Wellington, FL Hurricane Preparedness: Hurricane Shutters (2026)

Section 6.4.1.A.1 of Wellington's Land Development Regulations requires every structure or building in the village to carry storm protection that meets the Florida Building Code, satisfied by impact windows, storm shutters, rollup shutters, or panels. Where a homeowner chooses shutters, rollups, or panels rather than impact glass, the LDR splits the hardware into two pieces for enforcement purposes. The mounting hardware that stays permanently attached to the structure has to match the body or trim color of the building so it does not read as a visible fixture year-round.

The removable panel or shutter itself is treated as temporary: it cannot go up more than 72 hours before an approaching storm and must come back down within 72 hours after the storm passes, so shutters cannot simply stay closed all summer. Wellington carves out one exception to that 72-hour window for owners who are away from their property. From June 1 through November 30, the official hurricane season, an absent property owner may leave shutters in place for up to two separate periods of as many as 15 days each, covering a vacation or seasonal absence without forcing a trip home to take shutters down inside three days.

The rule applies village-wide to every zoning district and every structure type, and compliance is checked through the same Planning, Zoning and Building Department review that covers other Section 6.4.1 general standards, such as awnings and dumpster enclosures, that sit in the same subsection of the LDR.