Chipley

Washington County, Florida (county seat Chipley, in the central Florida panhandle) regulates accessory dwelling units on unincorporated parcels through the Washington County Land Development Code and associated zoning ordinance. Washington is a small rural county (population approximately 25,000) with limited planning staff and a relatively permissive residential zoning regime outside incorporated Chipley, Ebro, Vernon, Wausau, and Caryville. Accessory structures with living quarters are generally permitted as guest houses or caretaker residences in Agricultural (AG) and low-density residential zones, subject to lot-size minimums and septic-capacity review. Florida has no statewide ADU preemption; § 163.31771 FS is permissive only. Pending SB 48 / HB 313 (2026 session) would establish a statewide ADU floor with a December 1, 2026 local-ordinance conformance deadline if enacted.

• Washington County Land Development Code
• Florida Statutes § 163.31771 — Accessory Dwelling Units

State-floor overlay: Florida has no statewide ADU preemption as of April 2026. § 163.31771 FS is permissive only. Pending 2026 bills (SB 48 / HB 313) would impose a statewide floor; Washington County's ordinance, though already relatively permissive in rural zones, would need audit against the final statutory text if enacted (December 1, 2026 deadline in current drafts).

Washington County, Florida administers a modest set of overlays. The county's inland panhandle location limits coastal/hurricane overlay exposure relative to Gulf-facing counties, but river-floodplain overlays along the Choctawhatchee River and Holmes Creek corridors, plus Northwest Florida Water Management District jurisdiction on wetlands, are the primary ADU-relevant constraints.

• FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) — Washington County participates in the National Flood Insurance Program. Parcels along the Choctawhatchee River, Holmes Creek, and tributary floodplains face Zone A or Zone AE designations. ADU construction in a mapped floodplain requires elevation-certificate review and meeting minimum-elevation standards; unmapped Zone A parcels require engineer-certified base-flood-elevation determination.
• Northwest Florida Water Management District Environmental Resource Permits — Washington County sits within NWFWMD jurisdiction. ADU site work that affects jurisdictional wetlands, adds a threshold area of impervious surface, or alters stormwater flow requires an NWFWMD ERP. Much of rural Washington County contains small wetland features that require delineation before construction on forested or low-lying parcels.
• Hurricane Wind Zone — approximately 130 mph ultimate design wind speed (inland panhandle) — Washington County's inland panhandle location places it in roughly the 130 mph ASCE 7-22 ultimate design wind-speed zone (Risk Category II residential), lower than Gulf-coast counties but still requiring hurricane-rated construction details including roof-deck attachment schedules and hurricane-clip requirements.

Permits for ADUs on parcels in unincorporated Washington County, Florida are issued by the Washington County Building Department, working with the Planning & Zoning Department on zoning-compliance review. Septic system review is handled through the Florida Department of Health, Washington County office, since most rural parcels are not served by municipal sewer. Washington is NOT the Rhode Island Washington County — this record applies to the Florida panhandle county whose seat is Chipley.