2020-010 Amending Sections 5-4 and 5-4.1 of the LDC for Residential Fencing ORDINANCE NO. 2020-010
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA,
AMENDING SECTION 5-4 OF THE CITY OF OCOEE LAND
DEVELOPMENT CODE, RELATING TO OPEN SPACE
REQUIREMENTS OF ZONING DISTRICTS; AMENDING
SECTION 5-4.1 OF THE CITY OF OCOEE LAND
DEVELOPMENT CODE, RELATING TO FENCING; PROVIDING
FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION;
PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, as provided in Article VIII of the Constitution of the State of Florida and
Chapter 166, Florida Statutes, the City of Ocoee (the "City") enjoys all home rule authority, police
power, land development and zoning authority, and governmental and proprietary powers necessary
to conduct municipal government and perform municipal functions; and
WHEREAS, the City may exercise any power for municipal purposes, except as expressly
prohibited by law; and
WHEREAS, on October 8, 2019, the Planning and Zoning Commission held a public
hearing and recommended approval of an amendment proposed by staff to revise Sections 5-4
and 5-4.1 of the City of Ocoee Land Development Code ("LDC") and to include fencing
regulations in Section 5-4.1 of the LDC; and
WHEREAS, following advertisement and a duly notice public hearing on the Ordinance,
on February 4, 2020, the City Commission of the City of Ocoee approved the amendments to
Sections 5-4 and 5-4.1 of the LDC; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission in good faith determines that this Ordinance is in the
best interest of the City and its residents and promotes the health, safety, and welfare of the
public.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Authority. The City Commission of the City of Ocoee has the
authority to adopt this Ordinance pursuant to Article VIII of the Constitution of the State of
Florida and Chapters 163 and 166, Florida Statutes.
SECTION 2. Amendment of Section 5-4. Section 5-4 of the City of Ocoee
Land Development Code is hereby amended to read as follows with underlines showing
additions and strikethroughs showing deletions:
SECTION 5-4. - OPEN SPACE REQUIREMENTS OF ZONING DISTRICTS.
The following requirements are intended to provide exceptions to or to qualify and
supplement, as the case may be, the specific district regulations set forth in Article V:
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A. An open space or lot area required for an existing building or structure shall not be
counted as open space for any other building or structure.
B. Open eaves, cornices, window sills and belt courses may project into any required
yard a distance not to exceed two (2) feet. Open porches or open fire escapes may
project into a front yard a distance not to exceed five (5) feet. Fences, walls and
met, and provided further that no wall or fence located in front of the front building
line shall exceed four (4) feet in height, and no other wall or fence shall exceed six (6)
feet in height.
C. Where the dedicated street right-of-way is less than fifty (50) feet, the depth of the
front yard shall be measured starting at a point twenty-five (25) feet from the edge of
right-of-way.
D. No dwelling shall be erected on a lot which does not abut at least one (1) street, which
is at least forty (40) feet in width, for at least twenty (20) feet. The street shall form
the direct and primary means of ingress and egress for all dwelling units. Alleys,
where they exist, shall form only a secondary means of ingress and egress.
E. The owner of any lot of record existing at the time of the adoption of this Code that
does not meet the above criteria may apply to the Board of Adjustment for a variance
for the construction of a single-family home. The Board of Adjustment shall make a
recommendation and the City Commission shall determine that there is reasonable
access to the property, and that this action will create no adverse impact on adjacent
properties, before a variance is granted.
F. Accessory buildings which are not a part of the main building may be built in the rear
yard, but shall not cover more than thirty (30) percent of the rear yard.
G. On any corner lot, the applicable front yard setback shall apply to both street
frontages. In cases where (1) two (2) corner lots adjoin at the end of a block, (2) the
single-family dwelling units are designed rear-to-rear, and (3) there are no garage or
main entry doorways exiting to the side front yard, then in such cases, the front side
building setback shall be reduced to fifteen (15) feet from the property line. The
foregoing provision applies only to new single-family dwellings for which building
permits are obtained after January 15, 2008.
H. On any corner lot on which a front and side yard is required, no wall, fence, sign,
structure or any plant growth which obstructs sight lines at elevations between two (2)
feet, six (6) inches and ten (10) feet above any portion of the crown of the adjacent
roadway shall be maintained in a triangle formed by measuring from the point of
intersection of the front and exterior side lot lines a distance of twenty-five (25) feet
along the front and side lot lines, and connecting the points so established to form a
safe sight triangle on the area of the lot adjacent to the street intersections of minor
and collector streets. The same distance for the intersection of any street with an
arterial street as defined in the Comprehensive Plan shall be forty (40) feet.
