Volusia County, FL Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Density Bonus Law (2026)
Key Facts
- Low Impact Urban bonus
- Up to 5 units/acre
- Urban Low Intensity bonus
- Up to 8 units/acre
- Urban Medium Intensity bonus
- Up to 14 units/acre
- Urban High Intensity cap
- 20 units/acre maximum
- Ineligible land
- Wetlands, floodplain, resource corridor
- Certifying agency
- County community services division
- Adopted
- Ord. No. 2025-01, effective 5-6-25
Summary
Certified affordable housing projects can raise density up to 20 dwelling units per acre in Urban High Intensity land, with smaller bonuses in Urban Medium, Urban Low, and Low Impact Urban categories, under Sec. 72-299(f).
(f)Density bonuses. Density bonuses are allowed for affordable housing projects that are certified by the county's department of community services. To ensure that the projects are located near available resources and services, bonuses are limited to the following urban land use designations and will be calculated by the growth and resource management department as follows: Low Impact Urban — Increase maximum density to five dwelling units per acre. Urban Low Intensity — Increase maximum density to eight dwelling units per acre. Urban Medium Intensity — Increase maximum density to 14 dwelling units per acre. Urban High Intensity — Maximum density cannot exceed 20 dwelling units per acre. Lands designated as wetlands, wetland buffers, water bodies, the natural resource management area, the resource corridor zoning classification, or in the floodplain are not eligible for density bonuses.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 108 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 72-299, adopted by Ord. No. 2025-01 effective May 6, 2025, lets projects, including accessory dwelling units, that are "certified as affordable housing" by the community services division tap a package of incentives, and subsection (f) sets the density bonus scale: Low Impact Urban land can go up to five dwelling units per acre, Urban Low Intensity to eight, Urban Medium Intensity to 14, and Urban High Intensity is capped at 20 units per acre. Land "designated as wetlands, wetland buffers, water bodies, the natural resource management area, the resource corridor zoning classification, or in the floodplain" is carved out entirely and can't use the bonus.
An applicant has to submit a written request during project review, and the growth and resource management department calculates and approves the final bonus, with the project design subject to the affordable housing review team's sign-off. The same section also lets the county council approve affordable housing on commercial or industrial-zoned parcels if the project gets state/federal funding, reserves 30 percent or more of units for affordable housing for 50 years, or pairs one ADU with an infill lot's principal residence.
Violations & Fines
The density bonus rides on a recorded declaration of restrictive covenant that keeps the units affordable for the covenant period, typically 20 years unless shortened by the growth and resource management and community services directors. Failing to maintain the affordability commitment doesn't just affect density: Sec. 72-299(d)-(e) requires full repayment of any deferred impact fees and waived permit, inspection, and application fees upon written notice once the project falls out of compliance.
Frequently Asked Questions
How big a density bonus can affordable housing get in Volusia County?
Which parcels can't use the density bonus?
Who certifies a project as affordable housing for the bonus?
What happens if a project stops meeting the affordability requirement?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Volusia County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Volusia County to another location·View the Florida zoning overlays & bonuses overview
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