Indian River County Fertilizer Ordinance

The Indian River County fertilizer ordinance governs lawns and landscapes in the unincorporated county, while Vero Beach, Sebastian, Fellsmere, Orchid and Indian River Shores each have their own fertilizer ordinance.

The county stormwater page states plainly that these regulations apply in the unincorporated areas of the County (Indian River County Fertilizer Ordinance page). The rule comes from Ordinance No. 2013-014, which rewrote Section 316.15 so that Chapter 316 regulates applicators and areas of application within the unincorporated area of Indian River County, and does not apply within the limits of any municipality which has adopted an ordinance regulating the same subject matter (Ordinance No. 2013-014). The original text in Ordinance No. 2013-012 had spoken of the area of Indian River County without the word unincorporated (Ordinance No. 2013-012, Section 316.15).

The county keeps a one page chart titled Comparison of Fertilizer Ordinances Throughout Indian River County, and it shows the local rules are not identical (county comparison chart). The chart gives each jurisdiction an effective date, a restricted time of application, fertilizer free zones, content rules, exemptions and licensing terms.

On the same chart, the Prohibited Application Period means the time when a flood, tropical storm or hurricane watch or warning issued by the National Weather Service is in effect, or when heavy rain is likely (comparison chart footnote). A property owner in Vero Beach, Sebastian, Fellsmere, Orchid or Indian River Shores therefore checks that municipality's own ordinance; a separate Digital Towns guide covers the Sebastian ordinance.

Chapter 316 bars fertilizer containing nitrogen or phosphorus during the Restricted Season, which the ordinance defines as June 1 through September 30, and also on saturated soils, during storm watches or warnings, and when heavy rain is likely.

Section 316.3 of Ordinance No. 2013-012 is the timing rule. No applicator shall apply fertilizers containing nitrogen and/or phosphorus to turf and/or landscape plants during the Restricted Season, to saturated soils, or while a Flood Watch or Warning, a Tropical Storm Watch or Warning, or a Hurricane Watch or Warning issued by the National Weather Service is in effect for any portion of Indian River County, or if heavy rain is likely (Ordinance No. 2013-012, Section 316.3).

Each of those terms is defined in Section 316.2 of the Indian River County code. The definitions below are quoted as the ordinance words them.

The county's own seasonal tips sheet calls the Restricted Season the rainy season and the ban, and suggests Florida-friendly yard products containing iron and/or other micronutrients during it (Lagoon Fertilizing: Tips for the Seasons). For the rest of the year, the Indian River County sheet suggests fertilizing just twice a year, in October and in April, and never before a rain event. Last verified: October 22, 2026, by re-reading the Indian River County stormwater page, Ordinances No. 2013-012 and No. 2013-014, the county comparison chart, the compliant fertilizer sheet, the tips sheet and Florida Statutes section 403.9337.

Outside the Restricted Season, nitrogen fertilizer used in unincorporated Indian River County must contain at least 50% slow release nitrogen, and phosphorus is allowed only after a verified deficiency test.

Section 316.6(a) says no fertilizer containing phosphorous shall be applied to turf or landscape plants in Indian River County unless a soil or plant tissue deficiency is verified by a University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences, approved testing methodology, and that the deficiency verification shall be no more than 2 years old (Ordinance No. 2013-012, Section 316.6). The slow release rule was phased in. Ordinance No. 2013-014 set at least 25% slow release nitrogen as of the effective date of the chapter and at least 50% as of June 1, 2014, giving retailers time to clear older stock (Ordinance No. 2013-014, Section 3). The county page repeats that beginning June 1, 2014, fertilizer with nitrogen shall contain at least 50% slow release nitrogen (county ordinance summary).

The Indian River County compliant fertilizer sheet sums up the test for shoppers: to be in compliance, the fertilizer must contain NO phosphorous and be at least 50% slow release nitrogen (SRN) (Fertilizers in compliance, Indian River County). It explains that the three numbers on a label are nitrogen, phosphorous and potash, N P K, and that the share of slow release nitrogen is read from the Guaranteed Analysis box on the back of the bag. The sheet lists example brands sold locally, says the list is not intended to be exclusive, and carries the line Update: 7.25.22. Because the ordinance bans nitrogen and phosphorus during the Restricted Season, the same sheet says the list is for fertilizers throughout the rest of the year, plus a select few micronutrient products for summer use.

Two more content rules for Indian River County lawns sit in Section 316.6: packaged fertilizer must be applied according to its label, and fertilizer containing nitrogen or phosphorus shall not be applied before seeding or sodding a site, or for the first 30 days after seeding or sodding (Section 316.6(c) and (d)).

Fertilizer may not be applied within ten feet of any pond, stream, watercourse, lake, canal or wetland, or from the top of a seawall, anywhere Chapter 316 applies in Indian River County.

