(a)

Setbacks shall be measured on a perpendicular from the property line to the first vertical plane which intersects any portion of the structure other than a nominal roof overhang.

(b)

Retaining walls constructed in accordance with chapter 4, LDC, must adhere to a minimum five-foot side-yard, rear-yard and front-yard setback from the property line.

(c)

Paved driveways shall adhere to a minimum side-yard setback of three feet.

(d)

New wells and apparatuses must adhere to a setback of three feet to any property line or utility/drainage easement. A zoning clearance is required for new wells.

(Ord. No. 2003-01, § 4.7.1, 3-11-2003; Ord. No. 2020-005, § 2, 6-9-2020; Ord. No. 2023-27, § 2, 6-13-2023)

(a)

The first floor area of an accessory building within a residential district shall be no greater than 800 square feet or 50 percent of the square footage of the primary structure whichever is lesser and shall not exceed a height of 14 feet or the height of the primary structure whichever is lesser.

(b)

When an accessory building is attached to a main structure by a breezeway or any other structure requiring a Town of Montverde building permit it shall comply with the setback requirements of the main building.

(c)

All accessory buildings must be issued a permit by the town prior to installation or construction.

(d)

Accessory buildings 120 square feet or less shall be set back and located a minimum of seven and one-half feet from the side and rear property lines. Accessory buildings greater than 120 square feet shall conform to the applicable zoning setbacks.

(e)

Accessory buildings greater than 120 feet ² must be constructed or installed to be similar to the architectural style, colors and materials of the principal structure. Properties located in agriculture zoning district are exempt from this requirement.

(f)

Each residential lot (determined by ALT key or parcel identification number) may have no more than two accessory buildings.

(g)

Temporary storage structures shall be limited to 60 consecutive days and no more than 120 days in any calendar year and shall be located a minimum of ten feet from all property lines.

(h)

Accessory buildings may not be placed in the front yard. Accessory buildings shall be placed in side or rear yards only, except if a corner lot, then accessory buildings shall only be placed in the rear yard.

(Ord. No. 2003-01, § 4.7.2, 3-11-2003; Ord. No. 2005-15, § 1, 9-13-2005; Ord. No. 2009-18, § 2, 7-14-2009; Ord. No. 2020-006, § 2, 8-11-2020; Ord. No. 2023-31, § 2, 1-9-2024)

Building heights may not exceed 35 feet; however, chimneys, water, fire, radio and television towers, church spires, elevator bulkheads, smokestacks and similar structures and their necessary mechanical appurtenances may exceed 35 feet, subject to the restrictions herein and any height limitations placed on such structures by the Federal Aviation Administration. No building or other structure shall exceed any height limitations placed on such structures by the Federal Aviation Administration.

(Ord. No. 2003-01, § 4.7.3, 3-11-2003)

Any gas, propane or LP storage tank or facility must obtain a conditional use permit in any zoning category unless the tank or storage facility is for residential use and holds 500 pounds or less. Any other gas, propane or LP storage tank or facility requires a conditional use permit. Setbacks and special conditions will be considered and adopted during the conditional use approval process.

(Ord. No. 2003-01, § 4.7.4, 3-11-2003; Ord. No. 2023-30, § 2, 6-13-2023)

(a)

Permit required. It shall be unlawful for any person to wreck or demolish any building or structure in the town without first securing a permit as provided by this section and paying the fees outlined in a fee ordinance adopted by the town.

(b)

Permit application and fees. Application for a permit to wreck or demolish a building or structure in the town shall be in writing to and on the forms prescribed by the town. The application shall include the following:

(1)

Demolition contractor's name and address, certification or competency card number;

(2)

Property owner's name and address;

(3)

Location of the building or structure;

(4)

Legal description of the property, and

(5)

Date demolition is to begin.

(c)

Exception. An owner-occupier of a single-family residence may demolish such owner-occupier's home, garage or shed type structure without securing an local business tax receipt or certificate of competency. However, a permit is required. It shall be unlawful to employ any person to assist that does not first produce a current local business tax receipt and house wreckers competence card. Such owner-occupier must comply with all other provisions of this section, including pulling a permit and paying required fees.

(d)

Notarized authorization required. Notarized authorization of owners and proof of ownership is required.

(Ord. No. 2003-01, § 4.7.5, 3-11-2003)

(a)

The town recognizes that the community gains tangible benefits from residents engaging in occupations conducted from their homes. These benefits include in part the following:

(1)

A reduction in automobile trips.

(2)

Added neighborhood security.

(3)

Better family and community cohesiveness.

(4)

The encouragement of more citizens, including the handicapped, the aged, and parents of small children, to participate in the workforce.

