2.1.1. Purpose. It is the purpose of this article to describe the uses of land that are allowable within the City of Longwood. In order to accomplish this purpose all land within the city is divided into districts by the Longwood Comprehensive Plan and the future land use map (FLUM) contained within that plan, and further by the adopted zoning map. The allowable uses are described generally within the future land use element of the plan and more specifically in section 2.2.0 of this Development Code.

2.1.2. Interpretation of district boundaries. Where uncertainty exists as to the boundaries of districts shown on the future land use map, the following rules shall apply.

A.

Boundaries indicated as approximately following the centerlines of streets, highways, alleys, or other public rights-of-way shall be construed to follow such centerlines. Where the street, highway, alley, or right-of-way has been vacated through official action of the governing body, the boundary shall be construed to follow the centerline of the vacated right-of-way.

B.

Boundaries indicated as approximately following platted lot lines, section lines, or tract lines, shall be construed to follow such lines.

C.

Boundaries indicated as approximately following city limits lines shall be construed to follow such city limits lines.

D.

Boundaries indicated as following railroad lines shall be construed to be midway between the main tracks.

E.

Boundaries indicated as following shorelines shall be construed to follow such shorelines, and in the event of change in the shoreline shall be construed as moving with the actual shoreline; boundaries indicated as approximately following the centerlines of canals, streams, or other bodies of water shall be construed to follow such centerlines.

F.

Boundaries indicated as parallel to features described in subsections A through E above shall be construed as parallel to such features at the distance from the feature indicated on the FLUM. If a distance is not indicated on the future land use map, the distance shall be determined by the scale of the map.

G.

Where features existing on the ground are different than those shown on the future land use map, or where other uncertainty exists, the community development director shall render an interpretation on the location of the boundary line in question.

(Ord. No. 10-1929, § 1, 9-27-2010)

2.1.3. Interpretation of references to the Live Local Act. References to the Live Local Act are incorporated into this Longwood Development Code. As the Act is updated from time to time, there may be periods of time where elements of the Act that are incorporated into this code may be changed or removed prior to the time where the LDC is updated to reflect those changes. In the instance where a now-outdated reference to the Live Local Act is incorporated in the LDC but has been removed from the Act, the reference in the LDC will be considered invalid. In the instance where a reference is changed by state law, the new state law will govern over the language in the LDC. This provision is not intended to supersede relevant vesting provisions for Live Local Act projects that may have been initiated prior to changes in the Act.

(Ord. No. 24-2254, § 1, 8-5-2024)

The City of Longwood is currently divided into zoning districts that are established under appropriate future land use categories in the Comprehensive Plan. The city may adopt, modify, amend or create new districts consistent with the goals, policies and objectives of the Comprehensive Plan.

2.2.1. Conservation (CON) future land use. The following zoning districts are applicable under the conservation future land use:

(a)

Conservation (CON). The CON land use district is intended to protect environmentally sensitive areas as identified in the conservation element of the Longwood Comprehensive Plan. Such environmentally sensitive areas include wetlands, floodways and floodplains, unique wildlife habitats, and lakes or other water bodies. Development shall be limited to outdoor active or passive recreation consistent with the intent of the CON district, and shall allow one residential dwelling unit on a lot of record existing at the time of the adoption of this Development Code.

2.2.2. Low density residential (LDR) future land use. The following zoning districts are applicable under the low density residential future land use:

(a)

Country estates (CE). The CE district is designed to support higher-acre, lower-density single-family residential development at densities up to 0.50 units per acre and to support equestrian activities as an accessory use subject to supplemental standards in appropriate areas, particularly those areas that have historically had such uses. Allowable uses include single-family detached homes and customary residential accessory structures that are incidental to the principal single-family residential use or accessory equestrian activities, including horse riding and boarding stables, horse riding facilities, storage containers for manure and feed, and horse trailer parking. Other uses are allowable, as shown in section 2.3.0 (table of allowable uses), subject to the supplemental standards in section 5.4.0 (supplemental standards for specific uses). The minimum lot size in this district is 2.0 acres. The minimum lot size for accessory commercial equestrian boarding operations is 5.0 acres.

