Charlotte County, FL Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Section 3-6-23 defines the clear zone as the strip extending ten feet from the edge of pavement, or a wider strip if the current Florida Department of Transportation Standard Design Manual calls for more clearance, and defines road to include sidewalks alongside streets, alleys and highways. Section 3-6-26(a) then prohibits four categories in the right-of-way and clear zone: any structure, facility or landscaping placed without a ROW permit issued under section 3-6-24; irrigation pipes or sprinklers, with no permit option offered for that item; non-frangible structures, whether temporary or permanent, sited in the clear zone next to the roadway; and any other activity the county engineer judges unnecessary or an impediment to drainage.

Enforcement runs through subsection (b): once the county learns of an unpermitted item, it notifies the known owner with a removal deadline that cannot exceed thirty days from the date of the notice. If the owner misses that deadline, or the owner cannot be identified, the county may remove the item itself and recover its costs from the owner through any legal means available, independent of any separate code enforcement action. The same chapter's permit-holder provisions in section 3-6-27 make clear that even a validly permitted occupant of the right-of-way cannot interfere with or encroach on a prior permitted occupant or unreasonably restrict the traveling public.