St. Johns County, FL Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Downtown Design Guide (2026)

00, governs exterior design for the TCMU zoning district and any PUDs within it (Sec. A). Sec. 04 states the Development Standards and Design Guidelines in that section apply to the entire district, and the Town Center Design Guidelines, incorporated into the county's Development Review Manual, recognize three preferred architectural styles: Florida Vernacular, Art Moderne and Art Deco, each with its own suggested color palette (Sec. 5). Chain link, barbed wire and similar fencing is banned countywide within the district (Sec. 10). Exterior lighting must face downward and cannot be seen at ground level more than 100 yards from its source, with additional turtle-lighting rules cross-referenced to Sec.

09 and general lighting criteria in Sec. 13 (Sec. 11). Buildings max out at three stories and 40 feet, with a two-story minimum at the frontage line, and first-floor residential units must sit at least 18 inches above grade with a stoop or raised porch entrance (Sec. 1-3). Drive-in facilities are prohibited except for one financial-institution site within the Vilano Road/Coastal Highway/Poplar Road block, and only under strict screening, stacking-distance and lane-count limits (Sec. 15). Any exterior renovation requiring a county building permit, plus exterior repainting outside the exempt color palettes, triggers Design Review Board review (Sec. 1, C).