(b)

Low density residential (LDR). The LDR district is designed for the predominant use of single-family residential development at densities up to 4.0 units per acre. Allowable uses include single-family detached homes, single-family cluster development, and customary residential accessory development that is incidental to the principal residential use of the lot or parcel. Other uses are allowable, as shown in section 2.3.0 (table of allowable uses), subject to the supplemental standards in section 5.4.0 (supplemental standards for specific uses).

2.2.3. Medium density residential (MDR) future land use. The following zoning districts are applicable under the medium density residential future land use:

(a)

Medium density residential (MDR-7). The MDR-7 district is designed for higher intensity single-family residential development on properties carrying a future land use of MDR. Densities up to 7.0 units per acre are allowed in this district. Allowable uses include smaller-lot single-family detached development, and customary residential accessory development that is incidental to the principal residential use of the lot or parcel. Other uses are allowable, as shown in section 2.3.0 (table of allowable uses), subject to the supplemental standards in section 5.4.0 (supplemental standards for specific uses).

(b)

Medium density residential (MDR-15). The MDR-15 district is designed for many types of residential development up to a maximum of 15 dwelling units per acre. Allowable uses include both smaller-lot single-family development, duplex development, townhouse development in a variety of housing types, and customary residential accessory development that is incidental to the principal residential use of the lot or parcel. Other uses are allowable, as shown in section 2.3.0 (table of allowable uses), subject to the supplemental standards in section 5.4.0 (supplemental standards for specific uses).

2.2.4. Downtown historic (DH) future land use category. The following zoning districts are applicable under the Downtown Historic (DH) future land use:

(a)

Downtown neighborhood (DTN). The downtown neighborhood district is intended to provide areas for commercial and residential uses in keeping with the character of the historic district. This district is intended to provide areas for in-character residential development that is supportive of the overall goal of having a mix of commercial and residential uses in the historic district.

(b)

Downtown storefront (DTS). The downtown storefront district is intended to provide areas for commercial uses in the historic district. This is district is intended to protect existing commercial areas within the historic district from residential development pressure, particularly along West Church Avenue, West Bay Avenue, and the portion of East Church Avenue between the railroad tracks and Ronald Reagan Boulevard.

2.2.5. Commercial (COM) future land use category. The following zoning districts are applicable under the Downtown Historic (DH) future land use:

(a)

Neighborhood commercial (NC). The neighborhood commercial district is designed to serve adjacent neighborhoods in a manner consistent with the scale of those adjacent neighborhoods, and in some cases acts as a buffer between more and less intense commercial development or between major roads and residential development. Allowable uses include, neighborhood scale office, medical, commercial, entertainment, government, civic, and recreational, all as further specified in section 2.3.0 (table of allowable uses). All development must be compatible with adjoining residential uses, including but not limited to the utilization of buffers, walls, hours of operation and site layout.

(b)

Gateway. the gateway district shall be applied to major corridors near the historic district and the intersection of Ronald Reagan Boulevard and State Road 434. The intent of the gateway district is to extend some of the design intent of the historic district onto SR 434 and act as a gateway or window to the historic district.

(c)

General commercial. The general commercial district is intended to provide for a variety of retail use and services in free-standing parcels or shopping centers along the city's major corridors to serve the community's general commercial needs.

(d)

17-92. The 17-92 district is to provide for a variety of retail use and services in free-standing parcels or shopping centers as well as allowing for auto-oriented uses on properties adjacent to U.S. Highway 17-92 that would not be as appropriate on other corridors in the city.

2.2.6. Station Core (STA) future land use category. The following zoning districts are applicable under the Station Core (STA) future land use:

(a)

Transit village neighborhood. The transit village neighborhood (TVN) district is intended to provide an area for higher-density residential and transit-supportive retail and lifestyle uses that will help promote a cohesive district for residents to live, work, and play. The intent of the TVN district is to promote and emphasize walkable development that is supportive of historic district businesses and SunRail ridership.

