Questions asked by the public about Florida law.
Brevard County code liens attach to Merritt Island property when fines go unpaid, but Florida law bars foreclosing these liens on a homestead.
Merritt Island has no city government of its own, so Brevard County commissioners and county boards decide its zoning, permits and code matters.
North Merritt Island has its own elected advisory board that reviews zoning requests in the district before they reach the Brevard County Commission.
Before a Merritt Island rezoning hearing, the applicant posts a sign on the land and the county mails notice to owners within 500 feet.
An owner of unincorporated land that touches Palm Bay can petition the City Council for voluntary annexation, and an accepted annexation runs with the land.
Palm Bay property owners can ask the city to reduce a code violation lien by filing a Petition for Relief with the Code Compliance division.
Palm Bay requires mortgagees and trustees to register foreclosed and vacant properties online through HERA Property Registry and pay a fee.
Palm Bay lien searches are ordered online through Orange Data, the city's contracted vendor, which confirms whether a property owes money to the city.
Palm Bay lets staff decide small dimensional variances, up to 10 percent for new construction and 20 percent for existing structures, while larger requests need public hearings.
Rockledge applies a 50 percent rule, so improvements or repairs costing half the building's value trigger the same standards as new construction.
Rockledge prepares written letters confirming a property's zoning classification or city liens for a set fee under its public records fee schedule.
Every Rockledge residential permit starts with a signed, notarized application and scope narrative, and larger jobs also need a recorded Notice of Commencement.
A Rockledge rezoning starts with the Planning Division and moves through public review, with the Planning Commission advising the City Council.
Rockledge variance requests go to a seven member Board of Adjustment, which also decides special exceptions and appeals from zoning decisions by city staff.
Since July 1, 2021, Satellite Beach does not act on anonymous code complaints except for imminent threats to health, safety or sensitive resources.
Most of Satellite Beach lies in coastal flood zones, often AE or VE, and improvements reaching half a structure's market value trigger full compliance.
Satellite Beach owner builders must appear in person to sign the permit and disclosure statement, and they take on full responsibility for code compliance.
Satellite Beach requires permits for most construction, replacement and installation work, from roofs and A/C changeouts to fences, docks and seawalls.
The Satellite Beach Board of Adjustment is a quasi judicial board that decides variances and appeals, and its variances stay with the land after a sale.
Annexation into Titusville takes about four to six months depending on parcel size, and it comes with a land use amendment and a rezoning.
