Board recommends code changes to allow accessory structures on corner lots with screening and permit requirements

The Planning and Advisory Board considered draft changes to accessory-structure rules and corner-lot provisions that would allow enclosed and permanent accessory structures (sheds, gazebos, tiki huts) to be sited nearer to secondary streets — the so-called "second front yard" — subject to existing setback and building-code requirements and added screening or buffering to reduce visual impacts.

Staff (speaker 2) described the goal as housekeeping to reduce repetitive Board of Adjustment requests while preserving safety and engineering review. "Accessory structure is basically what we have right now ... we allow pools out there. We allow fences out there, but we don't allow an accessory structure," staff explained, and said permanent accessory structures must meet Florida building-code uplift and require engineering or manufacturer certification. The draft also clarifies size-based setback requirements (examples cited: up to 100 sq ft has a 5-foot interior setback; larger enclosed structures require 10-foot setbacks).

Residents and board members debated privacy and screening: some corner-lot homeowners said moving a shed closer to the sidewalk could place the structure in view of neighbors and recommended required buffering or fencing; Diane Douglas (speaker 13) said a well-built shed could be an improvement over an unkempt backyard. Several members proposed adding mandatory screening consistent with other parts of the code. The board moved to recommend approval of the draft code changes with a recommendation that required screening/buffering language be added; members recorded their votes in support.