civil citation instead of an arrest for adults found with 20 grams or less of cannabis anywhere in the unincorporated county, provided they…

Gainesville's Green Building Program under Code §§ 6-8 through 6-16 is voluntary for private construction but mandatory for city-owned projects unless the city commission finds the…

Gainesville's Property Maintenance Code requires carbon monoxide alarms in every regulated residential rental unit that has an attached garage, a fuel-burning appliance, or a…

Gainesville adopts the Florida Building Code by reference at City Code § 6-2 and requires an owner or agent to get a building official's permit before installing, altering, or…

Gainesville enforces plumbing work through the Florida Building Code, adopted by reference into city law. Anyone installing, altering, or replacing a plumbing system needs a permit…

Sec. 30-5.7 of Gainesville's Land Development Code requires every day care center to meet state and county child-care rules plus a city site-design standard: a turnaround driveway or…

Gainesville requires a building permit before any construction touches a site. LDC Sec. 30-3.52 bars building, reconstructing, altering or extending a structure, along with excavating…

Alachua County requires a sequence of building-official inspections before permitted work can be occupied, under County Code § 331.03 (Florida Building Code § 110.3). Foundation…

Gainesville Regional Utilities will not install a new water meter for irrigation-only service if reclaimed water already reaches the property. City Code § 27-126.1(c)(3) requires…

Gainesville won't credit a water or wastewater bill for a leak that happens on the customer's side of the meter. Section 27-98 of the Code of Ordinances bars any allowance for those…

Gainesville Code § 26-138 makes it unlawful to perform major vehicle repair, removing an engine, transmission, or rear axle assembly, on any property zoned or used for residential…

Anyone who tows vehicles off private property in Gainesville without the owner's consent needs a permit from the city's towing administrator: a trespass towing service permit for the…

Gainesville requires anyone buying, consigning or pawning secondhand goods to hold a written permit from the police department under Code § 22-18, renewed every September 30. Dealers…

Gainesville won't let a sexually oriented business open within 1,000 feet of another sexually oriented business, a school, a place of religious assembly, a public park, a youth…

Gainesville bans self-service tobacco displays under Code § 14.5-17: retailers cannot sell or display tobacco products where customers reach them without a clerk unless the store…

Alachua County allows a massage therapist or massage establishment as a limited use in the AP, BP, BR, BR-1, BH, BA, BA-1, and BW districts, but County Code § 404.47 layers a local…

Gainesville requires a permit from the city manager before groups may assemble or congregate in crowds large enough to block a sidewalk or street, under City Code § 26-189…

Reserving a Gainesville park facility, pavilion or event space for a private gathering requires a facility use agreement issued by the city manager or a designee. Code § 18-17 gives…

Operating a sidewalk café on Gainesville's public right-of-way requires a license agreement with the city (and FDOT approval in state right-of-way), general liability insurance, and a…

Vendors selling goods at a Gainesville parade, festival or similar event need a temporary sales permit under LDC § 30-5.50. Ordinary promotional sales, like tent or sidewalk sales, are…

Filming a commercial production on unincorporated Alachua County property requires a temporary filming permit from the Growth Management Director at least 15 calendar days before the…

A block party that closes a street or right-of-way in unincorporated Alachua County needs a Tier A temporary use permit from the Growth Management Department. Section 402.149(a)(4)…

Gainesville's open-burning ordinance exempts grilling and cooking with charcoal, wood, propane or natural gas from the citywide burn ban, so backyard barbecues need no permit. Anyone…

Gainesville's code doesn't set up a resident hotline for tips; instead, City Code Section 2-337 defines who counts as a "code enforcement officer" and lays out the citation process…

Once Gainesville's code enforcement board schedules a hearing, City Code Sections 2-385, 2-387, and 2-389 set the clock: the alleged violator must get at least seven days' written…

Table V-5 in Sec. 30-4.17 of Gainesville's Land Development Code caps residential buildings at 3 stories by right in every district from SF through RMF-8. RMF-6, RMF-7, and RMF-8 lots…

Gainesville's Land Development Code fixes minimum yard setbacks by residential zoning district in Table V-5 of Sec. 30-4.17. Single-family (SF) lots need a 10-foot front setback…

Gainesville limits how much of a lot impervious construction can cover, though the cap depends on the district. LDC Table V-10 sets max lot coverage at 20% for agriculture-zoned land…

Gainesville lets residents hold garage sales up to nine weekends a year without any city permit. Sec. 22-16(b)(6) exempts a "garage sale operator" who holds sales less than ten…

Gainesville's Dangerous Building and Hazardous Land Code makes it unlawful to keep property that has become a breeding or nesting ground for rats, mice or other vermin. Code § 16-17…

Alachua County operates a state-authorized sterile needle exchange under Fla. Stat. §381.0038: an approved health entity swaps one clean needle per used one, must secure exchange sites…

