Port St. Lucie, FL Solar Energy: Panel Permits (2026)

Sec. 230(B) governs solar energy systems on homes and businesses. All solar panels and devices are legally structures, so they must meet the applicable building codes and ordinances like any other structure, but rooftop panels get a specific carve-out from height limits provided they sit at least 2 feet from the roof edge. Ground or pole mounted systems are capped at 10 feet above the finished floor elevation of the main building, and under (B)(4) they cannot sit closer than 6 feet to a side lot line or 10 feet to a rear lot line.

Placement in a front yard or side corner yard is restricted unless three conditions are all met: the rear and side yard conditions make installation there impossible, adequate buffering is provided along the adjacent roadway, and the Director of Planning and Zoning approves the location. New exterior electrical lines connecting a ground or pole mounted system to the building must be buried underground. If any provision in Sec. 230 would have the effect of blocking a solar installation altogether, subsection (B)(8) gives the applicant the right to apply to the Director of Planning and Zoning for a waiver from that provision.

This residential/commercial accessory-use track is separate from Sec. 230(A)'s rules for utility-scale "solar generation stations," which instead require a site plan filed concurrently with a special exception use application, fencing without razor wire, a 50-foot setback from any lot line under separate ownership, and compliance with the city's landscaping and natural resource protection chapters.