(b)

Station workshop. The station workshop (SW) district is intended to allow for new transit-supportive development while also protecting and preserving successful, historically industrial areas.

2.2.7. Infill and Mixed-Use (IMU) future land use category. The following zoning districts are applicable under the Infill and Mixed-Use (IMU) future land use:

(a)

Infill and mixed use. The infill and mixed use (IMU) district shall be applied to major corridors, and gateways where higher density development may be deemed desirable to facilitate horizontal or vertical mixed-use projects, or support retail and restaurant development in a particular corridor, and does not need to be adjacent to other properties carrying the same zoning.

2.2.8. Industrial (IND) future land use category. The following zoning districts are applicable under the Industrial (IND) future land use:

2.2.15. Light industrial (L-IND). The light industrial district is intended to ensure the city's industrial core is protected and preserved and to provide a location for light and clean industrial uses that have historically been located adjacent to residential areas in the city, or can be made compatible with residential uses through proper screening and buffering through this Development Code. Allowable uses include general office, government services, warehousing and distribution centers, manufacturing, and specified commercial, storage, artist and artisan studios, cottage industries, other uses as further specified in section 2.3.0 (table of allowable uses).

2.2.16. Industrial core (IND). The IND district is intended to ensure the city's industrial core is protected and preserved and to provide a location for light and clean industrial uses. Limited additional uses that are supportive of and ancillary to industrial development are also allowed. Allowable uses include general office, government services, warehousing and distribution centers, manufacturing, and specified commercial, storage, artist and artisan studios, cottage industries, and limited residential use when subordinate to and compatible with the industrial use all as further specified in section 2.3.0 (table of allowable uses). Certain specified uses may also be subject to the supplemental standards in section 5.4.0 (supplemental standards for specific uses).

2.2.9. Public/institutional (P/I) future land use category. The following zoning districts are applicable under the public/institutional (P/I) future land use:

2.2.17. Public/institutional (P/I). The P/I district is designed to provide a location for civic, educational, governmental, cultural, and specified recreational uses, all as further specified in section 2.3.0 (table of allowable uses). Certain uses may also be subject to the supplemental standards in section 5.4.0 (supplemental standards for specific uses).

2.2.10. Planned development district. The planned development (PD) district is an independent, freestanding zoning district, wherein the zoning regulations need not be uniform for each class or type of land use, but where the use of land shall be in accordance with a development agreement as specified in article X of this Land Development Code.

(Ord. No. 08-1874, § 1, 10-20-2008; Ord. No. 10-1929, § 1, 9-27-2010; Ord. No. 11-1956, § 1, 3-7-2011; Ord. No. 11-1969, § 1, 8-15-2011; Ord. No. 14-2049, § 1, 4-20-2015; Ord. No. 15-2065, § 1, 8-17-2015; Ord. No. 16-2107, § 1, 2-6-2017; Ord. No. 19-2151, § 1, 3-4-2019; Ord. No. 21-2202, § 1, 8-2-2021; Ord. No. 22-2219, § 1(Exh. A), 4-18-2022; Ord. No. 23-2240, § 1, 10-2-2023)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 21-2202, § 1, adopted August 2, 2021, set out provisions intended for use as § 2.2.2. In order to avoid duplication of section numbers, these provisions have been included as § 2.2.10.

2.3.1. Table of allowable uses. The following uses are allowable, subject to the standards, regulations, and criteria of this Code and the Longwood Comprehensive Plan. All uses, unless exempted specifically or by supplemental standards or definition, must be contained within a principal structure. A principal structure may not be a tent, trailer, canopy, shed, tent, or similar structure. The use table is intended to apply to new development or changes of use that create impacts that are not supported by the site:

A = allowable, subject to the standards, regulations and criteria of this Code, including relevant parenthetical references in the table of allowable uses.

S = allowable, subject to the standards, regulations, and criteria of this Code and supplemental standards of section 5.4.0, pertaining to the specific use. Where a use is subject to additional use-specific standards, the relevant section is included in parentheses.

