ADU Pass
Santa Rosa County
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Santa Rosa County, Florida navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. We cover 7 cities and 10 ZIP codes in this county.
Map
County ADU details
County ADU ordinance
Santa Rosa County (Panhandle, immediately east of Escambia) regulates accessory dwelling units on parcels in the unincorporated county through the Santa Rosa County Land Development Code (LDC), which addresses 'accessory dwelling units,' 'guest cottages,' and 'caretaker residences.' Santa Rosa is the Pensacola / Eglin Air Force Base-proximity county with Milton as the county seat and Navarre / Navarre Beach as the major coastal community. The county is home to NAS Whiting Field (primary naval flight training — 'where helo pilots are made') and significant Eglin Air Force Base / Hurlburt Field influence through AICUZ overlays from bases in Okaloosa and Santa Rosa. Florida has no mandatory statewide ADU preemption — § 163.31771 Fla. Stat. is permissive only. As of 2026-04-20, Santa Rosa County permits one ADU per single-family parcel in residential zoning districts (R-1, R-2, R-3, AG-RR) subject to size caps (typically 800 sqft or 50% of primary, whichever is less), setback conformance, and height limits. Navarre Beach (on Santa Rosa Island, within Santa Rosa County) is a federally-owned barrier island leased to Santa Rosa County on 99-year terms — a unique leasehold structure similar to Pensacola Beach in Escambia. Hurricane Sally (Sept 2020) delivered catastrophic surge and rainfall damage across Santa Rosa including Navarre, Gulf Breeze unincorporated fringe, Pace, and Milton. Pending 2026 state legislation (SB 48 / HB 313) would preempt sub-1,000-sqft caps — Santa Rosa's 800-sqft cap requires upward adjustment.
Code citations:
- Santa Rosa County Land Development Code — ADU and accessory-use provisions
- Santa Rosa County Comprehensive Plan — Future Land Use and Coastal Management Elements
- Santa Rosa 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 bans effective December 1, 2026 if enacted. Santa Rosa's 800-sqft cap requires upward adjustment. Live Local Act applies to commercial / industrial / mixed-use. Florida HOA / condominium statutes do NOT preempt association-level ADU restrictions — Santa Rosa has substantial HOA jurisdiction in Navarre-area subdivisions, Gulf Breeze fringe, Tiger Point, and Pace / Milton master-planned communities.
Adopting body: Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners
County permitting (unincorporated parcels)
Santa Rosa County Development Services Department is the combined planning / zoning / building / floodplain permit authority for parcels in the unincorporated county. Unincorporated Santa Rosa covers approximately 875 square miles (about 84% of 1,174 sqmi total land area — Santa Rosa is the Panhandle's largest Gulf-frontage county). Incorporated municipalities are Milton (county seat), Gulf Breeze, Jay (small north-county town), and the recently-incorporated Navarre Beach (actually operated as an unincorporated area under Santa Rosa County leasehold framework despite popular usage). Principal unincorporated communities include Navarre (very large unincorporated community, ~35,000), Pace (large unincorporated community, ~30,000), Milton unincorporated fringe, Gulf Breeze unincorporated fringe, Holley, Chumuckla, Bagdad, and Allentown rural north. Santa Rosa is a CRS Class 6 community for NFIP. All of Santa Rosa County is WBDR at 150 mph inland / 160-170 mph barrier-island and immediate coastal. Development Services operates one-stop permit intake.
Process overview: ADU approval in unincorporated Santa Rosa County is a combined zoning / building / floodplain / AICUZ review. Typical sequence: (a) confirm parcel zoning, FLU, CHHA, FIRM, AICUZ (NAS Whiting Field / Hurlburt / Eglin) via Santa Rosa Property Appraiser and Development Services GIS; (b) submit Building Permit through portal with site plan, floor plans, elevations, FBC compliance (150-170 mph ultimate per location), flood compliance for SFHA, NWFWMD stormwater, DOH septic; (c) zoning review; (d) building plan review; (e) Santa Rosa County Emergency Services / Fire Rescue review; (f) AICUZ coordination for parcels in AICUZ zones; (g) permit issuance, construction, inspections, CO.
Impact fees: Santa Rosa County imposes transportation, parks, Santa Rosa County Schools, fire, and law enforcement impact fees. For a typical ADU in unincorporated Santa Rosa County, total impact fees run approximately $6,000-$10,000 (as of 2026-04-20). (schedule)
County assessor
Santa Rosa County Property Appraiser maintains parcel-level assessment records for all Santa Rosa real property. Florida Save Our Homes (§ 193.155) / 10% non-homestead cap apply. ADU treated as new construction added to just value at completion-year fair market value; primary's SOH base not reset. Post-Sally, Property Appraiser issued § 197.319 prorated refunds on destroyed coastal residences. Military-heavy demographic (NAS Whiting active duty, Pensacola Naval Complex retirees, Eglin / Hurlburt active duty) drives distinctive assessment patterns with active-duty military homestead and Disabled Veteran exemption filings.
