This chapter, the terms and the provisions contained herein shall be known as the "Accessory Uses and Structures Ordinance" of Indian River County, Florida.

(Ord. No. 90-16, § 1, 9-11-90)

It is the purpose of this chapter to provide requirements and procedures which allow for accessory uses and structures in conjunction with development in Indian River County, Florida. Accessory uses are permitted in all zoning districts, as provided for in section 917.06, Specific Uses and Structures. Accessory uses and structures must receive permit approval in the same manner as the principal structure; this shall include building permit approval, site plan approval, administrative approval or any other applicable approval.

(Ord. No. 90-16, § 1, 9-11-90)

See Chapter 901.

(Ord. No. 90-16, § 1, 9-11-90)

Uses and structures are restricted as provided below.

(1)

No accessory structure shall be built prior to the construction of the principal use, except for single-family docks on vacant lots as specified in Chapter 971. A building permit for an accessory structure may be obtained as part or at the same time as the permit for the principal structure.

(2)

No accessory structure shall be occupied or utilized unless the principal structure to which it is accessory is occupied or utilized, except as provided below:

(a)

If a principal structure served by one (1) or more accessory structures is rendered unusable due to damage or destruction of the principal structure, then any structure that is accessory to the damaged or destroyed principal structure may be occupied or utilized prior to re-occupation, reconstruction, or re-use of the principal structure for a period of up to three (3) years from the date of damage or destruction or upon expiration of a reconstruction building permit, whichever occurs later. One (1) extension of the three-year deadline may be requested subject to the extension provisions contained in paragraph 1., below.

1.

In the event that the principal structure is damaged or destroyed by a disaster declared by the Governor of Florida or the President of the United States, then the timeframe cited in [subsection] (2)(a) above for occupying or utilizing the associated accessory structure shall be extended to five (5) years. The property owner may request one (1) extension beyond the five-year timeframe by filing an administrative approval application with the community development department. The extension shall not exceed three (3) years. The application shall provide justification for extending the deadline and for determining that continued use of the accessory structure will be compatible with surrounding land uses based on the structure's aesthetics, scale, and separation and/or buffering from neighboring residences. In addition, the applicant shall demonstrate that the structure, if located within a residential district, is not used for commercial or other non-permitted uses.

After review by staff, the request shall be scheduled for a public hearing before the board of county commissioners, and notice of the hearing shall be provided to adjacent property owners by regular mail. The board of county commissioners may approve, approve with conditions, or deny the extension request.

a.

The first five-year deadline referenced above for re-occupation, reconstruction, or re-use of a principal structure damaged or destroyed by a declared disaster shall begin no earlier than January 31, 2013.

(3)

All accessory uses and structures shall comply with the use limitations applicable in the zoning district in which located; refer to Chapter 911, Zoning.

(4)

All accessory uses and structures shall comply with the maximum height regulations applicable in the zoning district in which they are located, except as such height regulations may be qualified by Height Exception and Limitations, section 917.05(7).

(5)

Accessory uses and structures shall comply with the regulations for review of Administrative Permits (971.04) and Special Exceptions (971.05), as applicable.

(Ord. No. 90-16, § 1, 9-11-90; Ord. No. 2012-038, § 2, 12-4-12)

Accessory uses and structures shall be restricted to the locations specified below:

(1)

Attachment to a principal building. If an accessory-type building shares a structural wall with a principal building, it shall be deemed to be a part of the principal building and shall comply in all respects with the requirements of the land development regulations applicable to the principal building.

(2)

Parking and loading. Off-street parking and loading spaces shall be located in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 954, Parking.

(3)

Signs. Signs shall be located in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 956, Signs.

(4)

Corner visibility. No accessory use or structure may be located in any corner visibility triangle as established in the general provisions section of Chapter 911, Zoning.

(Ord. No. 90-16, § 1, 9-11-90)

(1)

Aboveground storage of gasoline and other combustible fluids.

a.

Where aboveground storage of gasoline, petroleum oils or other flammable fluids are permitted, any such facility for storage having a capacity in excess of five hundred (500) gallons shall be in compliance with the National Fire Protection Association requirements.

b.

A site plan application shall be filed, if required by Chapter 914, to review any proposed aboveground fuel storage facility. The public works department shall review such site plans for the mitigation of any increases in the amount of impervious surface relating to stormwater management, pursuant to Chapter 930 regulations.

c.