Gainesville can require developers to limit clearing and grubbing, control erosion and sedimentation during and after construction, stabilize cleared areas, and protect stormwater…

Any development wholly or partly inside a mapped flood hazard area in Gainesville needs a floodplain development permit or approval from the city's floodplain administrator before work…

New buildings and substantial improvements inside a Gainesville flood hazard area must have their lowest finished floor set at least 2.0 feet above the base flood elevation, whether…

Every development in Gainesville must treat the first inch of stormwater runoff on-site and control stormwater quantity for a 100-year critical duration storm, so post-development peak…

Docks on unincorporated Alachua County waterfront are a limited use under ULDC Section 404.108, capped at 600 square feet through pre-application screening (900 with Development Review…

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

Sec. 30-5.38 of Gainesville's Land Development Code lets food trucks operate only in zoning districts that permit them by right or in planned development districts that allow…

Gainesville limits food trucks to zoning districts that allow them by right, or planned-development districts that allow restaurants or alcoholic beverage sales, capped at two trucks…

Gainesville requires an annual vending booth permit under Code Chapter 19, Article IV before setting up a food cart on a public sidewalk. Booths must sit at least five feet from the…

Gainesville's Land Development Code requires outdoor lighting on horizontal surfaces to use fully shielded, full-cutoff fixtures aimed downward, and bars fixtures from projecting light…

Gainesville caps light trespass by the receiving property's use: 0.5 footcandles for residential sites, 1.0 footcandle for nonresidential or multifamily sites, and 0.4 footcandles for…

New developments in Gainesville must line every street frontage with trees. LDC Sec. 30-8.5.G requires a street tree every 30 to 50 feet of frontage, spaced no closer than 25 feet or…

Gainesville's land development code singles out heritage trees, generally those over 20 inches in diameter, for stronger construction-site protection than ordinary regulated trees…

Gainesville singles out "heritage" and "champion" trees for its strictest protection. A tree over 20 inches diameter (30 inches for water oak, laurel oak, sweetgum, loblolly and slash…

Gainesville levies a local business tax on anyone with a permanent business location, profession or occupation in the city, or on out-of-city businesses transacting interstate commerce…

Gainesville lets developers earn extra density and height by exceeding baseline standards. LDC Sec. 30-4.9 caps every bonus package at a 50 percent increase over the by-right density…

Sec. 30-5.30 of Gainesville's Land Development Code sets the standards for subsistence gardens and urban market farms allowed as a principal or accessory use citywide. Market farms of…

Florida Statute 823.14, the Florida Right to Farm Act, protects established bona fide farm operations from nuisance suits and local ordinances that would inhibit standard agricultural…

Gainesville's Land Development Code bars installing a list of invasive nonnative plants, from air potato to kudzu to four bamboo species, on new development and qualifying expansions…

Digital billboards are flatly illegal in Gainesville. City Code Sec. 30-9.3 lists "electronic signs" and "off-premises signs" among ten sign types expressly prohibited citywide, so…

Gainesville caps non-illuminated window signs at 12 square feet without needing a sign permit, treating them the same as other miscellaneous no-permit signage. Any window signage…

Gainesville's sign code lets any conforming sign carry a noncommercial message, including political and campaign signs, in place of a commercial one, and treats them like other…

Holiday and other seasonal light displays are exempt from Alachua County's outdoor lighting article entirely: no photometric plan, shielding, or footcandle limit applies to seasonal…

A film production in unincorporated Alachua County must keep on-set sound within the county's general noise ordinance. Section 402.153(d)(5) requires filming permits to comply with the…

Commercial filming on property in unincorporated Alachua County needs a temporary filming permit from the Growth Management Department before it starts. Section 402.153(a) requires the…

Student and faculty filming done exclusively for educational purposes is exempt from Alachua County's temporary filming permit under Section 402.153(a)(1)d: as long as the shoot…

A film shoot that closes a public street, right-of-way, or sidewalk in unincorporated Alachua County loses its exemption from the temporary filming permit and must secure…

During a declared disaster, the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners can order collection of hazardous debris from public and private land, enter private property with owner…

Alachua County prohibits development in a flood hazard area without a floodplain development permit and building permit. New residential structures near an established flood hazard…

Alachua County's Building Code requires impact protection on qualifying new or renovated single-family homes in the wind borne debris region. Under County Code § 331.03, adopting…

Alachua County levies a 5% tourist development tax, stacked as 2%, 1%, 1% and 1% increments, on rentals of six months or less in any hotel, motel, apartment hotel, roominghouse…

Alachua County's Local Public Lands Historic Preservation Ordinance bans vandalizing, excavating, removing or defacing any historic monument, artifact or archaeological resource on…

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.

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 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…