BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE BY THE PASCO COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AMENDING THE PASCO COUNTY LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE; SECTION 1001.4 VISIBILITY; 1001.5 NAVIGABILITY AND PROTECTION OF WATERCOURSES; APPENDIX A, DEFINITIONS; AND OTHER SECTIONS, AS NECESSARY, FOR INTERNAL CONSISTENCY; PROVIDING FOR APPLICABILITY; REPEALER; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; INCLUSION INTO THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of Pasco County, Florida, is authorized under Chapters 125, 162, 163, 177, and 380 Florida Statutes, to enact zoning and other land development regulations to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Pasco County; and WHEREAS, Sections 163.3201, 163.3202, 163.3211 and 163.3213, Florida Statutes, empowers and requires the Board of County Commissioners of Pasco County, Florida, to implement adopted Comprehensive Plans by the adoption of appropriate land development regulations and specifies the scope, content and administrative review procedures for said regulations; and WHEREAS, Section 163.3202, Florida Statutes, provides that certain specified and mandated regulations are to be combined and compiled into a single land development code for the jurisdiction; and WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners adopted the restated Pasco County Land Development Code on October 18, 2011 by Ord. No. 11-15; and WHEREAS, at the time of the adoption of the restated Land Development Code, the Board of County Commissioners contemplated the need to make amendments addressing issues of implementation and internal consistency; and WHEREAS, historically and until recently, Pasco County has declined to impose visibility restrictions to roofs, walls, and enclosures over docks located on privately-owned inland water bodies, and left regulation of such matters to the private parties affected; and WHEREAS, because such construction is generally less susceptible to wind than coastal construction, the county does not wish to expend its limited resources to further regulate roofs, walls, and enclosures over docks located on privately-owned inland water bodies, beyond requiring permitting and compliance with the technical building codes; and WHEREAS, the Local Planning Agency conducted a public hearing on February 21, 2019 and found the proposed amendments consistent with the Pasco County Comprehensive Plan; and WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners conducted duly noticed public hearings on March 12, 2019 and March 26, 2019, where the Board of County Commissioners considered all oral and written Page 1 of 7
comments, including staff reports and information received during said public hearings; and WHEREAS, the citizens of Pasco County were provided with ample opportunity for comment and participation in this amendment process through staff workshops, public meetings and public hearings; and WHEREAS, in exercise of said authority the Board of County Commissioners of Pasco County, Florida, has determined that it is necessary and desirable to amend the restated Pasco County Land Development Code to implement policy direction and to correct internal inconsistencies. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Board of County Commissioners of Pasco County, Florida, as follows: SECTION 1. Authority. This ordinance is enacted pursuant to Chapter 125, Florida Statutes (2018) and under the home rule powers of the County. SECTION 2. Legislative Findings of Fact. The foregoing Whereas clauses, incorporated herein, are true and correct. SECTION 3. Applicability and Effect on Existing Development Approvals. The applicability and effect of this amendment on existing development approvals and requests for substantial modifications shall be as provided for in Section 103.2 of the restated Land Development Code. SECTION 4. Amendment. The Pasco County Land Development Code is hereby amended as shown and described in Attachment A, Attached hereto and made part hereof. SECTION 5. Applicability. The provisions of these ordinances are applicable in the unincorporated areas of Pasco County. SECTION 6. Repealer. Any ordinances, or parts of ordinances, in conflict with these amendments are hereby repealed. SECTION 7. Severability. It is declared to be the intent of the Board of County Commissioners of Pasco County, Florida, that if any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or provision of this Ordinance shall be declared invalid, the remainder of this Ordinance shall be construed as not having contained said section, subsection, sentence, clause, or provisions and shall not be affected by such holding. SECTION 8. Inclusion in code. Page 2 of 7
It is the intent of the Board of County Commissioners that the provisions of this Ordinance shall become and be made a part of the Pasco County Land Development Code, and that the sections of this Ordinance may be renumbered or re-lettered and the word Ordinance may be changed to section, article, regulation, or such other appropriate word or phrase in order to accomplish such intentions. SECTION 9. Effective Date. A certified copy of this ordinance shall be filed with the Florida Department of State by the Clerk to the Board within ten (10) days after adoption and shall take effect upon such filing. ADOPTED with a quorum present and voting this day of, 2019. (SEAL) BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF PASCO COUNTY, FLORIDA ATTEST: Paula S. O Neil, Ph.D., Pasco County Clerk and Comptroller Chairman Page 3 of 7
