Accessory dwelling units — Palm Bay, Florida

Yes: the Palm Bay Land Development Code adopted on September 19, 2024 lists accessory dwelling units as a permitted use in eleven residential zoning districts, subject to the standards in section 174.003 (Palm Bay LDC Table 173-1).

Table 173-1 of the Palm Bay code marks ADUs with a P in the GU, RR, RE, SRE, RS-1, RS-2, RS-3, RT-10, RMH, RM-15 and RM-20 districts (Palm Bay LDC Table 173-1). A lot in Port Malabar, Bayside Lakes or any other Palm Bay neighborhood is judged by its zoning district in that table, not by the neighborhood name, and the use is only ever accessory to a single-family home.

The Palm Bay definition is precise. Chapter 171 describes an ADU as a residential dwelling unit, but not a mobile home or recreational vehicle, located on the same lot as a single-family dwelling unit, with a separate kitchen, sleeping area and full bathroom; it may be attached to the house or stand on its own (Palm Bay LDC Chapter 171). A second unit beside a duplex, an apartment building or a mobile home does not qualify under the Palm Bay definition.

The lot has to qualify as well. Section 174.003(A) of the Palm Bay code allows an ADU only on lots that meet the minimum lot size of the district where single-family dwellings are permitted, and section 174.003(L) allows ADUs in Planned Developments only if the ordinance specifically states it (Palm Bay LDC section 174.003). A Palm Bay subdivision approved as a planned development therefore depends on the wording of its own approving ordinance.

A Palm Bay ADU may not exceed 50% of the main house's air-conditioned floor area or 800 square feet, whichever is less, and must have at least 200 square feet of air-conditioned space (Palm Bay LDC section 174.003).

For a Palm Bay house with 1,400 square feet under air, the 50% test gives 700 square feet, which is below the 800 square foot ceiling, so 700 is the cap; for a 2,000 square foot house, half would be 1,000, so the 800 square foot limit governs. The arithmetic follows section 174.003(E) of the Palm Bay code (Palm Bay LDC section 174.003).

Other Palm Bay limits stack on top of the floor area cap. Section 174.003(I) says the ADU, together with every other structure on the property, may not push the lot past the district's maximum lot coverage, and section 174.003(M) says ADUs are not counted for density calculations (Palm Bay LDC section 174.003). Parking under 174.003(H) is a minimum of one and a maximum of two spaces beyond what the main house already needs.

A Palm Bay ADU follows the accessory structure rules of section 174.002, so it stays out of easements and required front and side yards, at least 10 feet from the rear line and 5 feet from other buildings (Palm Bay LDC section 174.002).

Section 174.003(F) of the Palm Bay code points the ADU to those accessory structure setback and height provisions (Palm Bay LDC section 174.003). Section 174.002 lists the placements that are off limits: any public drainage and utility easement, any required front yard setback, any required side yard setback, within ten feet of any rear property line, and within five feet of any building on the same lot (Palm Bay LDC section 174.002). On a corner lot with two street frontages, the side corner yard follows the principal structure setback.

Easements shown on the boundary survey decide much of the layout on a Palm Bay lot, because the code bars accessory structures from any public drainage and utility easement (Palm Bay LDC section 174.002). An ADU is also held to a height of 25 feet or the height of the principal structure, whichever is less, unless the lot is in a GU, RE, SRE or RR district and covers two acres or more.

Timing and appearance rules apply too. The Palm Bay code says no accessory building may be erected without a principal building and may not be used until the principal structure is fully built and has a certificate of occupancy (Palm Bay LDC section 174.002), and section 174.003(G) requires the ADU's exterior facade to be similar in style, material and color to the existing house (Palm Bay LDC section 174.003).

The Palm Bay property owner must live in either the main house or the ADU, and the ADU can never be sold separately from the principal dwelling (Palm Bay LDC section 174.003).

Section 174.003(B) of the Palm Bay code requires that the ADU be developed in conjunction with or after the principal dwelling and that the owner of the property reside within either unit. Section 174.003(C) allows not more than one ADU per property, and 174.003(D) keeps both units on a single lot or parcel (Palm Bay LDC section 174.003).

State law frames the policy. Section 163.31771 of the Florida Statutes says a local government may adopt an ordinance to allow accessory dwelling units in any area zoned for single-family residential use, and subsection (4) says an application for a building permit to construct an accessory dwelling unit must include an affidavit that the unit will be rented at an affordable rate to an extremely-low-income, very-low-income, low-income or moderate-income person (Florida Statutes 163.31771). Section 174.003 of the Palm Bay code does not mention that affidavit, and the Palm Bay Building Department ADU checklist does not list it.

A Palm Bay ADU permit is filed electronically through the iMS portal with the Building Department at 110 Malabar Road SE, using plans digitally signed and sealed by a Florida licensed architect or engineer (Palm Bay ADU permit checklist).

The Palm Bay Building Department checklist asks for a digitally signed and sealed foundation plan, truss layout and truss package, and a complete plan set covering architectural, structural, electrical, plumbing, fuel gas and mechanical work (Palm Bay ADU permit checklist). It also requires signed plumbing and electrical riser diagrams, window and door glazing with U-factor and SHGC values, impact-rated glazed openings or an identified impact system, a Product Approval Affirmation, Manual J energy calculations, a signed and sealed boundary survey, and a pest control letter on termite treatment.

The second page of the Palm Bay checklist adds a water and sewer availability request form for scattered lots through the City of Palm Bay Customer Service division at 321-952-3420, owner-builder and subcontractor forms, proof of ownership, and a Notice of Commencement for work over $5,000 (Palm Bay ADU permit checklist). Approvals of other City of Palm Bay departments must be obtained before the permit is issued, and Public Works may require a separate permit.

Lots on septic need the county health side as well. The earlier Palm Bay ADU checklist also listed a septic tank permit from the Environmental Health Department and a lot drainage and driveway permit from Palm Bay Public Works (earlier Palm Bay checklist), and section 174.003(J) requires central water and wastewater or compliance with the health department's well and septic rules without making a neighboring vacant lot unbuildable (Palm Bay LDC section 174.003).

Impact fees changed with the 2024 code. Section 174.003(K) now treats a Palm Bay ADU as a mobile home unit for impact fees (Palm Bay LDC section 174.003), while the earlier checklist, written under former section 185.006, treated it as a multi-family unit (earlier Palm Bay checklist).

Palm Bay is revising the chapters that hold its ADU rules: the city's Phase 2 Land Development Code update lists Textual Amendment 1 for Chapters 173 and 174 (Palm Bay LDC updates).

The City of Palm Bay says it adopted its updated Land Development Code in September 2024 and that Phase 2 focuses on targeted refinements, with community and technical stakeholder input followed by hearings before the Planning and Zoning Board and City Council (Palm Bay LDC updates). Until an amendment is adopted, the September 19, 2024 text of section 174.003 is the Palm Bay standard.

Zoning and survey questions go to Growth Management at 120 Malabar Road SE, whose Land Development Division handles current planning and development review at (321) 733-3042 (Palm Bay Growth Management). Plan review and inspections stay with the Building Department on Malabar Road.

Last verified: October 12, 2026, against the City of Palm Bay Land Development Code chapters 171, 173 and 174 and the Building Department ADU checklist.