Lot Restrictions for Properties in St Johns County, FL

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Important Note:

You will need to call the correct building department to find out all the restrictions for your specific lot.

Steps to Permit

  1. Design Drawings – McConnell Custom Design
  2. Truss Engineering – Contractor or Owner Builder
  3. Structural Engineer – Contractor or Owner Builder
  4. Permitting – Contractor or Owner Builder

McConnell Custom Design does the Design Drawings from Your Sketches, Photos and Ideas.

Truss and Structural Engineers follow and are handled by the contractor or the owner builder. If you are building yourself then you are the owner builder.

What is a Lot Restriction?

Lot restrictions are imposed by municipalities to control the development of property within their borders. Developers must comply with these restrictions, which cover aspects like minimum lot width, minimum lot area, maximum lot coverage (i.e. how much of the lot your building can cover), setbacks, height restrictions, impervious structures, off-street parking and the number of buildings on a lot:

  • Lot Coverage by Buildings: Types of buildings or what constitutes a building is hard to clarify in the St. Johns County Land Development Code; however it is what it says, “by buildings”.
  • Impervious Surfaces: Any Building, concrete, pools, wet retention/detention areas, pavement
    or compacted materials utilized for parking or roadways.
  • Impervious Surface Area (ISA): the sum of all Impervious Surfaces within a portion or portions
    of a proposed Development site or Project.
  • Impervious Surface Ratio (ISR): the ISR shall be calculated by dividing the total Impervious
    Surface Area, exclusive of the surface area of any wet retention/detention areas, by the total area
    of the proposed Development site or Project.
  • Setbacks are imposed by municipalities to indicate how far a property must be from a boundary line or adjacent properties. In other words, you can’t build your home too near the street or your neighbor’s house. How near or far is determined by the setback.
  • Maximum height restrictions refer to the maximum height in feet of the structure to be built, from the peak of the roof to the lowest grade (ground) at a maximum of five feet from the perimeter of house.

Typical Lot Restrictions

Restrictions are subject to change

Like most municipalities, St. Johns County divides its area into districts or zones. There are many different zone types. Each zone is identified by an abbreviation and subject to various ordinances and restrictions. Single family residential zones are abbreviated to RS-1, RS-2 and RS-3.

Make sure you call the correct department for your lot location (and please be very patient):

  • St Johns County Planning & Zoning
    (904) 209-0675
  • City of St. Augustine Planning and Building Department
    (904) 825-1065
  • St Augustine Beach Building Department
    (904) 471-8758

St. Johns County, Florida Lot Restrictions

Restrictions are subject to change

 Zone Min. Lot Width Min. Lot Area Max. Lot Coverage by Buildings
RS-1 120 F 13,200 S.F. 25%
RS-2 90 F 10,000 S.F. 30%
RS-3 75 F 7,500 S.F. 35%
OR-Single Family 100 1 Acre 35%
 Zone ISA Setbacks Max. Height
RS-1 70% 30F/10S/15R 35
RS-2 70% 25F/8S/10R 35
RS-3 70% 25F/8S/10R 35
OR-Single Family 70% 25F/10S/10R 35

Creating a House Plan Yourself will NOT get you a Building Permit

Please read the Design Build Process for the required steps to getting a building permit.

Building Departments

I do the house plans. This is the design. The plans include floor plans and elevations. Engineering structural plans, truss engineering, contracting and building the home is done by others. The home owner, owner builder or contractor must find out all restrictions from the proper building department. Please make sure you call the correct department for your lot location (and please be very patient):