ADU Pass
Franklin County
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Franklin County, Florida navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. We cover 3 cities and 4 ZIP codes in this county.
Map
County ADU details
County ADU ordinance
Franklin County is a small coastal panhandle county (population ~12,000, Apalachicola is the county seat) historic for its oyster-fishery economy and now a destination for coastal/ecological tourism (St. George Island, Carrabelle, the Apalachicola Bay). The county operates as a non-charter commission form of government. The Franklin County Land Development Code (LDC) governs unincorporated land use; the county has two incorporated municipalities (Apalachicola, Carrabelle) plus unincorporated Eastpoint, Lanark Village, and communities on St. George Island and Dog Island. The LDC does NOT contain a standalone ADU ordinance; accessory dwellings appear in zoning-district accessory-use provisions — A-1 Agricultural (second dwelling on parcels >=5 acres permitted), R-1/R-2 residential (guest houses without full kitchen broadly permitted), MH (mobile-home districts) allow second mobile homes in many cases. Coastal/beach-community parcels on St. George Island, Alligator Point, and Dog Island are subject to tighter Beach and Dune District overlays limiting second dwellings. No explicit ADU rulemaking is on the Board agenda as of 2026-04-20.
County permitting (unincorporated parcels)
Most of Franklin County's developable area is unincorporated — the two municipalities cover small footprints while St. George Island, Eastpoint, Lanark Village, Alligator Point, and Dog Island are all unincorporated. ADU-adjacent construction is permitted by the Franklin County Building Department (and Planning Department for zoning/LDC review) at the county courthouse in Apalachicola. Franklin uses the Florida Building Code as adopted without local amendments. Electronic intake (email/PDF) is accepted; the county has moved toward a modest online portal but remains primarily paper/email-based. Typical single-family permit review 4-7 weeks including DOH-Franklin septic review and, for coastal parcels, FDEP Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) permit review.
County assessor
Franklin County property assessment is performed by the Franklin County Property Appraiser, an elected constitutional officer based in Apalachicola. The appraiser maintains parcel records for all ~17,000 parcels. Standard Florida rules apply (Save Our Homes, 10% non-homestead cap, new-construction carve-out). Most high-value parcels are beach/waterfront on St. George Island, Alligator Point, and bay-front Apalachicola/Carrabelle — typical valuations $500k-$1.5M+; inland rural parcels are much lower ($50k-$200k). A significant share of housing stock is seasonal / second-home, placing most rental-ADU scenarios under the 10% non-homestead cap rather than 3% Save Our Homes.
Assessment policy: Standard Florida new-construction assessment at full just value; subsequent cap application. Coastal comps are robust (high sales turnover in beach market); inland comps are sparse. Short-term vacation rental operators should note that STR-use may trigger commercial-classification review on the ADU or the host parcel depending on licensure status.
County overlays (6)
Franklin County's coastal location drives an overlay-heavy regulatory framework: (1) FDEP Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) — running the entire coastline and a significant barrier-island interior; (2) FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas Zone VE (ocean-facing) and Zone AE (bay-facing and inland creeks) — essentially every developable coastal parcel; (3) Apalachicola Bay aquatic preserve and Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve (ANERR) overlays; (4) Apalachicola River floodplain and tributary floodplains inland; (5) St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge and nearby federal conservation lands; (6) Florida Building Code 150+ mph design-wind-speed coastal panhandle region (non-HVHZ but hurricane-zone); (7) post-Hurricane Michael (2018) reconstruction overlay with reconstruction carve-out implications.
- FDEP Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL)
- FEMA SFHA — Coastal VE/AE zones and riverine AE
- Apalachicola Bay Aquatic Preserve and ANERR
- St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge and federal conservation overlay
- Florida Building Code 150+ mph design-wind-speed (non-HVHZ coastal panhandle)
- Hurricane Michael (2018) reconstruction overlay
Known county issues (5)
- policy-review — Franklin County is right at the 10,000-population threshold that triggers pending 2026 ADU-ordinance mandates. Final bill language may include a 12,000 or 15,000 threshold that exempts or includes Franklin. The county's two municipalities (Apalachicola, Carrabelle) are comfortably below the threshold.
- other — Any ADU seaward of the CCCL requires an FDEP CCCL permit in addition to the county building permit. Process adds 10-16 weeks and imposes engineering, dune-vegetation, pile-foundation, and setback requirements. Owners planning beach-parcel ADUs on St. George Island, Alligator Point, or Dog Island should budget an additional 3-4 months of project schedule and $15k-$40k of additional engineering/construction cost.