The environmental health department shall review the site plan to determine if secondary containment and/or monitoring wells, and/or other measures are needed to mitigate against the potential for groundwater contamination via fuel leakage(s).

(2)

Access driveway restrictions/single-family lots. See Chapter 912, Single-Family Development; and Chapter 952, Traffic.

(3)

Height exceptions and limitations. See the general provisions section of Chapter 911, Zoning.

(4)

Home occupations. See Chapter 912, Single-Family Development.

(5)

Outdoor lighting at the beach. See Chapter 932, Coastal Management.

(6)

Piers, docks, boatslips and waterfront structures. No dock, pier, boatslip, or waterfront structure accessory to a single-family residence shall be rented, leased or sold to a party unless said party rents, leases, or buys the associated single-family residence. See Chapter 932, Coastal Management, for more information relating to piers, docks, boatslips and waterfront structures.

(7)

Required corner visibility. See the general provisions section of Chapter 911, Zoning.

(8)

Antennas.

(a)

Dish antenna location restrictions. To reduce the negative aesthetic impacts of dish antenna visibility from streets and surrounding properties, no dish antenna exceeding one meter in diameter shall be located between any building and any front or side property line except on corner lots which do not have a rear yard in which case the dish may be placed in the side yard.

(b)

Screening dish antenna from residential districts. All dish antennas exceeding one meter in diameter located within a residential district or which abut a residential district shall provide for opaque screening approved by the community development director to reduce the negative aesthetic impacts of dish antenna visibility from streets and surrounding properties. The screening materials shall be located and of a quality (e.g. landscaping, panels that provide screening but allow signals to be received or transmitted) that shields the proposed antenna from view of persons standing at ground level on surrounding properties and rights-of-way and allows for signal reception. The location and specification of all screening materials shall be approved by the director of community development.

(c)

Antennas attached to existing structures. Antennas attached to existing, legally constructed structures shall be treated as a permitted use for a height of up to one hundred ten (110) percent of the height of the existing structure to which the antenna is being attached.

(d)

The following screening and design requirements shall apply to commercial antenna attachments:

(1)

Equipment buildings or shelters accessory to antenna facilities shall be limited to a height of fifteen (15) feet and shall, in developed areas, have color and finish materials that are compatible with the main building(s) on the same development site, and shall, in undeveloped areas, have colors that match the natural surroundings.

(2)

Roof mounted antennas extending vertically ten (10) feet above the building height shall be set back from the building edge (facade) a distance equal to the antenna height.

(3)

Roof and building mounted antennas shall be located and/or screened so as to minimize the visual impact from adjacent roads and properties.

(4)

Antennas mounts on building facades shall project out from the facade no more than four (4) feet, and shall cover no more than fifty (50) square feet of facade area. No facade area limitation shall apply where antennas are completely screened from view (from adjacent roads and properties) by material(s) matching the building exterior.

(9)

Septic tanks and drain fields. See the general provisions section of Chapter 911, Zoning.

(10)

Special setback requirements.

(A)

Street and road setbacks. In the event of the recording of any proposed street or road in the office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Indian River County, or in the event of the designation or establishment by the Board of County Commissioners of any proposed public street or road, the same shall thereupon immediately be used as the reference point for the purpose of determining setbacks for new construction under the terms of this ordinance. This provision shall not prevent the reconstruction of a full or partially damaged or destroyed legally nonconforming structure so long as the rebuilt structure is consistent with the county's building code.

(B)

Required setbacks from natural waterbodies. All residential properties which abut the intracoastal waterway, Indian River or other natural waterbodies shall provide for a minimum rear yard setback of fifty (50) feet for unplatted parcels and twenty-five (25) feet for existing platted lots, between all structures and the waterbody. In no case, however, with references to existing parcels or lots of record, shall the buffer exceed twenty (20) percent of the parcel or lot depth perpendicular to the applicable waterway. Additional setbacks may apply to properties adjacent to the St. Sebastian River and Indian River Lagoon Aquatic Preserve as set forth in Chapter 929, Upland Habitat Protection.

(C)

S.R. 60 front setback requirement. All developments abutting S.R. 60 shall have a minimum front setback of seventy-five (75) feet.