Attachment A CHAPTER 1000. MISCELLANEOUS STRUCTURE REGULATIONS SECTION 1001. DOCKS AND SEAWALLS 1001.1. Intent and Purpose The intent and purpose of this section is to: A. Provide standards to protect the waterfront views of property owners. B. Preserve canal-use rights, access to public waters, and ensure the navigability of all waters of the County, including unmarked as well as marked channels. 1001.2. Applicability This section shall apply to: A. Waterfront property. B. Marine waters, including seawater canals, man-made freshwater canals, and rivers. 1001.3. Permit Required No person shall construct or substantially improve any dock or similar structure or a seawall on the waters of the County without first obtaining a permit from the County; all authorizations required by State, Federal, or local governments or agencies; and authorization from the owner(s) of the upland property to which the dock will be attached. For a proposed dock or similar structure to be located at the dead end of a canal or where lot lines converge, the permit applicant shall provide proof of compliance with the canal use zone via a survey at the time of application and upon completion of construction. "Substantial improvement" is defined for the purposes of this section as any modification that requires a Building Permit as determined by the Building Official, including but not limited to, adding an electrical, or plumbing system; extending the dock laterally into a waterway; and any modifications that require placement of new or replacement supports for the structure. 1001.4 Visibility A. No building or structure on waterfront property shall be located within fifteen (15) feet of the mean high-water line. This applies to dwelling structures, accessory buildings, enclosed swimming pools, and any type of construction, fabrication, fencing, or barrier that presents a visually solid-type wall or roof. Page 4 of 7
B. These requirements prohibitions shall also apply to structures built over water and adjacent to such waterfront property provided; however, the structures meeting the definition of "dock" and which are constructed pursuant to the permits required by this section and Chapter 18 of the Pasco County Code of Ordinances permitable pursuant to this section shall be allowed subject to the following: 1. No dock or similar structure shall exceed a maximum height of fifteen (15) feet above the mean high-water mark measured when standing at the mean high-water line. This height limit also applies to boatlift pilingslifts; pilings; roofs, walls, and enclosures where allowed; and other similar attachments, systems, fabrications, or structural additions built in connection with the dock. 2. With the exception of any roof or wall structure constructed on a dock pursuant to a Dock Permit issued by the County and existing as of June 1, 2010, no roofs, wall, enclosures, or other similar visual obstructions shall be allowed. Roofs, overhead coverings, walls, enclosures, and other similar, visual obstructions are prohibited on docks, lifts, pilings, or similar structures built over water except when: a. the roof, overhead covering, wall, enclosure, or other similar visual obstruction was constructed on a dock pursuant to a Dock Permit issued by the County, and existed as of June 1, 2010, or b. the roof, overhead covering, wall, enclosure, or other similar visual obstruction is built over on a dock located on a privately-owned inland water body, erected pursuant to the permits required by this section and Chapter 18 of the Pasco County Code of Ordinances. 2.3. Enclosed areas built over docks may not be used, even temporarily, for residential purposes, such as those activities described in section 530.5.C.4 of this Code. 1001.5 Navigability and Protection of Watercourses Maximum Projection and location of Docks and Seawalls A. Obstruction Prohibited It shall be unlawful for any person to maintain, construct, substantially improve, erect, establish or create, place, dump, or abandon on any water of the County (including any unmarked or marked channels), rivers, man-made waterways, and canals any obstruction, whereby the normal navigation of boats may be obstructed or impeded. B.A. Maximum Projection No dock, structure, moored vessel, or combination thereof shall project from the seawall or shoreline (mean high-water line) into the waterway a distance greater than one-third of the total width of the waterway, project beyond the side-use lines of the associated upland property, project beyond the edge of any marked or unmarked channel, nor project a distance great enough to reduce the navigable channel within a canal to a width of less than twelve (12) feet. Page 5 of 7
