Zoning and rural residential rules — Malabar, Florida

The Malabar Land Development Code divides the town into 16 zoning districts, from RR-65 Rural Residential and three single-family classes to mobile home, multifamily, commercial, industrial, institutional, coastal preserve, planned unit and RV park districts (Land Development Code Article III).

Each Malabar district implements a Future Land Use Map designation in the comprehensive plan: Rural Residential land carries RR-65, Low Density Residential carries RS-21, Medium Density Residential carries RS-15, RS-10 or RM-4, and High Density Residential carries RM-6, R-MH or RVP (Land Development Code Article II). The boundaries sit on the Official Zoning Map, and the Town Clerk is responsible for keeping that map updated after each adopted change. The Malabar Building Department posts maps showing the current zoning and future land use designation for every property in Malabar (Malabar Zoning Maps).

Without central water and wastewater, every one of Malabar's RS districts and R-MH drops to 1.00 unit per acre in the same table, and such lots must meet the septic permitting requirements of Brevard County (Section 1-3.3). RR-65 and the three RS districts share a 35-foot, three-story height limit, and an R-MH mobile home park needs a 5-acre site with 7,000-square-foot lots at up to 6.00 units per acre.

RR-65 allows one house per one and one-half acres in Malabar, on lots of at least 65,340 square feet, with at least 80 percent of each site kept as open space (Table 1-3.3(A)).

The district exists because the Malabar charter demands it. Charter Section 3.06 says no area zoned for single family residences shall contain a density greater than one (1) unit for every one and one-half (1 1/2) acres or as set forth in the comprehensive plan, and all lots of record are grandfathered (Charter Section 3.06). The Malabar Zoning Codes page describes RR-65 as protecting and preserving existing agricultural and rural residential lands, generally developed for agricultural uses or large lot rural residential home sites, in an area generally incapable of carrying traffic generated by more intense urban developments (Malabar Zoning Codes).

Farm uses are built into RR-65. The Malabar use table permits single family dwellings, noncommercial agricultural operations and wholesale agricultural activities there, and allows commercial stables as a conditional use; RR-65 is the only district where any of those three farm uses appears (Table 1-3.2). Article V allows the keeping of grazing animals in any rural residential district; where the lot is under 2 1/2 acres, the limit is one animal for the first acre plus one more for each additional half acre (Section 1-5.19). On a minimum 1.5-acre Malabar lot that works out to two grazing animals.

Barns and sheds get a small break in RR-65. Footnote 7 of the dimension table lets side and rear setbacks for accessory structures shrink to equal the structure's height, but never below 15 feet, so a 20-foot building needs 20-foot side and rear yards. The impervious surface ratio in RR-65 is capped at 20 percent of the site (Table 1-3.3(A), footnote 7).

Mobile homes are permitted in Malabar only in the R-MH Residential Mobile Homes district, while duplexes and multiple family dwellings are limited to RM-4, RM-6 and R/LC (Table 1-3.2).

R-MH is a narrow tool. The Malabar Zoning Codes page says the district manages mobile home development at a density not to exceed six units per acre and is intended to provide sites for mobile home development within existing established mobile home parks (Malabar Zoning Codes). Article V separately bars mobile homes, travel trailers or old cars from serving as accessory structures on any Malabar lot (Section 1-5.6).

Multifamily density stays low. RM-4 caps medium-density multiple-family development at four units per acre and RM-6 at six, both on minimum 5-acre sites, and R/LC, on land so designated on the Malabar Future Land Use Map, is intended for one unit per lot until the owner initiates mixed use, after which homes and limited commercial uses may be mixed at up to six (6) units per acre (Section 1-3.1). The RVP Recreational Vehicle Park district requires at least five acres and a maximum density of fifteen (15) travel trailer/R.V. sites per gross acre.

Malabar's office, commercial and industrial districts are meant for sites with access to major thoroughfares, where development along arterial roadways must use a Malabar Vernacular Style and the heaviest uses are allowed only on named streets (Section 1-3.1).

The use table restricts marine commercial activities, service stations, vehicle sales and repair, and wholesale trades: these uses are permitted only on sites abutting Babcock Street, US 1, West Railroad Avenue, Garden Street and Pine Street (Table 1-3.2). CL Commercial Limited is meant for neighborhood shops with limited inventory and excludes supermarkets, department stores and drive-in fast food, while CG Commercial General takes general retail sales and services next to major thoroughfares in Malabar (Malabar Zoning Codes).

Setbacks along Malabar's main roads are measured from the road's centerline as well as the lot line. Table 1-3.3(E) sets a 100-foot building setback from the centerline of arterial roadways (US 1, Malabar Road and Babcock Street), 85 feet on major collectors such as Corey Road and Weber Road, 75 feet on minor collectors such as Hall Road and Old Mission Road, and 65 feet on local streets, with the more restrictive rule applying (Table 1-3.3(E)).

East of U.S. 1, the CP Coastal Preserve district protects a narrow strip of land directly abutting the Indian River Lagoon, a State designated Aquatic Preserve, and restricts its use to noncommercial piers, boat slips and docks (Malabar Zoning Codes).

In Malabar an accessory building needs its own permit and may go up only after the house on the lot has a certificate of occupancy (Section 1-5.6).

Section 1-5.6 keeps accessory buildings out of required yards and sends unclear cases from the Malabar Building Official to the Planning and Zoning Board and Town Council. Temporary storage units are allowed in residential districts for no more than 14 days in a calendar year and no more than two times a calendar year, may not exceed 9 feet high, 10 feet wide and 24 feet long, and may sit in a setback but never in a right-of-way; the Town Manager may grant one extension for good cause (Section 1-5.6).

Older Malabar lots get grandfather protection. Any lot of record existing prior to Ordinance 7-1-76, along with Section I of the Brook Hollow subdivision, may be used for a permitted use even if it is smaller or narrower than the district requires, unless the same owner holds adjoining land that could fix the deficiency (Section 1-5.3). Every new building in Malabar must also sit on a lot with at least 25 feet of frontage on an approved street, unless the Town Council grants a waiver.

Malabar rezonings go from a property owner's petition to the Planning and Zoning Board for a hearing and recommendation, then to the Town Council for a final public hearing and vote (Land Development Code Article XII).

An owner files a rezoning petition with the Malabar Town Clerk together with a fee set by council resolution, describing the property, its current and proposed Future Land Use Map designation and zoning, and everyone holding an ownership interest. The Planning and Zoning Board, regardless of the source of the proposed zone change, holds a public hearing and weighs consistency with the comprehensive plan and changed conditions. If the board's recommendation is adverse, the change can take effect only by an affirmative vote of a majority of three (3) members of the Town Council (Sections 1-12.4 and 1-12.5).

The Malabar Planning and Zoning Board is advisory and meets on the 4th Wednesday of each month at 6 pm in Town Hall (Planning and Zoning Board). Variances go to the Board of Adjustment, a role the Town Council itself fills; it meets only when an owner requests a variance from the Land Development Code or the Street and Road Improvement Code, needs a quorum of four, and its decisions can be appealed to circuit court within thirty (30) days (Board of Adjustment). A Malabar variance becomes void if not exercised within six months, with one six-month extension available by letter (Section 1-12.2).

Last verified: October 13, 2026, on the Town of Malabar website.