Lecanto

Citrus County regulates accessory dwelling units on parcels in the unincorporated county through the Citrus County Land Development Code (LDC), which addresses 'accessory living units,' 'guest houses,' 'mother-in-law apartments,' and 'caretaker quarters.' Florida has no mandatory statewide ADU preemption — § 163.31771 Fla. Stat. is permissive only. As of 2026-04-20, Citrus County permits one accessory dwelling per single-family parcel in residential zoning districts (RUR, CLR, LDR, MDR) subject to size caps (typically 50% of primary or 1,000 sqft, whichever is less; larger allowances on agricultural / rural residential parcels), setback conformance, height limits, and utility-sharing requirements. Citrus County is a rural / retirement-heavy Gulf Coast county with a large retiree population (median age ~55, one of the highest in Florida), centered on Inverness (county seat, inland on Lake Tsala Apopka), Crystal River (coastal, home to the Crystal River Preserve State Park and the Nature Coast manatee-viewing industry), Homosassa and Homosassa Springs (unincorporated Gulf coastal), Hernando (unincorporated north-central), Lecanto (unincorporated, growing), Beverly Hills (unincorporated 55+ retirement community), and Citrus Springs (large unincorporated pre-platted subdivision). The coastal Nature Coast segments — Ozello, Homosassa, Crystal River, Yankeetown-adjacent — are extremely surge-exposed; Hurricane Idalia (Aug 2023) delivered substantial coastal flooding and Hurricane Helene (Sept 2024) delivered even more severe storm surge, devastating Citrus County's coastal unincorporated areas. Post-Helene rebuild ordinances are the most recent material amendments to the LDC's accessory-structure provisions. Pending 2026 state legislation (SB 48 / HB 313) would cap local size restrictions at 1,000 sqft minimum if enacted — Citrus County is already at or near the proposed state floor.

• Citrus County Land Development Code — accessory-use and residential-district provisions
• Citrus County Comprehensive Plan — Future Land Use and Coastal Management Elements
• Citrus County Board of County Commissioners — agenda archive

State-floor overlay: Florida has no mandatory statewide ADU preemption. § 163.31771 Fla. Stat. is permissive only. Pending 2026-session SB 48 / HB 313 would preempt sub-1,000-sqft caps and single-family-zone ADU bans effective December 1, 2026 if enacted; 2025 predecessor cleared both chambers before dying on procedural dispute. Citrus County's 1,000-sqft cap largely conforms to the proposed state floor. The Live Local Act (SB 102 / SB 328) applies to commercial / industrial / mixed-use. Florida HOA and similar statutes do NOT preempt association-level restrictions — Citrus County has large HOA-governed communities (Pine Ridge, Terra Vista, Citrus Hills, Sugarmill Woods, Black Diamond, Beverly Hills) where HOA covenants are frequently the binding constraint regardless of county zoning.

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.

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.