Assessment policy: New-construction additions occur at annual roll-over following CO. Typical 600-800 sqft ADU adds $80,000-$150,000 just value, yielding supplemental annual tax of $1,400-$2,700 at aggregate millage ~1.65-1.85%. Navarre Beach leasehold ADUs (to the extent permitted by the leasehold) face distinctive assessment on the leasehold improvement value without underlying fee value.
County overlays (9)
Santa Rosa County administers overlays materially affecting ADU siting: (1) FEMA SFHA covering Navarre Beach, Gulf Breeze unincorporated fringe, East Bay / Blackwater Bay / Escambia Bay frontage, inland along the Blackwater River / Yellow River / Coldwater Creek corridors; Santa Rosa is CRS Class 6; post-Sally FIRM revisions raised BFEs; (2) Florida Building Code Wind Borne Debris Region at 150-170 mph; (3) CHHA under Santa Rosa Comp Plan; (4) Florida DEP Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) along Gulf shoreline; (5) NAS Whiting Field AICUZ (primary naval flight training — dense traffic) — extensive overlay; Hurlburt Field / Eglin AFB AICUZs overlap eastern Santa Rosa from Okaloosa; (6) Navarre Beach leasehold framework — 99-year federal / county lease structure on Santa Rosa Island barrier-island parcels; (7) Blackwater River State Forest — largest state forest in Florida (210,000+ acres) in north Santa Rosa with WUI / Firewise relevance; (8) Northwest Florida Water Management District (NWFWMD) consumptive-use and stormwater; (9) Florida Aquatic Preserves — Pensacola Bay, East Bay.
- FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) — NFIP (Santa Rosa CRS Class 6, post-Sally FIRM) — Santa Rosa administers FEMA NFIP. SFHA covers Navarre Beach, Gulf Breeze fringe, bay frontage, and river corridors. CRS Class 6 gives 20% NFIP premium discount. Post-Sally FIRM revisions raised BFEs.
- Florida Building Code Wind Borne Debris Region (WBDR) — 150 mph inland / 160-170 mph Gulf-coastal and barrier-island. Impact-rated glazing or shutters required.
- Coastal High Hazard Area (CHHA) — Santa Rosa Comp Plan (post-Sally tightened) — CHHA covers Navarre Beach and Pensacola / East Bay frontage. Post-Sally intensification policies tightened.
- Florida Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) — FDEP — CCCL along Gulf shoreline. Seaward of CCCL requires FDEP permit.
- NAS Whiting Field AICUZ — primary naval flight training — NAS Whiting Field is the Navy's primary helicopter flight-training base and one of its busiest airfields. AICUZ covers extensive parcels around Milton, Holley, and central Santa Rosa. Safety zones and noise contours (very active training traffic) drive substantial noise-attenuation construction expectations and density restrictions in AICUZ. ADUs in 65+ dB DNL contours face $5,000-$12,000 noise-attenuation premiums.
- Hurlburt Field / Eglin AFB AICUZs — Hurlburt Field (Air Force Special Operations Command) and Eglin AFB AICUZs cover eastern Santa Rosa parcels extending from Okaloosa County. ADUs in these AICUZ zones face similar scrutiny to Whiting-area parcels.
- Navarre Beach leasehold framework — Navarre Beach parcels are held under 99-year leaseholds from Santa Rosa County (which in turn leases from the federal government). Leasehold framework does not accommodate second-unit additions in typical terms; most Navarre Beach parcels are functionally barred from ADU additions.
- Blackwater River State Forest — WUI / Firewise — Blackwater River State Forest is Florida's largest state forest, covering extensive north Santa Rosa acreage. Firewise zones along forest interface drive insurance-focused defensible-space expectations.
- Northwest Florida Water Management District (NWFWMD) — NWFWMD is Santa Rosa's water management district. Residential consumptive-use exemption below ~6,000 gpd. Minor-system ERP for ADU additions.
Known county issues (4)
- other — NAS Whiting Field is one of the Navy's busiest flight-training airfields. Its AICUZ covers extensive Milton, Holley, and central-county parcels. ADUs in Accident Potential Zones may face density denial; ADUs in 65+ dB DNL contours require noise-attenuation construction ($5,000-$12,000 premium).
- other — Navarre Beach parcels are held under 99-year leaseholds from Santa Rosa County (federal sublease). The leasehold framework does not accommodate second-unit additions in typical terms; most Navarre Beach parcels are functionally barred from ADU additions regardless of county zoning.
- other — Sally delivered catastrophic damage. FEMA 50%-rule substantial-damage determinations and post-Sally FIRM revisions drive elevated-standard reconstruction. Citizens Property Insurance premiums for coastal Santa Rosa ADUs run $3,000-$6,500/year.
- policy-review — Santa Rosa's 800-sqft ADU cap requires upward adjustment if SB 48 / HB 313 enacts December 1, 2026.
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.