ADU rules in Fort Myers

Ch. 142 defines a non-commercial guesthouse or cottage as an accessory dwelling unit that is incorporated, attached to, or detached from a principal dwelling. Sec. 118.3.11 expressly regulates detached guesthouses (they must meet accessory-structure setbacks and are exempt from the entrance-visibility rule). Distinct from garage apartments, a legacy category: no new garage apartments may be built in any single-family district except the Dean Park Historic District (Sec. 98.4.6.B.5.a.7).

The Ch. 142 definition covers units incorporated within or attached to the principal dwelling, and Sec. 118.3.11 sets standards for attached guesthouses (principal-structure setbacks apply; the guesthouse entrance may not be visible from the primary street frontage, with exceptions).

In no case may a non-commercial guesthouse exceed 40 percent of the principal dwelling's living area or 1,200 sq ft, whichever is lesser. Minimum size is 400 sq ft and the unit may contain at most one bedroom. Minimum lot size for a parcel with a guesthouse is 10,000 sq ft.

Guesthouses are only permitted where the property owner is a full-time resident of the property, defined as living there at least nine months of the year and holding a current Florida Homestead Exemption from the Lee County Property Appraiser. The owner may live in either the guesthouse or the principal dwelling.

The property must have a minimum of one dedicated on-site parking space for the non-commercial guesthouse, in addition to the minimum parking required for the principal single-family dwelling. Vested garage apartments have a separate standard of one to two off-street spaces (Sec. 98.4.6.B.5.a.6).

Non-commercial guesthouses accessory to single-family detached dwellings are listed as a permitted use (not conditional) in every residential district use list in Sec. 118.2.1 (RS-E, RS-5, RS-6, RS-7, RS-D, RM-12, RM-16). Approval is administrative: the community development director grants it under Sec. 98.3.6.E based on a site plan and a written impact-mitigation narrative, and a certificate of occupancy is required showing Florida Building Code and fire code compliance (Sec. 118.3.11.E.1). Historic district or landmark properties may first need historic preservation commission approval.

Sec. 118.3.11.D: no guesthouse, whether freestanding or structurally integrated with the principal dwelling, may be leased, rented, or utilized for commercial purposes. The Ch. 142 definition limits use exclusively to the noncommercial accommodation of friends or relatives of the occupant or owner. Rental is possible only for legacy vested garage apartments registered under Sec. 98.4.6, and even most of those had to cease rental by January 1, 2007 except narrow registered categories.