Citrus County

Citrus County Department of Development Services (DDS) is the combined planning / zoning / building / floodplain permit authority for parcels in the unincorporated county. Unincorporated Citrus County covers approximately 570 square miles (about 99% of the county's 773 sqmi total land area including extensive water) with only two small incorporated municipalities: Inverness (county seat) and Crystal River (coastal). Almost all of the county's population lives in unincorporated areas. Principal unincorporated communities include Citrus Springs (large pre-platted subdivision, ~10,000 residents), Beverly Hills (55+ community), Lecanto, Homosassa, Homosassa Springs, Hernando, Floral City, Ozello (extreme-coastal), Red Level, and Pine Ridge. Citrus County is a CRS Class 6 community. All of the county is in the Wind Borne Debris Region (WBDR) with 150-mph-ultimate wind-load design (inland) or 160-mph-ultimate (coastal / near-coastal). Hurricane Helene (Sept 2024) caused catastrophic surge damage to Ozello, Crystal River, Homosassa, and unincorporated Gulf frontage — permit volume through 2025 has been dominated by substantial-damage determinations and rebuild-to-elevated-standard requirements.

Process overview: Accessory dwelling / accessory living unit approval in unincorporated Citrus County is a combined zoning / building / floodplain review. Typical sequence: (a) applicant confirms parcel zoning, Future Land Use, CHHA status, and FIRM flood-zone via Citrus County Property Appraiser and DDS GIS; (b) applicant submits Building Permit through EnerGov with site plan, floor plans, elevations, Florida Building Code compliance (150-160 mph ultimate per location), impact-rated glazing or shutter spec, flood-zone compliance (Elevation Certificate for SFHA parcels), Florida Department of Health septic approval (virtually all unincorporated Citrus parcels on septic), and private-well confirmation; (c) DDS zoning review; (d) building plan review; (e) Citrus County Fire Rescue reviews for access/water supply; (f) floodplain review — post-Helene FEMA FIRM revisions drove some Crystal River / Homosassa / Ozello BFEs upward by 2-4 feet; (g) permit issuance, construction, inspections, CO. Citrus County targets 15-25 business days for residential permit review; post-Helene actuals commonly run 30-50 business days on coastal and near-coastal parcels.

Impact fees: Citrus County impact fees are modest compared to coastal South Florida. The county charges transportation (roads), parks, and library impact fees on new dwelling units; school impact fees are charged by the Citrus County School District. For a typical accessory dwelling in unincorporated Citrus County, total impact fees run approximately $3,500-$6,500 (as of 2026-04-20). Virtually all unincorporated Citrus parcels rely on on-site septic (Florida DOH permitting) and private wells or small community water systems — no county water/sewer connection fee applies in most cases. Citrus County has indexed its impact fees modestly over the 2020s; no ADU-specific exemption exists. (schedule)

The Citrus County Property Appraiser (CCPA) maintains parcel-level assessment records for all real property in Citrus County including parcels within Inverness and Crystal River. Florida's Save Our Homes (§ 193.155 Fla. Stat.) caps homesteaded residential parcels at 3% / CPI-lesser annual increase; non-homestead caps at 10% (§ 193.1554/1555). An ADU is treated as new construction: added to just value at the completion-year fair market value without resetting the primary dwelling's Save Our Homes base. Citrus County's retiree-heavy demographic means many parcels are held with substantial Save Our Homes differentials — long-held homesteaded parcels assessed at a fraction of market value. The CCPA administers Agricultural Classification (Greenbelt, § 193.461) on qualifying rural parcels. Post-Hurricane Helene (Sept 2024), the CCPA issued extensive § 197.319 prorated tax refunds on destroyed residences across coastal Citrus, and tax-roll adjustments continued through the 2025 roll.

Assessment policy: New-construction additions for an accessory dwelling occur at the annual roll-over following Certificate of Occupancy. CCPA field-inspection cycle typically catches the addition within 6-12 months of CO. For a typical 600-900 sqft accessory dwelling in unincorporated Citrus County, observed just-value additions range from $60,000 to $120,000 (reflecting lower construction-cost environment than coastal South Florida counties), yielding a supplemental annual property-tax increase of approximately $1,000-$2,100 at the aggregate millage rate of roughly 1.6-1.8%. Short-term rental of an accessory dwelling in Crystal River / Homosassa / Ozello (the Nature Coast tourism corridor) triggers Tourist Development Tax.

