ADU rules in Winter Park

Winter Park has no citywide ADU ordinance, but two routes produce a detached second unit. In the R-2 (low density residential) district, 'Principal dwellings and cottage dwellings' are a permitted use, and a cottage dwelling is a smaller second home with its own kitchen on the same property (Sec. 58-95). On historic-designated properties in any district, the Historic Preservation Board may approve a garage apartment or accessory cottage as a conforming use that can be rented and separately metered (Sec. 58-469(3)). Everywhere else, a detached guesthouse or garage apartment of up to 1,000 sq ft is allowed only without a kitchen, separate meters or rental, so it is not a true dwelling unit (Sec. 58-71(10)).

Only in the R-2 district: the code defines a cottage dwelling as 'a building which is attached to or detached from a principal dwelling, is smaller in area than the principal dwelling, is occupied exclusively by one family, has one kitchen' (Sec. 58-95), and R-2 permits principal and cottage dwellings (Sec. 58-66(b)(3)). An attached cottage dwelling works much like a small duplex unit, and the code never calls it an accessory dwelling unit. The historic-property pathway covers only garage apartments and accessory cottages, which are accessory buildings, and it bars converting existing garage space (Sec. 58-469(3)(d)). No other district allows a second kitchen unit inside or attached to a house.

The R-2 table sets FAR 30 percent for the principal dwelling and 20 percent for the cottage dwelling, and Note 1 says the total on a property with both 'shall be 50 percent with the principal dwelling having a larger gross floor area than the cottage dwelling'; staff may allow deviations of plus or minus one percent (Sec. 58-66(f)(2), (f)(3)j.). On a 6,000 sq ft lot, 20 percent is 1,200 sq ft. The code gives cottage-specific standards only for R-2 lots 70 ft wide or less; the table for wider R-2 lots has no cottage column. For historic properties the 750 sq ft figure is only 'desirable', and the 1,000 sq ft cap is absolute (Sec. 58-469(3)(c)).

No section requires the owner to live on the property. The R-2 cottage dwelling must only be 'occupied exclusively by one family' (Sec. 58-95), and the code even allows a principal and cottage dwelling pair to be split into separate fee-simple ownership under recorded covenants (Sec. 58-71(u)(6)). Historic-property units expressly contemplate tenants (Sec. 58-469(3)(e)). Kitchenless guesthouses are limited to guests, household employees or family members of the main house, which is an occupancy limit rather than an owner-occupancy rule (Sec. 58-71(10)).

Sec. 58-66(f)(3)c. reads 'The required off-street parking shall be two spaces for the principal building, one space for the cottage dwelling, and two spaces per unit for a duplex.' For historic units, separate meters are allowed only if the parking conditions are met, and violations can bring code compliance enforcement (Sec. 58-469(3)(d)-(e)). Parking spaces for a cottage dwelling or garage apartment may not sit in the first 20 feet of a required front or street-side yard and must be on a prepared surface (Sec. 58-86(c)(2)b.).

In the R-2 district a principal and cottage dwelling pair is a permitted use, so it goes through ordinary building-permit review against the R-2 standards (Sec. 58-66(b)(3)). A rentable garage apartment or accessory cottage on a historic property needs Historic Preservation Board approval through the certificate of review process, and the property must first complete landmark, resource or historic-district designation (Sec. 58-469(3)(a)). Kitchenless guesthouses are permitted accessory uses (Sec. 58-71(10)).

The one-month minimum applies to every residential dwelling, including ADU-type units. The city says the short-term rental ban was adopted on February 22, 2010, before the June 1, 2011 cutoff in F.S. 509.032(7)(b), so state vacation-rental preemption does not reach it. That claim is under challenge: an owner fined by the Code Compliance Board appealed to the Orange County Circuit Court in November 2025, arguing that the 2022 re-adoption of Sec. 58-71 by Ord. 3258-22 ended the grandfathering. The city filed its answer brief on March 16, 2026, and no ruling was reported through June 2026. The guesthouse rental ban is in both Sec. 58-71(10) and the Sec. 58-95 definition.