Fences, sheds and pools — Sebastian, Florida

Yes: the City of Sebastian requires a separate permit for a new fence, a shed or other accessory building, an in-ground pool and an above-ground pool, each issued by the Building Department at Sebastian City Hall, 1225 Main Street.

The fees above are flat rates, not valuation based. A Sebastian fence permit costs $75, a shed or accessory structure permit costs $75, and an in-ground pool or spa costs $255 (City of Sebastian). Last verified: October 10, 2026, on the City of Sebastian website. The city keeps a separate submittal sheet for each job on its Building Forms page, including Fence, Sheds, Above Ground Pools, In-Ground Pools, Hot Tub or Spa, and Screen Enclosures and Screen Rooms, plus a Swimming Pool Safety Act Form.

Applications go through the MGO Connect portal, which the Sebastian Building Department calls its preferred method for online permits. Owner/builder permits can use the portal, but the initial application has to be made in person at 1225 Main St. in Sebastian (City of Sebastian). Inspections are booked through the same portal one day ahead.

Two exemptions matter here. Under Section 54-2-7.7, repairing or replacing an existing Sebastian fence needs no new fence permit unless the cost reaches 50 percent of the fence value. Separately, House Bill 803 of 2026 lets single-family owners ask Sebastian for a permit exemption on certain work valued under $7,500, for a $45 review fee, but the city lists fences located on properties with swimming pools as excluded (City of Sebastian).

On a Sebastian home lot a fence or wall may be six feet tall behind the front of the house and four feet tall in front of it, under Section 54-2-7.7 of the Sebastian Land Development Code.

The Sebastian code measures height from the highest point of the ground in an eight-foot run beneath the fence, and berms do not count as ground. The residential rule is plain: fences and walls, not exceeding six feet in height, may run along the lot boundary behind the front setback line and the front of the main structure, while those in front of the main structure shall not exceed four feet in height (Sec. 54-2-7.7). The community development director may allow up to eight feet when the finished floor of the house sits at least 24 inches above grade at that property line, or 24 inches below a neighbor's floor; other requests go to the board of adjustment.

Lots that back onto the busy county road get more height. The code lists residential lots adjacent to Fellsmere Road, also known as County Road 512, in Sebastian Highlands Units 1, 2, 3 and 5, San Sebastian Springs and Roseland Acres, where fences up to eight feet may stand behind the house. That list was set by Ordinance O-18-10, adopted January 23, 2019.

Corner lots in the Sebastian Highlands grid have a secondary front yard, the side facing the street without the front door, where a fence drops to four feet. Near any intersection the visibility triangle rule also applies: no wall, fence or hedge inside the triangle may exceed two feet above the abutting street, and the triangle sides run 30 feet at street corners and 15 feet at driveways and alleys.

Sebastian bars fences within six feet of a fire hydrant, inside a street right-of-way, electrically charged fences, dilapidated fences, and fences with broken glass, spikes or barbed wire on residential lots.

A Sebastian fence must be built from at least one approved group of materials: rot and termite resistant or treated wood, galvanized steel posts with wire fabric of at least 11.5 gauge, ornamental iron, concrete or masonry, or vinyl. Posts set in the ground must resist decay, corrosion and termites, and every fence must let surface water follow its natural course, a practical rule in a city drained by swales and lot line ditches. Any side facing a street must show its finished side toward the street (Sec. 54-2-7.7).

The permit application to the Sebastian building official needs a survey prepared by a licensed surveyor of the State of Florida, the location, length and height of the fence, a description of the materials, and the location of any fire hydrant next to the property. Barbed wire is allowed only in commercial and industrial districts, by administrative approval, on fences six to eight feet tall topped with no more than three strands.

Fences inside Sebastian utility and drainage easements are allowed with a permit and a recorded affidavit stating that the city and utilities are not responsible for damage. If the city or a utility later needs the easement, the owner must remove the fence within five days of a written demand and pay for removal and replacement, and the city may remove it in an emergency. Actions of the community development director under the fence section can be appealed within ten working days.

A Sebastian shed needs its own building permit and must stay behind the front line of the house, at least ten feet from the rear property line, outside easements, and within 400 square feet and 12 feet of height.

Section 54-2-7.5 of the Sebastian Land Development Code lets utility sheds and similar structures encroach into a required rear yard if they maintain a minimum distance of ten feet from the rear property line and stay out of dedicated easements, and it caps them at 400 square feet in lot coverage and 12 feet in height. The building permit must name the type of structure, with the code giving garage, shed and pump house as examples.

The total is set by lot size. A Sebastian residential lot is allowed five square feet of accessory building area for every 100 square feet of lot area, not to exceed 1,000 square feet, so a 10,000 square foot lot can carry 500 square feet of sheds and detached garages combined. Garages built as part of the original house do not count. Buildings from 501 to 750 square feet must be compatible with the house design, and those from 751 to 1,000 square feet must match it and get foundation plantings.

Order of construction matters too: no shed may be placed on a Sebastian lot until work on the house has started, and none may be used before the house has a certificate of occupancy. Mobile homes, travel trailers, truck trailers and quonset style arch buildings are banned as accessory structures. The section was last amended by Ordinance O-25-06 on April 9, 2025.

A Sebastian pool needs a $255 permit and a barrier at least four feet high with self-closing, self-latching gates that open outward, under Chapter 26 of the City Code and Section 54-2-7.16 of the Land Development Code.

Article V of Chapter 26 of the Sebastian Code of Ordinances, adopted by Ordinance O-12-08 on August 22, 2012, covers residential pools, hot tubs and spas holding water more than 24 inches deep. They must be completely surrounded by a permanently installed fence or barrier of not less than four feet in height, measured on the side away from the pool, and pool fences may not exceed six feet. Gates must open outward away from the pool, and the self-latching device must be a minimum of 54 inches above the bottom of the gate. An existing Sebastian pool enclosure may not be changed in a way that weakens it, any new or repaired barrier must meet the Pool Safety Act in chapter 515, Florida Statutes, and the building official approves each barrier. A spa with a safety cover meeting ASTM F 1346 is exempt.

The Sebastian Land Development Code adds site rules in Section 54-2-7.16. Plans submitted to the Building Department must show the mechanical equipment and the safety barriers, fences and screening. Lighting for swimming pools shall be shielded so light stays on the pool area, and pool wastewater must be discharged so it avoids septic tanks and drain fields and does not flood neighboring lots or nearby water bodies such as the canals that run through Sebastian Highlands.

Florida law sets the final inspection test. Under s. 515.27, a residential swimming pool must meet at least one of the following requirements relating to pool safety features: a barrier enclosure meeting s. 515.29, an approved safety pool cover, exit alarms on doors and windows that open to the pool, or self-closing, self-latching devices on those doors. The Sebastian code also bars diving boards in pools shallower than seven feet or shorter than 30 feet, and a pool screen enclosure may reach 25 feet without counting against the lot's accessory area.