(11)

Communications towers. Additional amateur radio communications tower criteria are found in section 971.44(4).

(A)

Amateur radio towers up to eighty (80) feet in height shall meet applicable zoning district building setbacks. Guy anchorage shall be set back at least five (5) feet from property lines.

(B)

In residential zoning districts, towers must be accessory to an approved, principal site use and shall meet standard building code requirements for structures.

(C)

Proposals for amateur radio towers which are eighty (80) feet or more in height must be reviewed as a special exception use, as specified in Chapter 911 and Chapter 971.

(D)

Towers shall meet the airport zoning ordinance requirements (see section 911.17).

(E)

Additional requirements relating to towers may be found in Chapter 911, 912, and 971.

(12)

Walls and fences.

(A)

Fences and walls shall not be constructed on or over any dedicated public drainage or utility easements or public rights-of-way, except:

1.

In agricultural districts where such walls and fences may be authorized upon written consent of the public authority to which the easement is dedicated, or

2.

Where a covenant for removal of structure request has been approved by the county, or

3.

Where public works department approval has been granted or a right-of-way permit has been issued for placement of a structure(s) within an easement or right-of-way.

(B)

Height of walls and fences. Height of walls and fences shall be the vertical distance from the grade of the lot at the wall or fence location to the top of the wall or fence. If the wall or fence is to be located on a berm or fill added above the finished lot grade, then the height of the berm or added fill shall be included in the height of the wall or fence.

Walls or fences located outside of required front, side, and rear yard setback areas are subject to the building height regulation applicable to the property on which the wall or fence is located.

1.

Front yard. Walls and fences not exceeding forty-eight (48) inches in height may be erected in the front yard of any lot.

2.

Side yard. Walls and fences not exceeding six (6) feet in height may be erected in the side yard of any lot provided they do not extend into the required front yard setback area and area not erected within a drainage and utility easement unless a covenant for removal of the wall or fence has been approved by the county.

3.

Rear yard. Walls and fences not exceeding six (6) feet in height may be erected in the rear yard of any lot within a zoning district, provided that no wall or fence shall be erected in a drainage or utility easement unless a covenant for removal of the wall or fence has been approved by the county.

4.

The following are exceptions to the maximum wall and fence height requirements provided in subsections 1. through 3. above.

a.

A wall or fence up to six (6) feet in height may be erected in the front yard setback area of a multi-frontage lot where the lot abuts a collector or arterial road classified on the county's thoroughfare plan map and the main access to the lot is not from the collector or arterial road.

b.

A wall or fence that replaces a wall or fence previously approved by the county, where the replacement wall or fence does not exceed the approved height of the original wall or fence and meets conditions placed on the original wall or fence approval, if any.

c.

A wall or fence up to five (5) feet in height may be located within a front yard setback area if the wall or fence is placed five (5) feet or more from the front property. The height of the wall or fence may be increased to six (6) feet if vegetation or a vegetated berm is preserved or installed between the wall or fence and the front property line in a manner that will visually screen at least twenty (20) percent of the total area of the wall or fence/berm.

d.

A wall or fence up to eight (8) feet in height, or higher than eight (8) feet where necessary to buffer noise from an arterial roadway or other source of significant noise, may be erected in a required side or rear yard setback area upon issuance of an administrative approval and a determination by the community development director or his designee that additional wall or fence height is justified due to grade differences of adjacent residences or to provide adequate buffering between a residential and non-residential use or source of significant noise.

e.

Gates, posts, columns, and similar wall or fence appurtenances may exceed the maximum fence or wall height by up to two (2) feet.

f.

All fences in agricultural districts and temporary fences used at construction-sites for the purpose of security shall be exempt from the height provisions of this section, provided corner visibility is maintained.

If mandatory approval by an architectural control or review board having authority in the neighborhood or subdivision is required for a proposed wall or fence exceeding the maximum height requirements in subsections 1. through 3. above, then the results of the architectural review shall be submitted to the community development department prior to approval or denial of the wall or fence, and any such architectural review results shall be given substantial weight in the county's approval process.

(C)

Prohibited walls and fences; residential districts. No barbed wire, electrical element, or other hazardous materials shall be maintained as a fence or part of a fence or wall in a residential district, except as provided for barbed wire fencing in subsection (D), below.