- other — St. George Island, Alligator Point, Dog Island, Eastpoint all have sandy soils and elevated water tables making conventional septic drainfields marginal. Advanced-treatment-unit (ATU) systems or mound systems are commonly required; cost premium $10k-$25k vs. conventional septic. Central sewer is available on some St. George Island parcels and portions of Apalachicola/Carrabelle.
- other — The 2012-2020 collapse of the Apalachicola Bay oyster industry (precipitated by drought, upstream water diversion, and overharvesting) has reshaped the county's economy toward ecotourism and seasonal-home markets. Property-value dynamics have shifted toward coastal/beach-rental focus. ADU rental-ROI scenarios should model seasonal demand patterns rather than year-round tenant markets on most parcels.
- other — Coastal Franklin parcels face high wind + flood insurance premiums. Citizens Property Insurance coverage caps may force surplus-lines or E&S placement on higher-value coastal homes with ADUs. 10% hurricane deductible cap applies. Insurance escalation materially affects ADU ROI over the typical 10-year investment horizon.
Florida state — ADU law and programs
State ADU law
Florida does NOT currently have a statewide ADU preemption law in effect. Florida Statutes § 163.31771 (enacted 2004, last amended 2020) is permissive — it authorizes local governments to adopt ADU ordinances but does not require them to. ADU rules are therefore set municipality-by-municipality: Miami-Dade, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Tampa, and a growing set of Florida cities have their own ordinances; many smaller counties and cities still prohibit or restrict ADUs by default. A preemption bill (SB 48 / HB 313) is pending in the 2026 legislative session and is likely to pass given that its 2025 predecessor cleared the Senate 37-0 and House 97-10 before dying on a procedural amendment dispute.
- Florida Statutes § 163.31771 — Accessory dwelling units — Permissive (not mandatory) statute. Defines an ADU as 'an ancillary or secondary living unit, that has a separate kitchen, bathroom, and sleeping area, existing either within the same structure, or on the same lot, as the primary dwelling unit.' Authorizes — but does not require — local governments to adopt ordinances allowing ADUs in single-family residential zones. Contains no size caps, no owner-occupancy rules, no HOA preemption. All substantive rulemaking is local.
State financing programs
Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) does not operate an ADU-specific state loan or grant program. FHFC's primary affordable-housing lever at the ADU tier is the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP), which distributes state documentary-stamp-tax revenue to all 67 counties and 52 entitlement cities for locally-administered housing programs — some of which may fund ADU construction at the local level (notably Orange County's Affordable ADU Loan Program, run through the Orange County Housing Finance Trust). FHFC's FL Assist down-payment programs and HFA Preferred / HFA Advantage conventional loans apply to ADU-eligible primary residences but do not single out ADUs. Proposed CS/SB 1440 would create a state property-tax exemption of up to 100% of assessed value for an ADU rented at affordable rates.
State housing programs
Florida does not currently operate a statewide pre-approved ADU plan catalog (unlike California or Washington). State-level ADU implementation is driven by (a) the permissive § 163.31771 which lets willing jurisdictions adopt ordinances, (b) SHIP pass-through funding to local ADU programs (Orange County's Affordable ADU Loan Program is the model), and (c) the affordable-housing property-tax exemption under the Live Local Act (SB 102 / SB 328). The Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) — now reorganized as the Department of Commerce — provides technical assistance to local governments but no statewide ADU-specific mandate or program. Major counties (Miami-Dade, Orange, Pasco, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Broward) have published their own ADU ordinances and guidance documents.
Federal (United States) — ADU-relevant rules and programs
Federal ADU law
The United States has no federal statute that directly regulates accessory dwelling unit entitlement or design. Land-use authority over ADUs resides with states and local governments under the traditional police power. Federal engagement is limited to financing (Fannie/Freddie/FHA/VA/USDA), flood insurance (FEMA/NFIP), and discretionary housing programs (HUD), which are recorded in sibling sections of this file.
Federal financing programs
Federal housing-finance agencies and GSEs set nationwide underwriting rules that govern whether an ADU can be financed, appraised, and counted toward mortgage qualifying income. The relevant actors are Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA (HUD), VA, and USDA Rural Development.
Federal tax credits
There is no ADU-specific federal tax credit. ADUs may incidentally qualify for existing federal energy-efficiency and clean-energy tax credits when the ADU construction includes qualifying measures.
Federal housing programs
HUD administers several discretionary programs that can fund ADU-related activity at the grantee's election, but none is an ADU-specific program.