Dade City

Pasco County regulates accessory dwelling units on parcels in the unincorporated county through a dedicated 'Accessory Dwelling Unit' ordinance adopted as part of the Pasco County Land Development Code (LDC). Pasco is one of the Florida counties with an explicit, named ADU ordinance — rather than inheriting from a generic 'guest house' provision — reflecting the county's 2010s code modernization when ADU terminology entered mainstream Florida planning discourse. Florida has no mandatory statewide ADU preemption — § 163.31771 Fla. Stat. is permissive only — so Pasco's ordinance is a genuine local policy choice. Pasco is a rapid-growth Tampa-adjacent county (Tampa-St. Petersburg MSA) covering 868 square miles with population growing from ~465K (2010) to ~620K+ (2024) driven by Wesley Chapel / Trinity / Land O' Lakes / San Antonio corridor exurbanization and the SR-54 / SR-56 corridor. As of 2026-04-20, Pasco County permits one ADU per single-family parcel in most residential zoning districts (R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, AR, AC) subject to size caps (typically up to 1,200 sqft or 50% of primary, among the more permissive in Florida), setback conformance, height limits matching the primary, and owner-occupancy. Internal, attached, and detached ADUs are all permitted. The Western Pasco Gulf coast (New Port Richey, Hudson, Port Richey, Aripeka — the Aripeka township straddles the Pasco/Hernando line) is surge-exposed; Hurricane Helene (Sept 2024) and Hurricane Milton (Oct 2024) both delivered coastal damage. Pending 2026 state legislation (SB 48 / HB 313) would preempt sub-1,000-sqft caps — Pasco County already exceeds this floor.

• Pasco County Land Development Code — Accessory Dwelling Unit ordinance
• Pasco County Comprehensive Plan — Future Land Use and Housing Elements
• Pasco 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. Pasco County's 1,200-sqft cap already exceeds the state floor; enactment would preempt the owner-occupancy requirement but would not force material size-cap revisions. Live Local Act applies to commercial / industrial / mixed-use zones. Florida HOA, condominium, and cooperative statutes (Ch. 720, 718, 719) do NOT preempt association-level ADU restrictions — Pasco has very many HOA-governed master-planned communities (Wesley Chapel's Seven Oaks, Meadow Pointe, Lexington Oaks, Union Park; Trinity's Fox Wood, Thousand Oaks, Heritage Springs; Land O'Lakes Plantation Palms, Stonegate; Starkey Ranch; Epperson — the county's famous crystal-lagoon community) where HOA covenants commonly bar ADUs.

Pasco County administers overlays materially affecting ADU siting: (1) FEMA SFHA along Gulf frontage (Port Richey, Hudson, Aripeka, New Port Richey waterfront — west Pasco), inland along the Withlacoochee River / Anclote River / Pithlachascotee River / Cypress Creek / Hillsborough River headwaters, and hundreds of karst-lake perimeters; Pasco is CRS Class 6; post-Helene/Milton FIRM revisions raised BFEs on coastal segments; (2) Florida Building Code Wind Borne Debris Region — all of Pasco at 140 mph ultimate inland / 150-160 mph coastal; (3) Coastal High Hazard Area (CHHA) under Pasco Comp Plan, post-storm tightened; (4) Florida DEP Coastal Construction Control Line on Gulf shoreline; (5) Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) consumptive-use and stormwater — SWFWMD is Pasco's sole water management district; (6) Pasco County Airport — Zephyrhills Municipal Airport AIA affects specific east-Pasco parcels; Tampa International / St. Pete-Clearwater International approaches extend into south Pasco; (7) Karst / sinkhole geotechnical overlay (Pasco is on Ocala Limestone karst country, sinkhole-prone); (8) Starkey Wilderness Preserve / Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park state / county conservation overlay in central Pasco protecting aquifer recharge; (9) Cypress Creek Preserve and Green Swamp Preserve areas.

• FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) — NFIP (Pasco CRS Class 6, post-storm FIRM) — Pasco administers FEMA NFIP. SFHA covers Gulf coast (Port Richey, Hudson, Aripeka, New Port Richey), river corridors, and karst-lake perimeters. CRS Class 6 gives NFIP 20% premium discount. Post-Helene/Milton FIRM revisions raised BFEs.
• Florida Building Code Wind Borne Debris Region (WBDR) — 140 mph ultimate inland / 150-160 mph Gulf-coastal. Impact-rated glazing or shutters required.
• Coastal High Hazard Area (CHHA) — Pasco Comp Plan (post-storm tightened) — CHHA covers west Pasco Gulf frontage. Post-storm intensification restraint tightened.
• Florida Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) — FDEP — CCCL on Gulf shoreline. CCCL permit adds 60-120 days to timeline.
• SWFWMD consumptive-use and stormwater — SWFWMD is Pasco's sole water management district. Residential consumptive-use exemptions below ~6,000 gpd. ERP review for more than minor footprint additions.
• Karst / Sinkhole Geotechnical Overlay — Pasco is Ocala Limestone karst country. Geotechnical investigation required on parcels in identified risk zones. Pasco has one of Florida's higher sinkhole-claim rates under § 627.706.
• Starkey Wilderness / Cypress Creek / Aquifer Recharge — Central-Pasco conservation corridor (Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park, Cypress Creek Preserve) constrains development density in recharge-sensitive areas. Green Swamp ACSC fringe extends into northeastern Pasco.
• Zephyrhills Municipal Airport AIA — Zephyrhills Municipal Airport serves GA and skydiving operations; AIA affects specific east-Pasco parcels. Tampa International approaches extend into south Pasco fringe (Odessa, Lutz).

Pasco County Development Services Branch (Building Division + Planning) is the combined planning / zoning / building / floodplain permit authority for parcels in the unincorporated county. Unincorporated Pasco covers approximately 780 square miles (about 90% of the 868 sqmi total land area). Incorporated municipalities are only six: Dade City (county seat), New Port Richey, Port Richey, Zephyrhills, San Antonio, and St. Leo (St. Leo University's company town). The vast majority of Pasco population lives in unincorporated communities: Wesley Chapel (~75,000), Land O'Lakes (~42,000), Trinity, Hudson, Odessa, Lutz (straddles Pasco/Hillsborough line), Bayonet Point, Aripeka (straddles Pasco/Hernando line), San Antonio unincorporated fringe, and Starkey Ranch (fast-growing master-planned community). Pasco is CRS Class 6 community for NFIP. All of Pasco County is in WBDR at 140 mph ultimate inland / 150-160 mph Gulf-coastal. The Development Services Branch operates a full one-stop permit intake with combined zoning, building, floodplain, stormwater, and fire-rescue review.