Hillsborough County, FL Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Section 6.05.02.K of the Land Development Code, titled Required Paving, sets the surfacing standard for off-street parking in unincorporated Hillsborough County. Except for single- and two-family dwellings and Agricultural and Related Uses, every driveway, drive aisle and the minimum number of required parking spaces on a developed lot must be built with a durable and dustless surface such as asphalt, cement or an approved equivalent. The Code specifically bars slag, rock, pea gravel or any other loose material as a substitute. Before accepting an alternative surface, the Administrator must find the material provides a safe, permanent surface for the traffic it will carry, accepts permanent striping for spaces, aisles, accessways and maneuvering areas, resists on-site and off-site erosion or sedimentation, and meets the county's design standards.

The single-family, two-family and agricultural exemption means homeowners in most residential subdivisions can keep a shell, gravel or grass driveway without triggering this requirement; the paving mandate targets multifamily, commercial, office and industrial sites. A second carve-out lets the Administrator waive paving for parking tied to seasonal uses or uses that are not active daily, decided case by case.

Subsection K.3 works the opposite direction for larger sites: any parking built above the code's required minimum spaces must use pervious materials, listed examples being porous pavement, pavers, turf block or sod, rather than the durable-dustless standard in K.1, unless the excess exists only because a change of use lowered the minimum.