Citrus County administers or co-administers several overlay regimes that materially affect ADU siting on unincorporated parcels: (1) FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) covering extensive Nature Coast frontage (Ozello, Crystal River unincorporated fringe, Homosassa, Homosassa Springs), inland riverine floodplains along the Withlacoochee River, Tsala Apopka Lake chain, Homosassa River, and Crystal River; Citrus is a CRS Class 6 community; post-Hurricane Helene (Sept 2024), FEMA issued substantially revised FIRM panels with BFEs increased by 2-4 feet in hardest-hit coastal segments; (2) Florida Building Code Wind Borne Debris Region — all of Citrus County at 150-160 mph ultimate design; (3) Coastal High Hazard Area (CHHA) under the Citrus Comp Plan Coastal Management Element, with post-Helene intensification-restraint policies materially tightened; (4) Florida DEP Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) jurisdiction along Gulf-facing segments; (5) Florida Aquatic Preserves — Crystal River Aquatic Preserve and St. Martins Aquatic Preserve covering extensive Nature Coast waters; (6) State Park / wildlife management overlays — Crystal River Preserve State Park, Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge (federal); (7) Florida Forest Service Firewise zones in eastern Citrus (Withlacoochee State Forest, Tsala Apopka interior); and (8) Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) consumptive-use and stormwater permitting. The manatee-habitat protections under federal Marine Mammal Protection Act and Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act (§ 370.12 Fla. Stat.) affect waterfront construction near Three Sisters Springs and Kings Bay.

• FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) — National Flood Insurance Program (Citrus CRS Class 6, post-Helene FIRM) — Citrus County administers FEMA NFIP floodplain regulations. SFHA extents include the Gulf-facing coast from Yankeetown border south through Ozello, Crystal River, Homosassa, Homosassa Springs, and Chassahowitzka; inland along the Withlacoochee River corridor, Tsala Apopka Lake chain (Floral City, Inverness, Hernando surrounds), and the Crystal River / Homosassa / Chassahowitzka river systems. Citrus requires lowest-floor elevation to BFE + 1 ft county freeboard. Post-Helene FEMA FIRM revisions effective in 2025 raised BFEs by 2-4 feet in the hardest-hit Gulf coastal segments; owners proposing accessory dwellings on these parcels must confirm current effective BFE and design accordingly. Citrus is a CRS Class 6 community giving unincorporated NFIP policyholders a 20% premium discount.
• Florida Building Code Wind Borne Debris Region (WBDR) — All of Citrus County is in the WBDR. Ultimate design wind speeds: 150 mph inland (Lecanto, Inverness, Citrus Springs) and 160 mph coastal (Ozello, Crystal River fringe, Homosassa, Homosassa Springs). Impact-rated glazing or shutters required on all openings. Garage doors must be impact-rated. Post-Helene insurance scrutiny has tightened dramatically; Citizens Property Insurance is effectively the only option on many coastal Nature Coast parcels.
• Coastal High Hazard Area (CHHA) — Citrus Comp Plan intensification limits (post-Helene tightened) — The CHHA covers the Category 1 surge inundation zone plus adjacent high-velocity wave-action areas across the entire Nature Coast unincorporated frontage. Post-Hurricane Helene, Citrus County tightened CHHA intensification policies — an ADU on a parcel already built to the underlying zoning density in the CHHA faces substantially higher denial risk than in inland districts. Owners in Ozello, Crystal River unincorporated fringe, Homosassa, and Homosassa Springs should obtain a pre-application CHHA-consistency opinion before committing to design.
• Florida Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) — FDEP jurisdiction — CCCL runs along Citrus's Gulf-facing shorelines. Seaward of CCCL, any structure requires FDEP permit in addition to county building approval. CCCL permit processing adds 60-120 days to overall timeline. Most Nature Coast Gulf-front parcels are CCCL-affected.
• Florida Aquatic Preserves — Crystal River, St. Martins — Crystal River Aquatic Preserve covers Kings Bay, Three Sisters Springs, and the adjacent marine environment. St. Martins Aquatic Preserve covers Homosassa and Chassahowitzka waters. Waterfront accessory structures require additional FDEP / SWFWMD permitting for any in-water component. Manatee-habitat protections under federal Marine Mammal Protection Act and Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act (§ 370.12) impose construction-window restrictions (Nov 15 - Mar 31 manatee-presence season) on waterfront work in Kings Bay and Three Sisters Springs.
• Withlacoochee State Forest / Florida Forest Service Firewise zones — The Withlacoochee State Forest occupies portions of eastern Citrus County. Firewise zones along forest interface in eastern Citrus (Floral City, Hernando, Inverness eastern fringe) drive insurance-focused rather than code-focused defensible-space expectations. Florida Building Code lacks a California-Chapter-7A WUI equivalent; insurers are the practical driver of forest-fringe construction practices.
• Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) consumptive-use and stormwater — SWFWMD issues consumptive-use permits for private wells (residential exemptions apply below ~6,000 gpd), reviews stormwater for new construction, and administers environmental resource permitting for work affecting surface waters or wetlands. Accessory dwellings on parcels relying on private wells operate under the residential consumptive-use exemption; accessory dwellings adding more than a trivial footprint may require SWFWMD ERP coverage under the self-certification Minor System pathway.