Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Trenton, Florida

Trenton’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Construction inside Trenton city limits.

  • The LDR defines actual construction as work begun under a valid building permit; construction may proceed after the permit is issued.
  • Building permits in the city are acted on under LDR Article 14 (land development regulation action on building permits). The issuing body for structural building permits was not confirmed on the captured pages.

  “actual construction shall include only work begun under a valid building permit.”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Trenton city limits; the city administers its own zoning atlas and zoning districts under its Land Development Regulations (LDR) Article Four.

  • Source is the city's LDR as posted on trentonflorida.org (adopted May 3, 1993; last amendment shown is Ordinance 2009-9, March 9, 2009). Later amendments were not located.
  • Zoning applies district by district; see the zoning_districts and dimensional claims.

  “in an area zoned industrial on the city's official zoning atlas”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Single-family dwellings and mobile homes in the Agricultural (A) district inside Trenton city limits (main agricultural district).

  • Other permitted uses: none specified beyond the district requirements.

  minimum lot area: >= 5 acres · minimum lot width: >= 270 feet

  “minimum lot requirements (area, width) 1. single family dwellings, mobile homes, and group living facilities: a 2. minimum lot area; 5 acres minimum lot width; 270 feet”

  2 more reviewed findings on this topic

  • Specified — Single-family dwellings in the RSF-1 conventional single-family district inside Trenton city limits (main residential district).

    “single family dwellings: rsf-1: minimum lot area; 20,000 sq. ft. minimum lot width; 100 ft.”

  • Specified — Single-family dwellings in the RSF-2 conventional single-family district inside Trenton city limits.

    “rsf-2: minimum lot area; 10,000 sq. ft. minimum lot width; 85 ft. note: rsf-2 districts shall only be permitted where community water systems and sanitary sewer systems are available and accessible.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  All permitted uses and structures in the Agricultural (A) district inside Trenton city limits (front, side and rear yards; right-of-way setbacks are in section 4.2).

  • Any structure (except permitted docks, walkways and piers) must be set back at least 35 feet from wetlands.
  • Any structure (except permitted docks, walkways and piers) must be set back at least 35 feet from perennial streams and creeks.

  front yard: >= 30 feet · side yard: >= 25 feet · rear yard: >= 25 feet · wetland setback: >= 35 feet

  “the location of any structure (except permitted docks, walkways and piers) shall be setback a minimum of thirty-five (35) feet from wetlands.”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  All buildings on a lot in the Agricultural (A) district inside Trenton city limits.

  • No structure may exceed a 1.0 floor area ratio, in addition to the district lot, yard, height and coverage requirements.

  maximum lot coverage by all buildings: <= 20 percent

  “4.4.9 maximum lot coverage by all buildings 20% note: in addition to meeting the required lot, yard, building height, lot coverage, landscaped buffering, and offstreet parking requirements of this section, no structure shall exceed a 1.0 floor area ratio.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Single-family dwellings and duplexes, including their accessory buildings, in the RSF conventional single-family districts inside Trenton city limits.

    “1. single family dwellings and duplexes, including their accessory buildings: 40% 4 - 41 2. other permitted buildings in connection with permitted uses, including their accessory buildings: 35%”

• Building heightSpecified

  All structures in the Agricultural (A) district inside Trenton city limits.

  • Exceptions to the height limit are in LDR section 4.2 (exclusion from height limitations).

  maximum building height: <= 35 feet (section 4.2 height exclusions)

  “4.4.8 maximum height of structures: no portion shall exceed: (see also section 4.2 for exceptions) 35 ft.”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — All structures in the RSF conventional single-family districts inside Trenton city limits.

    “4.5.8 maximum height of structures: no portion shall exceed: (see also section 4.2 for exceptions) 35 ft.”

• Living in an RVProhibited

  Living or sleeping in a recreational vehicle parked or stored on a lot in a residential district inside Trenton city limits.

  • Applies to major recreational equipment (travel trailers, pickup campers, motorized dwellings, tent trailers and similar) as defined in section 4.2.16.
  • Other locations not approved for such use are also excluded by the same sentence.
  • Non-residential district RV occupancy was not captured.

  “no major recreational equipment shall be used for living, sleeping, or housekeeping purposes when parked or stored on a lot in a residential district, or in any other location not approved for such use.”

• Manufactured homesAllowed (with conditions)

  Mobile homes on lots in the Agricultural (A) district inside Trenton city limits.

  • Mobile homes are listed as permitted uses subject to the district lot requirements.
  • Standard design manufactured homes are treated as mobile homes under the LDR definitions; residential design manufactured homes are treated as single-family dwellings.
  • The 5-acre lot size is a lot requirement, not a placement permit.

  minimum lot area: >= 5 acres (single family dwellings, mobile homes, and group living facilities in A district) · minimum lot width: >= 270 feet

  “minimum lot requirements (area, width) 1. single family dwellings, mobile homes, and group living facilities: a 2. minimum lot area; 5 acres minimum lot width; 270 feet”

  2 more reviewed findings on this topic

  • Allowed (with conditions) — Single family/mobile home (RSF/MH) districts inside Trenton city limits.

    “minimum lot requirements (area, width) 1. single family dwellings and mobile homes: minimum area for single family/mobile home district; 10 acres. rsf/mh-1: minimum lot area; 20,000 sq. ft. minimum lot width; 100 ft.”

  • Allowed (with conditions) — Mobile home districts (RMH) inside Trenton city limits.

    “1. mobile homes. 2. public parks and recreational areas.”

• Accessory dwellingsLimited

  One additional mobile home used as an accessory residence on a lot in an agricultural district inside Trenton city limits.

  • Requires a temporary use permit from the land development regulation administrator; the permit may run up to five years and may be reapplied for.
  • The occupant must be related by blood, adoption, or marriage to the family occupying the principal residence.
  • The accessory mobile home is exempt from lot area requirements and may not sit within required yard areas or within 20 feet of any building.
  • Detached accessory dwellings other than mobile homes were not captured.

  temporary use permit maximum term: <= 5 years · minimum separation from any building: >= 20 feet

  “a temporary use permit for such mobile home may be granted for a time period up to five (5) years.”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  New onsite septic systems inside Trenton city wellfield management zones.

  • Exceptions: where connecting to a public wastewater utility would cost two and one-half times the septic system cost, or where no public sanitary sewer system is available.
  • Industrial-zoned land near available centralized sewer: no building permit for an onsite system where sewer is within one-quarter mile (section 4.2.30).
  • Existing septic tanks may remain in service until centralized sanitary sewer is accessible, subject to conditions in section 4.2.30.

  distance to centralized sewer for industrial septic restriction: <= 0.25 mile (industrial or manufacturing areas only)

  “existing septic tanks shall be allowed to remain in service until such time as a centralized sanitary sewer service is accessible”

• Mandatory utility hookupConditional

  Mixed-use developments inside Trenton city limits; the general rule for an individual new home was not captured.

  • Where the city's centralized sanitary sewer system is available to the development, residential, commercial, recreational and public buildings must connect to both water and sewer.
  • Developments must connect to the city's central potable water system.
  • RSF-2 and RSF-3 districts are permitted only where community water and sanitary sewer systems are available and accessible.

  “note: rsf-2 districts shall only be permitted where community water systems and sanitary sewer systems are available and accessible.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Trenton or Gilchrist County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit exemption inside Trenton city limits.
• Building code adopted — Building code adopted for construction inside Trenton city limits.
• Inspections — Building inspections for construction inside Trenton city limits.
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy for new buildings inside Trenton city limits.
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum floor area for a dwelling inside Trenton city limits.

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.