(D)

Barbed wire fences. Barbed wire fences are allowed anywhere on an agriculturally zoned parcel and on lots within any non-agricultural zoning district if the fence is located outside the required front, side, and rear yard setback areas of the lot. Within industrial or commercial zoning districts, barbed wire fences may be allowed within required front, side, and rear yard setback areas, subject to site plan approval, where needed for security and designed to be visually compatible with the surrounding area. Within residential zoning districts, barbed wire fences may be allowed within required front, side, and rear setback areas, subject to site plan approval, if the proposed barbed wire fence:

1.

Is necessary to maintain an allowable agricultural use (e.g., horse pasture); and

2.

Abuts a residentially zoned property that has a lot area of at least forty thousand (40,000) square feet, or is physically separated from abutting residentially zoned property by a ditch/canal, heavily vegetated area, wall, or similar structure.

(E)

Use of easements; removal agreement.

1.

Staff approval. No fence or wall shall be built in a utility or drainage easement without prior staff level approval from the planning division. Upon request for such staff level approval, the division shall contact all present or intended users of the easement within which a fence approval has been requested to determine if the construction of such fence or wall conflicts with use of the easement. Based upon this information, the division may approve, deny or approve with conditions any requests.

2.

Application and fee. Request for administrative approval shall require the applicant to submit an application and fee to the planning division. The application shall be available from the planning division. The fee will be established by the board of county commissioners.

3.

Removal agreement. No fence or wall shall be approved for construction in a drainage or utility easement unless the owner of the underlying fee property shall first execute a removal agreement to be recorded in the public records, providing for preservation of the use of the easement. The removal agreement shall be in the nature of a covenant running with the land in favor of the parties to whom the easements have been dedicated. The covenant shall bind the owner and all successors to bear the expense of any removal or alterations of the fence or wall if such removal or alterations are determined necessary to make use of the easement, and the covenant shall provide a hold harmless clause applicable to the county or any other entity removing the fence or wall, pursuant to terms of the agreement, in order to make lawful use of the easement. The cost of recording the covenant shall be borne by the applicant.

(13)

Yard encroachments. See the general provisions section of Chapter 911, Zoning.

(14)

Accessory storage structures. No mobile home, travel trailer, motorized vehicle, vehicle body, or any portion thereof, shall be used as or converted to be used as an accessory storage building or shed. Any structure to be used as an accessory storage building or shed shall be designed for such use and shall meet building code requirements for such use.

(15)

[Spreading of fruit.] Fruit is permitted to be spread on land for live stock feed or as a soil additive, as an accessory use to the agricultural use on site, subject to the following restrictions:

1.

Spreading of fruit is allowed on agriculturally zoned property only.

2.

Fruit that is spread shall not be located closer than:

a.

Three hundred (300) feet for the nearest edge of a public road, and

b.

Three hundred (300) feet from a private supply potable water well, and

c.

Three hundred (300) feet from a lake, river, creek, or drainage district canal or waterway, and

d.

Five hundred (500) feet from an occupied structure (residential or non-residential), and

e.

One thousand five hundred (1,500) feet from a public supply water well (as defined by state rule).

(16)

Building-front walkway (sidewalk) food and concession vendors are allowed as an accessory use to large scale retail projects, under the following conditions:

(a)

The principal use involves one hundred thousand (100,000) square feet or more of building area.

(b)

The vendor uses and operates a push cart as permitted by the state, and the appropriate state health permit is displayed to the public.

(c)

The vendor and push cart operate only on private sidewalks located between the principal retail building and adjacent driveways/parking areas.

(d)

Neither the vendor nor the push cart are allowed on site during the hours that the principal retail building is closed for business.

(e)

The owner or agent of the principal retail building obtains administrative approval for the accessory use.

(Ord. No. 90-16, § 1, 9-11-90; Ord. No. 91-7, §§ 20, 21, 2-27-91; Ord. No. 94-1, §§ 2K, 7, 1-5-94; Ord. No. 94-25, §§ 4, 20, 8-31-94; Ord. No. 95-10, § 16B, 5-31-95; Ord. No. 97-16, § 2(1), (3), 5-6-97; Ord. No. 97-20, § 5(B), 12-16-97; Ord. No. 99-13, § 3, 5-5-99; Ord. No. 2012-024, § 2, 7-10-12)