That fertilizer-free zone is Section 316.4 of Ordinance No. 2013-012, which uses the Florida Department of Environmental Protection wetland definition (Section 316.4, fertilizer-free zones). New plantings get a narrow window inside the zone, and the two county documents word it differently. The ordinance allows fertilizing newly planted turf and landscape plants in the zone only for a 60-day period beginning thirty days after planting if needed. The county summary page says newly planted turf and/or landscape plants may be fertilized in this zone only between 30 and 90 days after planting and only if necessary (county summary page).

Section 316.5 of the Indian River County code adds a voluntary ten foot low maintenance zone, strongly recommended but not mandated, with a swale and berm system recommended at its landward edge to capture and filter runoff (Section 316.5, low maintenance zones). Even so, no mowed or cut vegetative material may be deposited or left remaining in that zone or deposited in the water.

The application rules in Section 316.7 and 316.8 cover hard surfaces in Indian River County yards: spreader deflector shields are required on rotary spreaders, fertilizer shall not be applied, spilled or deposited on impervious surfaces, fertilizer may never be washed, swept or blown off those surfaces into stormwater drains, ditches, conveyances or water bodies, and grass clippings and vegetative debris may never go into drains, ditches, conveyances, water bodies, wetlands, sidewalks or roadways (Sections 316.7 and 316.8).

Section 316.9 exempts six kinds of land use in Indian River County, from bona fide farms to home vegetable gardens and fruit trees.

The Indian River County summary page lists the same exemptions in shorter form (county page, Exemptions). The ordinance wording, with the condition attached to each, is below (Ordinance No. 2013-012, Section 316.9).

The state law behind the local rule carves out farms the same way: Florida Statutes section 403.9337 does not apply to the use of fertilizer on farm operations as defined in section 823.14 or on lands classified as agricultural under section 193.461 (Florida Statutes 403.9337). Lawns of homes, condominiums and businesses in unincorporated Indian River County are not on the exemption list.

Commercial and institutional fertilizer applicators in Indian River County must complete the six-hour Florida-friendly Best Management Practices training for the green industries, and proof is required before a Local Business Tax Receipt is issued.

The county page names the course: the six-hour training program in the Florida-friendly Best Management Practices for Protection of Water Resources by the Green Industries, which the Florida Department of Environmental Protection offers through the University of Florida Extension Florida-Friendly Landscapes program, or an approved equivalent (county page, Licensing for Applicators). A business owner in any occupation that may apply fertilizer provides proof of the training before getting a Local Business Tax Receipt in the county, and the page says commercial applicators were to give proof to the Indian River County Tax Collector's Office by April 11, 2014.

Section 316.12 of the Indian River County code adds two duties. After December 31, 2013, commercial applicators must carry evidence of certification by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services as a Commercial Fertilizer Applicator whenever they apply fertilizer, and every business applying fertilizer to turf or landscape plants, including residential lawns, golf courses, commercial and condominium properties, must have at least one employee holding the training certificate before the owner gets a Local Business Tax Certificate (Section 316.12). Institutional applicators, defined to include managers or employees of public lands, schools, parks, religious institutions, utilities and condominium or common ownership properties, take the same training under Section 316.10. Under Section 316.10(b), private, non-commercial applicators are encouraged to follow the UF/IFAS Florida Yards and Neighborhoods recommendations.

The Board of County Commissioners adopted the ordinance on August 20, 2013 to cut nutrient pollution in county waters, and it is enforced by county code enforcement and environmental control officers.

The county page opens by saying the Indian River Lagoon is experiencing nutrient pollution, caused by fertilizer and other nitrogen sources, and that the Board of County Commissioners approved the ordinance on Aug. 20, 2013 (county Fertilizer Ordinance page). Ordinance No. 2013-012 adopted the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's model ordinance for Florida-friendly fertilizer use with modifications, finding that additional and more stringent standards were necessary for Indian River County waters (Ordinance No. 2013-012, recitals). State law permits that: section 403.9337 makes the model ordinance the minimum for each county and city whose watershed holds a water body listed as impaired by nutrients, and allows more stringent standards when a science-based program shows they are needed (section 403.9337(2)).

The county sources give two dates for when the rules began. The county stormwater page says these regulations go into effect on October 14, 2013, and the whereas clause of Ordinance No. 2013-014 gives the same date (Ordinance No. 2013-014, recitals). The county comparison chart lists August 2013 for Indian River County (comparison chart).

Under Section 316.13, the Code Enforcement Officer in the Public Works Department enforces Chapter 316 under Chapter 162, Florida Statutes, and the Environmental Control Officer may enforce it under the Indian River County Environmental Control Act, Chapter 85-427, Laws of Florida; penalties follow section 100.05 of the county code, and penalty funds go to administering and enforcing the fertilizer rules and to water conservation and nonpoint pollution prevention (Section 316.13, enforcement). The fertilizer page lists the county's general contact as 772 567 8000 and 1801 27th Street, Vero Beach (county contact block).