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I. An attached or detached private garage which faces on a street shall not be located
closer than twenty-five (25) feet to the street right-of-way. In cases where (1) two (2)
minimum setback of fifteen (15) feet is maintained from property line and the fence
J. Open porches may extend into the rear yard in residential districts provided that:
(1) The open porch does not cover more than thirty (30) percent of the rear yard;
(2) The open porch does not increase the maximum impervious surface of the lot to be
greater than fifty (50) percent;
(3) The open porch is no closer than seven and one-half(71/2) feet to the rear lot line
and no closer than seven and one-half(71/2) feet to either side lot line; and
(4) The open porch does not extend into any utility, drainage or landscape easement or
conservation area.
K. The required open space area for a single-family residential lot shall not include
covered area with any impervious materials such as stone, gravel, rock or impervious
mulch materials. In no case shall any impervious materials, other than those required
for sidewalks, driveways or parking area aprons, be placed within public or private
roadway rights-of-way. For the purposes of this subsection, impervious mulch
materials are defined as any material that significantly limits the absorption of
stormwater into the ground, such as stone, gravel and rocks that are used in
landscaping.
SECTION 3. Amendment of Section 5-4-1. Section 5-4-1 of the City of Ocoee
Land Development Code is hereby amended to read as follows with underlines showing
additions and strikethroughs showing deletions:
SECTION 5-4.1. - FENCES.
Fences erected within the City of Ocoee prior to January 1, 2000, shall be considered to
be grandfathered as legal nonconforming structures. It is the burden of the property owner to
provide documentation to the City that the existing fence meets this standard. Subject to
obtaining building permits, grandfathered fences shall be allowed to be repaired and/or
replaced in the location they were constructed in, except that safe sight triangles on corner lots
must be maintained for all replacement fences.
Fences, walls, and hedges in residential districts may be erected in any required yard, or
along the edge of any yard, provided that street corner visibility requirements of this Code shall
be met, and provided further that no wall or fence located in front of the front building line shall
exceed four (4) feet in height and be no more than fifty (50) percent opaque. No other wall or
fence shall exceed six (6) feet in height, and all fences must have up to a two (2) inch variable
setback from adjacent property line, so as to not encroach on neighboring property.
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Corner lots: In cases where: (1) two (2) corner lots adjoin at the end of a block, (2) the
single- family dwelling units are designed rear-to-rear, and (3) there are no garage or main entry
doorways exiting to the side front yard, then in such cases, fences greater than four (4) feet in
height and no more than six (6) feet in height shall be allowed within the side front yard as long
as a minimum setback of fifteen (15) feet is maintained from the property line and the fence
extends along no more than one-half(1/2) the depth of the house.
SECTION 4. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase
or portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of
competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent
provision and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion hereto.
SECTION 5. Codification. It is the intention of the City Commission of the
City that the provisions stated in this Ordinance shall become and be made a part of the Code of
Ordinances of the City; and that sections of this Ordinance may be renumbered or relettered and
the word "ordinance" may be changed to "chapter," "section," "article," or such other appropriate
word or phrase in order to accomplish such intentions; and regardless of whether such inclusion
in the Code is accomplished, sections of this Ordinance may be renumbered or relettered and the
correction of typographical errors which do not affect the intent may be authorized by the City
Manager, without need of public hearing, by filing a corrected or recodified copy of same with
the City Clerk.
SECTION 6. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall become effective
immediately upon passage and adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this qday of , 2020.
APPROVED:
ATTEST: CITY OF OCOEE,FLORIDA
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Melanie Sibbitt, City Clerk Rusty Johnson, . or
(SEAL)
ADVERTISED iJ. ,2020
READ FIRST TIM i a , ,2020
FOR USE AND RELIANCE ONLY BY RJD SECOND T E AND ADOPTED
THE CITY OF OCOEE,FLORIDA; 1�/JrICQ.Y ,2020 UNDER AGENDA
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY ITEM NOV.
this4N-day of r3 ,2020.
SHUFFIELD,LOWMAN& WILSON
By: A
C. Atte :,
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