C = subject to a Conditional Use Permit

PD = subject to approval of a Planned Development District

MX = allowed as mixed-use development, subject to approval of a Planned Development District

* = Uses allowed only as an accessory use

º = Allowed only in multi-unit centers

(Ord. No. 22-2225, § 1, 8-15-2022; Ord. No. 22-2227, § 1, 9-7-2022; Ord. No. 23-2236, § 1, 3-20-2023; Ord. No. 23-2240, § 1, 10-2-2023; Ord. No. 24-2254, § 1, 8-5-2024)

2.3.2. Location of public facilities. Nothing in this section shall preclude necessary City of Longwood or other government facilities that provide essential services and serve direct needs of residents of the City of Longwood from locating within any future land use designation when such activity satisfies established criteria of the Comprehensive Plan and the city's Land Development Code.

2.3.3. Residential uses.

(a)

Apartments, Single-Use. In the Infill and Mixed-Use Districts, apartments are only allowed as a Planned Development. Single-use apartments are an allowable use in the Station Workshop and Transit Village Neighborhood districts.

(1)

Live Local Act. Single-use apartments designed utilizing the provisions and allowances of the Live Local Act are allowable in the Commercial zoning districts (Neighborhood Commercial, Gateway, General Commercial, and 17-92), the Infill and Mixed-Use District, and the Industrial Districts (Light Industrial and Industrial Core).

(b)

Apartments, Mixed-Use Development.

(1)

A mixed-use development for the purposes of this section is defined as a development where the project creates, in addition to any number higher than 5 apartment dwelling units, a net of at least 40,000 SF (for projects 3 acres in size or more) and at least 20,000 SF (for projects up to 3 acres) of new commercial space, restricted to retail, restaurant, indoor recreational facilities/gyms, personal services, office, hotel, bake shops, theaters, and concert and event venues. Additional uses as well as waivers to the required square footage may be allowed by the City Commission through a Planned Development.

(a)

Live Local Act. "Mixed-use residential projects" as referenced in the Act must have at least 65% of the total square footage dedicated for residential purposes. The project shall otherwise be consistent with the provisions of this section including the square footage and use requirements of LDC 2.3.3(b)(1) the timing requirement of LDC 2.3.3(b)(2).

(b)

Live Local Act. A proposed development in the Station Core future land use must be a mixed-use development as defined in the Live Local Act, which is different than the City's definition, and otherwise comply with the City's regulations except for those pre-empted (use, height, density, floor area ratio, and parking) by the Act.

(2)

If residential uses are approved for development, a condition of the Development Order (or Development Agreement for the PD) will be that no use or occupancy of the residential portion of the development is permitted without completion of the commercial portion of the development. Thus, no Certificate(s) of Occupancy will be issued for the residential portion of a development unless and until the issuance of a Certificate(s) of Occupancy for the commercial portion occurs unless this requirement is waived or modified by the City Commission as part of a Development Agreement.

(3)

Apartments totaling 5 units or fewer in a given development are allowed as an accessory use to a project with a non-residential first floor in a single vertical mixed-use building in districts where apartments are allowed in a mixed-use development.

(c)

Apartments in Downtown Storefront (DTS) district. Apartments are only allowed in the Downtown Storefront district as an accessory to, and on the second or third (where otherwise allowable) floors of, a building with a commercial first floor. A condition of the Development Order for any such mixed-use building will be that the Certificate of Occupancy will only be issued once the commercial portion is inspected and approved unless this requirement is waived or modified by the City Commission as part of a Development Agreement.

(d)

Apartments in Industrial Core district. In the Industrial Core district, apartments proposed outside of the Live Local Act are allowed only as an accessory use that is subordinate to and compatible with a new development in the industrial district, and only as a Planned Development. Residential uses are limited to 40% of the square footage of the industrial use. If residential uses are approved for development, a condition of the Development Agreement for the PD will be that no use or occupancy of the residential portion of the development is permitted without completion of the commercial portion of the development. Thus, no Certificate(s) of Occupancy will be issued for the residential portion of a development unless and until the issuance of a Certificate(s) of Occupancy for the commercial portion occurs unless this requirement is waived or modified by the City Commission as part of a Development Agreement.