1. For purposes of this section, the width of the waterway shall be calculated at the narrowest place where the dock is located and between opposing seawalls or, if seawalls are not present, between opposing mean low-water lines, except lots at the end of a canal shall use the narrowest width of the canal measured at the adjoining side lots. 2. Exception: A dock, structure, moored vessel, or combination thereof may exceed one-third of the total width of the waterway at the dead end of a canal when: a. one party owns all the property or lots that make up the dead end, or one entire corner of the dead end; b. the projection does not violate the lot line convergence provisions established in 1001.5.C, below; c. the projection is necessary to ensure boat access to the party s property; d. the projection exceeds the maximum projection otherwise allowed only to the extent necessary to ensure boat access to the party s property; e. the projection does not restrict boat access to any other property; and f. the applicant provides an engineering certification that the projection will not impair the navigability of the canal. 1. The determinations required by this subsection shall be made by the County Administrator or designee, and may be appealed pursuant to the procedures set out in section 407.1 of this Code. C.B. Dead-End Canals and Lot Line Convergence For the dead end of canals and other instances where the side-use lines of adjoining lots may converge (the point at which the lines between properties no longer run perpendicular with the general direction of the shoreline and/or seawall), such as a bend or curve in a waterway or canal, docks shall be placed so as to maximize navigability and to preserve canal-use rights to all nearby property owners. To this end, docks on all lots (typically three [3] or four [4] lots including the last lots on each side of the canal and the lot[s] at the end) that make up a dead end of a canal and other instances where side-use lines converge shall be built within the confines of the side-use lines extending out toward the radial point of the canal dead end or bend and shall further be limited to the waterward-use line located within the sideuse lines. Additionally for dead ends, the canal-side owners shall build within their canal-use-rights envelope (canal-use zone) as far away from the end of the canal as practicable and the end-lot owner shall build in the center of the lot or canal to the extent practicable. D.C. Common Ownership Docks Common ownership docks may be permitted if the applicant(s) comply with the following in addition to the criteria already enumerated in this section: 1. The applicant(s) shall furnish a written agreement, signed and acknowledged by all record owners, of the participating upland riparian properties in a form acceptable to the County providing for appropriate reciprocal easements, restrictions, and covenants running with the land, which shall be filed in the Public Records of the County at the expense of the applicant(s); Page 6 of 7
2. The permit shall provide that all parties shall have reciprocal rights under the permit and shall be held jointly responsible for compliance with all rules, regulations, and conditions set forth in the permit and this section; and 3. The regulations for setbacks apply to joint-ownership docks with the exception that docks may be extended over common side-use lines of the coapplicants. E. Flotation Material Any flotation material used in floating docks shall be fully encapsulated; suitable for marine use; resistant to puncture, fire, cracking, peeling, or loss of pellets; and generally impervious to water or fuel damage. F.D. Seawall Location The maximum projection allowed of the waterward side of new seawalls shall be the lesser of: 1. Even with adjacent seawalls; or 2. Even with the property line of the lot on which the seawall is to be constructed. G.E. This subsection shall apply retroactively; however, an existing dock located and built in compliance with previous dock ordinances and other State, Federal, and local regulations but which does not comply with the current provisions of this section will be considered a nonconforming structure and is subject to the provisions related to nonconforming structures in Chapter 1200 of this Code. In circumstances where the dock and/or related structures (including pilings) are substantially-damaged, the structure shall not be restored except in conformity with the regulations in this section. Substantial damage is defined in Appendix A as it relates to flood damage prevention. [a previously-proposed addition to this code (related to seawall maintenance, proposed as section 1001.6) has been removed from these proposed amendments and will be presented for consideration to the Board of County Commissioners as an amendment to the Pasco County Code of Ordinances within a separate agenda item] Appendix A DEFINITIONS Mean high-water line. The intersection of the tidal plane of mean high water with the shore. It shall also mean the ordinary high water line of non-tidal natural water bodies. The precise delineation of the ordinary high water line or mean high water line shall be determined through site specific studies and field determinations by the applicant and the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD), the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and/or the Army Corps of Engineers, as applicable, prior to construction plan approval. Mean high water is the average height of high waters over a nineteen (19) year period. Waterfront property. Code. Property that abuts a navigable water body as that term is defined in this Page 7 of 7