Doral, FL Landscaping Rules: Rainwater Harvesting (2026)

Article XIV of Chapter 74, a single section adopted by Ord. No. 2013-37 on December 3, 2014, addresses rainwater harvesting citywide. Sec. 74-871 states that all buildings are allowed to incorporate structural rainwater harvesting facilities such as cisterns and rain barrels, and that existing buildings may also be retrofitted with these types of facilities, so the rule applies to both new construction and retrofits of homes and businesses already built. Because those facilities can be bulky, the same section builds in relief from the standard zoning setbacks that would otherwise force them onto smaller footprints: side setback areas can be encroached by up to 50 percent, and a facility can come as close as five feet to the rear property line, but only if the property owner shows the encroachment is necessary and the planning and zoning director signs off on it first.

The section does not set a minimum tank size, require a permit fee schedule, or mandate harvesting on any project, it is an enabling provision that removes a zoning obstacle rather than a mandate, and it sits alongside the city's broader Article XVI low-impact-development practices, which separately lists rain barrels and cisterns as qualifying structural stormwater controls for developers using that program. A homeowner who wants a cistern that would otherwise crowd a side or rear setback should raise the specific project with the Planning and Zoning Department to secure the director's approval referenced in Sec. 74-871 before installing it.