Land Development Code
***DISCLAIMER***
The City of Lakeland's Community and Economic Development Department has posted the link to the electronic version of the City of Lakeland Land Development Code on our website via Municode for the convenience of the public. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained herein is accurate and up-to-date. However, the City of Lakeland does not provide any guarantee, express or implied, as to the accuracy and/or completeness of the information contained herein; nor shall the City of Lakeland be liable for any errors, inaccuracies, or omissions, represented by the information contained herein. Furthermore, in no event will the City of Lakeland be liable for any lost profits or any damages, including direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or any other types of damages, arising out of the use of this electronic version of the City of Lakeland Land Development Code on the Internet.
If you are relying upon the Land Development Code to make a legal decision or a decision regarding purchase of property, you are urged to contact the City of Lakeland Community and Economic Development Department to request a zoning verification request.
The Community and Economic Development Department is located within City Hall at 228 S. Massachusetts Avenue, Lakeland, FL 33801, and can be reached by calling 863.834.6011.
The links below consist of recent changes to the Land Development Code which were approved by the City Commission on Monday, September 16, 2024. These changes, which are now in effect, supersede the corresponding text in the online version of the Land Development Code. Please refer to these ordinances until the online version has been updated by Municode.
| Ordinance 6049 | Changes to Article 2 (Use Standards), Sections 2.3 (Permitted Uses) and 2.6 (Master Use List) of the Land Development Code to allow ground floor residential uses within existing non-residential buildings in C-6 and C-7 zoning districts, define restaurant and retail uses such as “ghost kitchens” and “dark stores” and allow within certain zoning districts, revise definitions pertaining to the outdoor storage boats, motor homes, trailers and other equipment, add a new use specific to the outdoor storage of medium-duty and heavy duty trucks, semi-trailers, multi-trailers, construction equipment, tools and vehicles, and amend the zoning districts in which such uses are permitted by right and through a conditional use. |
| Ordinance 6050 | Changes to Article 3 (Urban Form Standards), Section 3.5 (Exceptions to Urban Form Standards) of the Land Development Code to revise the development standards for single-family and two-family residential uses to reduce the maximum lot coverage from 55% to 45% in Urban Neighborhood Context sub-districts, define the minimum front yard setback for infill properties located within established residential neighborhoods, and define the frontage buildout as a percentage of the overall width of the principal structure. |
| Ordinance 6051 | Changes to Article 4 (General Site Development Standards), Section 4.3 (Accessory Structures) of the Land Development Code, to establish a maximum floor areas and total cumulative footprint for accessory structures on single-family or two-family residential lots or parcels, prohibit the installation of secondary electric meters on accessory structures when located on properties zoned for single-family or two-family residential uses, define accessory structures with greater than 1,000 sq. ft. of floor area as principal structures when located on a lot or parcel zoned for office, commercial, industrial, or multi-family residential uses, and provide clarification regarding zoning compliance for certain accessory structures which do not require a building permit. |
| Ordinance 6052 | Changes to Article 4 (General Site Development Standards), Section 4.4 (Fences and Walls) and Article 12 (Administration and Enforcement) of the Land Development Code, to establish permitting requirements for fences, specify the threshold for when repair or replacement of an existing fence will require a permit, specify how much of a nonconforming fence or wall may be repaired or replaced before the fence or wall must be brought into compliance, require fencing materials which have both a finished and unfinished side to orient the finished side outwards when adjacent or directly visible from streets or alleys, address the placement of certain materials on fencing, revise an illustration which addresses the height of fences and walls within the visibility triangle at unsignalized intersections, and allow for the administrative approval of privacy fences up to eight feet in height subject to the written consent of adjacent property owners when located in rear yards and not visible from adjacent streets or alleys. |
| Ordinance 6053 | Changes to Article 4 (General Site Development Standards), Section 4.5 (Landscaping, Trees and Buffering) of the Land Development Code, to apply the tree preservation requirements to unplatted parcels of land which are zoned for single-family or two-family residential uses and greater than one acre in area, adopt a new list of qualified tree, palm, shrub, groundcover and flower plantings, and incorporate certain Florida-Friendly Landscaping requirements for irrigation systems. |
| Ordinance 6054 | Changes to Article 4 (General Site Development Standards), Section 4.7 (Pedestrian, Bicycle and Transit Facilities) of the Land Development Code, to revise the payment in lieu of construction where a sidewalk network does not exist on local streets and where a sidewalk would not be feasible due to site constraints. |
| Ordinance 6055 | Changes to Article 5 (Standards for Specific Uses), Section 5.9 (Electric Vehicle Charging Facilities) and Section 5.24 (Food Trucks) of the Land Development Code, to remove development standards pertaining to electric vehicle charging facilities, remove application requirements for a business tax receipt for food trucks and provide clarification regarding the documentation of property owner authorization and access to permanent restroom facilities. |
| Ordinance 6056 | Changes to Article 6 (Natural Resource Protection Standards), Sections 6.1 (General), 6.2 (Floodplain Management) and 6.3 (Green Swamp Area of Critical State Concern) of the Land Development Code, to adopt changes mandated by the Florida Department of Emergency Management (FDEM) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) pertaining to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). |
| Ordinance 6057 | Changes to Article 10 (Concurrency Standards) of the Land Development Code, to require a signed and sealed analysis prepared by a professional traffic engineer and additional safety analyses that will be required for Major Traffic Studies. |
| Ordinance 6058 | Changes to Article 11 (Historic Preservation Standards) of the Land Development Code, to clarify terminology and correct scrivener’s errors throughout the Article, add definitions for Certificate of Review, Design Review Committee, Historic Preservation Board, and Relocation, reduce the total number of members on the Historic Preservation Board from 13 to 9, clarify membership composition along with a requirement that members must be City residents, clarify the role and purpose of the Design Review Committee, revise the definition of historic district to include aspects of historic integrity, revise terminology pertaining to the nomination of local historic landmarks, add review criteria for the relocation of historic buildings, and add formal procedures for processing appeals of decisions of the Historic Preservation Board and the Design Review Committee. |