Gulf County

Permits for ADUs on parcels in unincorporated Gulf County are issued by the Gulf County Building Department working with the Planning Department on zoning-compliance review. Gulf County has two incorporated municipalities (Port St. Joe, the county seat, and Wewahitchka, an inland town). Most of the county's coastal development along Cape San Blas and the St. Joseph Peninsula is unincorporated.

Process overview: An ADU on an unincorporated Gulf parcel is permitted as a building permit with zoning-compliance review. Typical workflow: zoning-compliance check, septic permit (if needed) through FDOH, construction-drawing submission under Florida Building Code 2023, plan review, issuance, inspections, and certificate of occupancy. Coastal parcels add FDEP Coastal Construction Control Line review. Wind-load review applies everywhere: Gulf-coast parcels sit in roughly the 140-150 mph ASCE 7-22 ultimate design wind-speed zone; inland Wewahitchka closer to 130 mph. Flood-zone parcels (very common along the coast and St. Joseph Bay) require elevation-certificate review.

Impact fees: Gulf County levies modest impact fees; transportation and public-facilities fees are assessed on new residential units but at lower dollar values than larger metro counties. The St. Joe Company and successors' long-term conservation and development agreements affect some fee treatments in specific parcels. (schedule)

The Gulf County Property Appraiser maintains parcel-level assessment records for all real property in Gulf County. ADU additions are assessed at just value on completion; Florida's Save Our Homes 3% cap applies to homesteaded primary residences. Many coastal Gulf County parcels (Cape San Blas, St. Joseph Peninsula) are non-homestead second homes or STR investment properties and are reassessed annually at just value.

Assessment policy: ADU additions assessed at just value on completion; homesteaded host portion continues under Save Our Homes cap. No county-level ADU abatement or incentive.

Gulf County's overlay portfolio is dominated by extreme coastal exposure. Hurricane Michael (October 2018, landfall as Category 5 at Mexico Beach on the Bay County line immediately west of Gulf County) produced catastrophic damage across the county; Hurricane Helene (2024) and other events added pressure. FEMA VE and Coastal A zones cover extensive coastal territory; post-Michael map revisions raised base flood elevations. Conservation lands (Tate's Hell State Forest, St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Apalachicola National Forest) cover significant territory and impose additional land-use review.

• FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) — Coastal A, VE, AE zones — Gulf participates in NFIP. Coastal parcels on Cape San Blas, the St. Joseph Peninsula, along the St. Joseph Bay shoreline, and in Port St. Joe face Zone VE or Coastal A designations. Post-Hurricane Michael (2018) map revisions raised base flood elevations substantially in many areas. ADU construction in Zone VE requires pile/column foundations, breakaway walls, flow-through venting, and materially elevated construction costs.
• Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) — Parcels seaward of the CCCL on Cape San Blas and the St. Joseph Peninsula require FDEP CCCL permits in addition to county permits. Erosion-rate mapping on Cape San Blas is particularly aggressive; some parcels face CCCL-imposed foundation setbacks that make ADU siting infeasible.
• Northwest Florida Water Management District Environmental Resource Permits — Most of Gulf sits within NWFWMD jurisdiction. ADU site work affecting wetlands, adding impervious surface thresholds, or altering stormwater requires an ERP. The Apalachicola River floodplain along the eastern county boundary is a particularly sensitive watershed.
• Hurricane Wind Zone — approximately 140-150 mph ultimate design wind speed (Gulf coast) — Gulf's coast sits in approximately the 140-150 mph ASCE 7-22 ultimate design wind-speed zone. Post-Michael (2018) the county's rebuilding inventory was largely constructed to updated wind-code standards, but older structures remain in the housing stock.
• St. Joseph Peninsula State Park and Conservation Lands — St. Joseph Peninsula State Park occupies the northern end of the peninsula; Cape San Blas is a mix of private coastal residential, state-conservation, and federal lands. ADUs on private parcels adjacent to conservation lands face additional habitat-compatibility review.
• St. Joe Company / former St. Joe timberlands conservation easements — Historical St. Joe Company timber holdings in Gulf County include areas under conservation easement; some private parcels adjacent to or within these holdings face deed restrictions that affect residential density and new-structure construction including ADUs.