Franklin County, FL Hurricane Preparedness: Roof Standards (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing code
- 2010 Florida Building Code and Wind Speed Maps
- Adopting ordinance
- Ord. No. 2012-03
- Applies to
- Major structures in the coastal building zone, barrier islands
- Enforcing agency
- Franklin County Planning and Building Department
- Mobile homes
- Barred from the coastal building zone (§ 5.5-27(b))
- General penalty
- Up to $500 fine or 60 days jail (§ 1-7)
Summary
In unincorporated Franklin County, major structures built in the coastal building zone and on the barrier islands (St. George Island, Dog Island, Alligator Point) must meet the 2010 Florida Building Code and Wind Speed Maps adopted by Ord. No. 2012-03, which sets the wind-uplift design standard county building officials use to approve roof and structural plans before a permit issues.
(d)Major structures, except those conforming to the standards of paragraph (b), shall, at a minimum be designed and constructed in accordance with Ord. No. 2012-03, adopting the 2010 Florida Building Code and Wind Speed Maps. This does not preclude use of a locally adopted building code which is more restrictive.
Full Breakdown
053, and on the county's coastal barrier islands: Dog Island, the St. George Islands and St. Vincent Island. 5-27 sets the structural design floor for 'major structures' (residential, commercial, institutional and industrial buildings). Subsection (a) requires conformity with the state minimum building code, but subsection (d) supersedes it for practical purposes: major structures, other than mobile homes handled under subsection (b), must be designed and built at a minimum to the 2010 Florida Building Code and Wind Speed Maps as adopted by county Ord. No.
2012-03. That wind speed map assigns the design wind loads, including roof uplift pressures, that the Franklin County Planning and Building Department checks against submitted plans; the county may also adopt a more restrictive local code without violating this section. Subsection (e) layers on additional foundation requirements tied to one-hundred-year storm erosion and scour. Because the county's own zoning ordinance is a separate instrument not covered here, this section is the operative local text on wind-resistant construction, and it applies on top of, not instead of, the Florida Building Code edition the state currently enforces statewide.
Applicants seeking a building permit for a house or commercial structure fronting the Gulf, Apalachicola Bay, St. George Sound, East Bay, Alligator Harbor or the Ochlockonee River or Bay fall under this coastal building zone definition and must show wind speed map compliance before the Planning and Building Department issues a permit.
Violations & Fines
Building without complying with the wind speed map standard blocks permit issuance outright: the Planning and Building Department will not approve plans that fail Section 5.5-27(d). Constructing without a compliant permit is enforced as a general Code violation under Franklin County Code § 1-7, punishable by a fine up to $500 per day, up to 60 days in the county jail, or both, with each day of noncompliance a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Franklin County have its own roof wind-load standard?
Which parts of unincorporated Franklin County does this cover?
Can a mobile home use this wind-speed standard instead of full FBC compliance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Franklin County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Franklin County to another location·View the Florida hurricane preparedness overview
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