2.3.4. Single-family residential and townhouses (three or more attached units) in certain districts.

(a)

In the Neighborhood Commercial, General Commercial, 17-92, and Infill and Mixed-Use Districts, single-family residential and townhouse development is allowed as part of a mixed-use Planned Development. When adjacent to a residential use, the residential uses shall be directed to the rear of the subject property, or to any areas of the subject property that abut existing single-family development, and shall be designed to buffer the existing residential from and provide an appropriate downward transition from the commercial use to the residential use. A mixed-use development for the purposes of this section is defined as a development where the project creates at least 40,000 SF (for projects 3 acres or more in size) and at least 20,000 SF (for projects up to 3 acres) of new commercial space, restricted to retail, restaurant, indoor recreational facilities/gyms, personal services, office, hotel, bake shops, theaters, and concert and event venues. Additional uses as well as waivers to the required square footage may be allowed by the City Commission through a Planned Development. If residential uses are approved for development, a condition of the Development Agreement for the PD will be that no use or occupancy of the residential portion of the development is permitted without completion of the commercial portion of the development. Thus, no Certificate(s) of Occupancy will be issued for the residential portion of a development unless and until the issuance of a Certificate(s) of Occupancy for the commercial portion occurs unless this requirement is waived or modified by the City Commission as part of a Development Agreement.

2.3.5. Uses not listed. For uses that are not listed, the community development director may approve similar uses based upon an evaluation of projected impacts in terms of parking, trip generation, environmental impact, impact on city facilities, consistency with Comprehensive Plan and Development Code standards, and/or other pertinent factors. The community development director may condition such approval in order to mitigate such use's impact on city facilities and ensure compatibility with adjacent properties and consistency with the Comprehensive Plan and Development Code standards. Uses that are not listed in this table and are not determined to be similar in impact are considered prohibited in the City of Longwood.

2.3.6. Duplexes. Duplexes are allowed only when the proposed lot is an existing lot of record. A lot split that adjusts a property line for the purposes of a duplex may be allowed, however no other subdivision shall be allowed for the purposes of duplexes.

(Ord. No. 08-1874, § 2, 10-20-2008; Ord. No. 10-1929, § 1, 9-27-2010; Ord. No. 11-1956, § 1, 3-7-2011; Ord. No. 11-1961, § 1, 5-16-2011; Ord. No. 11-1969, § 1, 8-15-2011; Ord. No. 11-1976, § 1, 11-21-2011; Ord. No. 12-1992, § 1, 9-4-2012; Ord. No. 12-1998, § 1, 11-19-2012; Ord. No. 13-2016, § 1, 11-18-2013; Ord. No. 14-2025, § 1, 5-5-2014; Ord. No. 14-2049, § 1, 4-20-2015; Ord. No. 15-2065, § 1, 8-17-2015; Ord. No. 16-2088, § 1, 6-20-2016; 16-2094, § 1, 11-7-2016; Ord. No. 16-2107, § 1, 2-6-2017; Ord. No. 17-2129, § 1, 12-18-2017; Ord. No. 18-2136, § 1, 6-18-2018; Ord. No. 19-2151, § 1, 3-4-2019; Ord. No. 20-2170, § 1, 2-17-2020; Ord. No. 21-2202, § 1, 8-2-2021; Ord. No. 22-2219, § 1(Exh. A), 4-18-2022; Ord. No. 22-2227, § 1, 9-7-2022)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 22-2219, § 1(Exh. A), adopted April 18, 2022, repealed § 2.4.0. Former § 2.4.0 pertained to overlay districts and derived from Ord. No. 10-1929, § 1, adopted September 27, 2010; Ord. No. 11-1956, § 1, adopted March 7, 2011; Ord. No. 12-1992, § 1, adopted September 4, 2012; and Ord. No. 16-2088, § 1, adopted June 20, 2016.