(b)

The town recognizes that its residents should expect their neighborhood to be quiet and safe places to live and that home occupations should not be allowed to alter the primarily residential character of these neighborhoods. Home occupations should not be allowed to create a nuisance of any kind or to endanger the health or safety of residents of the neighborhood. For these reasons, it is the purpose of this section to:

(1)

Protect residential areas from the adverse impacts of activities associated with home occupations.

(2)

Permit residents of the community a broad choice in the use of their homes as a place of livelihood for the production or supplementation of personal and family income.

(3)

Establish criteria and development standards for home occupations conducted in residential areas.

(Ord. No. 2003-03, § 1(4.7.6.1), 12-9-2003)

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Home occupation means any commercial use conducted on a residential property and carried on by an occupant thereof, which use is clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the residential property thereof.

(Ord. No. 2003-03, § 1(4.7.6.2), 12-9-2003)

(a)

Home occupations shall be permitted in all zoning districts except PFD and U districts.

(b)

All home occupations which serve customers on the property, store materials or equipment on the property, or have employees that are not resident occupants must be registered annually with the town clerk. All other home occupations may, at the resident's discretion, choose to be registered annually with the town clerk.

(c)

The following shall not be permitted as home occupations:

(1)

Beauty shops.

(2)

Barber shops.

(3)

Studio for group instruction.

(4)

Public dining facility or tea room.

(5)

Photographic studio.

(6)

Repair of any equipment within public view.

(7)

Repair to the body of vehicles (body shop).

(8)

Repair of vehicles, other than repairs to the body, which is done either in public view or which results in the storage of more than two vehicles under repair on the property at any time.

(9)

Cleaning or detailing of vehicles within public view.

(10)

Storage of equipment or parts of any kind within public view for more than ten hours.

(11)

Offering of storage space for rent or purchase.

(12)

Welding and machining which results in the storage of materials or equipment in public view for more than ten hours or which is done in public view.

(13)

Pool cleaning.

(14)

Pest control.

(15)

Food processing.

(16)

Nursery school or kindergarten.

(17)

Animal hospitals or kennels.

(18)

Taxidermy.

(19)

Medical or dental examinations or procedures.

(d)

Home occupations are prohibited from the following:

(1)

Allowing loud, disturbing or unnecessary noise, sound, light, vibration, smell or effect which can be heard, felt or otherwise sensed by adjoining property owners or from the public right-of-way.

(2)

The outside storage or display of materials or goods used or manufactured as part of the home occupation except as otherwise provided herein.

(3)

The outside or inside storage of hazardous materials other than those commonly found within a residence as permitted by law.

(4)

Conducting business activities on-site with more than one full-time employee or two part-time employees who are not resident occupants.

(5)

Utilizing more than 35 percent of the total floor area of the primary residential building.

(6)

Activities that change the outside appearance of the structure or premises.

(7)

Generating an excess of ten vehicle trips per day or otherwise increase traffic or on-street parking that would be inconsistent with a residential area.

(8)

Selling of retail goods on premises, excluding agricultural products that are grown on any property within the town limits.

(e)

The following exceptions are permitted home occupations:

(1)

Music, art, dance or exercise instruction provided classes contain no more than three students at a time.

(2)

The operation of a residence as a family day care home, as defined by law in F.S. § 402.302, registered or licensed with the department of children and family services day care.

(f)

A home occupation is allowed no more than one sign that shall not exceed one square foot in area, nonilluminated, mounted flat against the wall of the primary or accessory building, at a position no more than two feet from the main entrance of the residence or business. If required by federal or state statute to display a sign that does conform to the above, the resident must notify the town clerk and provide written documentation of said statute to the town clerk prior to displaying the sign.

(Ord. No. 2003-03, § 1(4.7.6.3), 12-9-2003; Ord. No. 2009-10, § 3, 6-23-2009)

From the effective date of the ordinance from which this section is derived, no communication tower shall be placed and constructed in any zoning district without obtaining a conditional use permit. No alterations or additions to any communication tower, such as antennae, shall be placed on existing communication towers without obtaining a conditional use permit. Communications infrastructure must first be placed on existing structures before any construction of additional communication towers is considered by the town, after a conditional use permit is properly obtained.

(Ord. No. 2006-05, § 1(4.7.7), 6-13-2006)

(a)

Applicability. No person shall breed or maintain farm animals, fowl, or other livestock within the town limits unless such person complies with the zoning restrictions outlined in this article. "Farm animals, fowl, or other livestock" shall include, but are not limited to, chickens, roosters, turkeys, guinea fowl, pigeons, peacocks, parrots, pheasants, psittacines, emus, lamas, alpacas, horses, mules, donkeys, jackasses, jennies, bulls, cows, calves, steers, goats, hogs, rabbits, or sheep. Hogs are not permitted within the town. However, one pot belly pig 120 pounds in weight or less is permitted per one parcel as a pet.

