Boat and RV parking — Sebastian, Florida

At a Sebastian home, a boat, trailer or RV may be kept behind the front building line and at least 25 feet from the front lot line, or inside a garage or carport, with no more than two outside a garage.

The rule sits in Section 54-2-7.13 of the Sebastian Land Development Code. It applies to boats as well as campers because the Code's glossary defines a recreational vehicle (RV) as any travel trailer, camper, boat, or trailer. So a bass boat on a trailer in the Sebastian Highlands, a pop-up camper and a 30-foot motor home all count against the same limits, and a commercial trailer or work boat counts as one of the two allowed vehicles.

A boat or RV stored at a Sebastian home must belong to the person living there, be registered, stay out of the right-of-way and never serve as living quarters.

The Land Development Code lists the conditions one by one. The recreational vehicle must be owned, rented or leased by the person residing on the same improved lot; it may not be used for residential, office or commercial purposes; and it may not be used for sleeping, housekeeping or living quarters while parked on the lot. It may not sit within any road, drainage or utility right-of-way. A collapsible camping trailer must be stored in the collapsed state, and the recreational vehicle must bear a current and proper registration.

Corner lots in Sebastian get a narrower test. On an improved corner lot, the vehicle need only be behind the front yard setback and does not have to be behind the building line on the secondary front, a detail that matters on the many corner lots of the Sebastian Highlands street grid. In practice that means no more than two recreational vehicles may be kept outside an enclosed garage on any lot, whether the lot is a corner or interior parcel. Size caps apply everywhere: an RV other than a utility or cargo trailer may not exceed 40 feet in length, and a utility or cargo trailer may not exceed 24 feet in length.

Yes, Sebastian allows one commercial trailer and one commercial boat on a residential lot owned by the trailer or boat owner, if each is screened from neighbors.

Subsection (c) of the Sebastian rule allows one, but not more than one, commercial utility or cargo trailer that does not exceed 24 feet in length and eight feet in height, parked under the same setback rule and substantially screened by vegetation or a six-foot stockade type fence from the adjacent property. It also allows one boat used for commercial purposes, not exceeding 40 feet, under the same screening rule and on the condition that there is no unloading or loading of any material, fish or shellfish while it is in the residential district.

Under that condition, a commercial fishing or shellfish boat may be stored at a Sebastian home, but no catch or material may be loaded or unloaded from it while it sits in the residential district. A commercial trailer or commercial boat counts as one recreational vehicle toward the two vehicle limit. Construction trailers are separate: subsection (d) allows them temporarily in all zoning districts with a building permit and temporary zoning permit, and requires removal within ten days after construction ends or a certificate of occupancy issues.

No, Sebastian bars parking in the drainage swale and limits street parking, so boats, trailers and RVs generally have to stay on the owner's lot.

Chapter 98, Article II of the Sebastian Code of Ordinances makes it a violation for any motor vehicle to park in the swale or shoulder of the right-of-way, and a separate violation to damage a swale. The exceptions are narrow: a disabled vehicle for up to 24 hours, a resident's or guest's vehicle on the shoulder when the driveway is full, lawn care and service trailers on the shoulder with at least three traffic cones, and construction vehicles at a building site. Section 98-36 adds that no truck, van, or road tractor over 23 feet in length or 9 feet in height may be parked on any street right-of-way, and that no vehicle displaying a for sale sign may be parked on any street right-of-way.

The swale rule has a drainage reason. The city's Stormwater Division explains that General Development Corporation designed and built the street and drainage system for approximately 15,000 single-family home sites in the late 1950s, and that most Sebastian storm water runs through canals, ditches and swales to the St. Sebastian River and on to the Indian River Lagoon. Section 98-31 defines the swale as the area extending two feet to each side of the low centerline between the pavement and the front lot line, and the city's Stormwater public education page lists a Save the Swales brochure.

Two more street rules affect boat owners. Section 98-36 counts a vehicle as parked whenever it is stopped other than while actually loading or unloading, so a boat trailer left at the curb overnight is parked for the purpose of the rule, and it bars any vehicle from parking across or otherwise impeding a public sidewalk crossing. Section 98-38 lets the Sebastian City Council designate site specific no parking zones by resolution, where any parked or stored vehicle may be removed by the city at the owner's expense.

The Sebastian Police Department's Code Enforcement Unit handles RV, trailer and swale parking complaints, and street parking violations carry fines of up to $100 per day.

The Code Enforcement Unit lists parking in the swales and parking issues such as over-sized trailers and recreational vehicles among the problems it responds to, along with noise and overgrown lots. Complaints go to its hotline, 772-388-4436 option 1, or the online complaint form, and Florida law prohibits anonymous complaints, so the City of Sebastian asks for a name and address before it investigates.

On the street and swale side, Section 98-39 makes a violation of the parking article a civil infraction, subject to a maximum civil penalty of $100.00 per day, and adds the cost of restoring a damaged swale or shoulder; an unpaid restoration assessment against the adjacent lot owner becomes a lien after 30 days. A vehicle left on a Sebastian city right-of-way that is not removed within 24 hours after a removal notice is posted will be towed and stored at the owner's expense. Site specific no parking zones designated by the Sebastian City Council carry a maximum $50.00 penalty when uncontested.

Last verified: October 10, 2026, on the City of Sebastian website.