This section does not apply to pets such as dogs, cats, lizards, turtles, and birds provided the birds, turtles and lizards are raised indoors or underneath a covered and enclosed patio.

(b)

Keeping horses, cows and similar animals. No horses, mules, donkeys, jackasses, jennies, bulls, cows, calves, goats, or steers shall be permanently kept on any lot or parcel of land in the town containing less than one acre for each animal permanently kept. For purposes of this section of code, the term "permanently" is defined as any period of time in excess of 48 hours within any seven-day period.

(c)

Keeping fowl, rabbits or goats. A resident is permitted to raise chickens provided it is consistent with subsection (d) below. However, any person residing on a parcel one acre or more in size within the town is permitted to maintain fowl, including, but not limited to, chickens, turkeys, guinea fowl, pigeons, peacocks, parrots, pheasants or psittacines, and rabbits or goats, however, must completely enclose the area in which the fowl, rabbits or goats are kept by an opaque fence with slats at least six feet in height or a manufactured wood privacy fence with no holes or rot at least six feet in height completely surrounding such area. The fence may only be in the rear yard of any lot and must be set back from the property line on the back and on the sides at least 15 feet. Roosters are not permitted to be maintained within any zoning district in the Town of Montverde. No more than ten total fowl species including chickens, turkeys, all other farm raised birds, and rabbits and goats shall be permitted on any parcel one acre or more in size. No more than ten total fowl species including chickens, turkeys, all other farm raised birds, and rabbits and goats shall be permitted on any parcel one acre or more in size. It shall be unlawful and a violation of this chapter for any person to allow, permit any chicken, rooster, turkey, guinea fowl, pigeon, peacock, parrot, pheasant, psittacine or other domestic fowl to run at large within the corporate limits of the town.

(d)

Chickens. Chickens, other than roosters, shall be allowed for personal use as an accessory use on lots less than one acre within the following residential districts: R1-L, R1-M, RA/MH, R2, R3, and ORC. Any person keeping, harboring, raising or maintaining chickens as an accessory to an occupied dwelling unit shall be subject to the following restrictions:

(1)

No more than five chickens may be kept;

(2)

Slaughtering of chickens is prohibited;

(3)

Chickens must be secured within the chicken coop or fenced enclosure at all times;

(4)

All feed and other items associated with the keeping of chickens that are likely to attract or to become infested with rodents or other pests shall be kept in a rodent and pest-proof container;

(5)

No manure shall be allowed to accumulate on the floor of the coop or ground. A fly-tight bin for storage of manure shall be utilized; the size shall be sufficient to contain all accumulations of manure. The fly-tight bin shall be kept at least 15 feet away from all property; and

(6)

Composting of chicken manure shall be allowed in an enclosed bin. The composting bin shall be kept at least 20 feet away from all property lines.

(7)

Chicken coop or fenced enclosure used to house chickens. Any chicken coop or fenced enclosure used to house chickens shall:

a.

Not be located in the front or side yards; and

b.

Be set back a minimum of 15 feet from all property lines.

(e)

Rabbits and school projects. Two rabbits are permitted to be permanently located as pets on lots less than one acre in any zoning district within the town. More than two but no more than ten rabbits are permitted on lots less than one acre provided they are raised for a school project such as Future Farmers of America (FFA) and removed immediately following the completion of school project.

(f)

Continuation of non-conformity. As of the effective date of this section all properties registered with the town as having farm animals, fowl, or other livestock in violation of this section shall be permitted to maintain the same number of such farm animals, fowl, or other livestock until such time as title to the property is transferred; however, no additional farm animals, fowl, or other livestock are permitted. The rights provided for in this subsection (f) do not run with the transfer of land ownership.

(Ord. No. 2019-011, § 2, 1-28-2020)

All structures including but not limited to fences, sheds, and accessory structures, excluding permitted docks shall adhere to a minimum setback of 50 feet from the delineation of the seasonal high-water elevation or jurisdictional wetland line (whichever line is higher). The seasonable high-water elevation and jurisdictional wetland line shall be established by a qualified professional using soil conditions and vegetative indicators.

In ground concrete or fiber glass pools and associated pool decking are permitted within the 50-feet setback but must be at least 25-feet from the seasonal high-water elevation or wetland jurisdictional line (whichever line is higher).

(Ord. No. 2020-024, § 2, 12-8-2020)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 2020-024, § 2, adopted December 8, 2020, set out provisions intended for use as § 10-90. For purposes of classification to avoid numerical duplication, and at the editor's discretion, these provisions have been included as set out herein.