Outdoor kitchens in Davie, FL

Davie's first permanent settlers arrived in 1909 and named the swampy area Zona after their former home in the Panama Canal Zone; the community was renamed Davie in 1916. After the 1947 hurricane, the Army Corps of Engineers built the water management system that let agriculture thrive in the 1950s and 1960s. The Town of Davie was originally incorporated on November 16, 1925, and celebrated its centennial in 2025. The first incorporation was dissolved in the following legislative session, and the present Town was incorporated in 1960; today it is home to more than 107,000 residents. Davie welcomes visitors as Cowboy Town, USA, and describes itself as a community with a rich agricultural heritage. Eight equestrian trails run through its suburban and rural neighborhoods.

Davie sits in central Broward County, about five miles from the Atlantic Ocean and five miles from the Everglades Conservation Area. The North New River Canal and the C-11 Canal form its northern and southern borders, and lakes and former rock pits dot the town. In its AG, A-1 and R-1 zoning districts, Davie applies Rural Lifestyle Regulations that limit density to one home per gross acre. Their stated aim is to preserve open spaces, large areas without fences, trails through neighborhoods and a variety of housing styles. In Davie's A-1 and R-1 districts, the minimum lot size is 35,000 square feet of net dry land, with rear yards of 35 and 30 feet. On R-1 lots of that size, owners may keep up to four horses or cattle per 35,000 square feet.

Davie permits accessory structures that are subordinate to the home and serve the comfort and convenience of its occupants. In residential districts, accessory buildings are limited to one story and may not exceed the height of the principal building. In Davie, open-sided accessory structures such as gazebos and tiki huts, as well as patios, must meet the full front and side yard requirements and half of the rear yard requirement, but no less than 10 feet. Generators and similar mechanical equipment need 5 feet from side and rear lines and must sit behind the front building line. In all Davie zoning districts, outdoor equipment such as pool equipment, generators and aboveground containers that can be seen from the street or driveway must be screened on three sides. Owners can use 3-foot shrubs or a privacy wall tall enough to block the view. How your kitchen is classified, we clarify with the Town during planning.

New FEMA flood maps took effect in Davie on July 31, 2024, adding about 1,934 parcels to the special flood hazard area. Their base flood elevations apply to all new construction and to substantial improvements, meaning work that exceeds 50 percent of a building's value. Much of Davie, including most of its special flood hazard area, lies in the C-11 West basin, whose stormwater is pumped into the Everglades; Hurricane Irene in 1999 caused widespread flooding in the Town. Within the Central Broward Water Control District, the lowest floor of all structures must be 18 inches above the crown of the road. Five water management and drainage districts have jurisdiction in parts of Davie, most often the Central Broward Water Control District, which requires 20-foot maintenance easements along canals and lakes, measured landward from the top of bank. For work within drainage-related easements, the Town asks for the drainage district's approval with the permit.

Davie lies in Broward County, which the Florida Building Code places in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone together with Miami-Dade County. There, buildings and structures in Risk Category II are designed for a 170 mph wind speed, and all buildings and structures are treated as Exposure Category C unless Category D applies. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. How the kitchen is anchored on your lot, we plan with licensed partners; before a storm, secure everything loose.

In Davie, the Town's Building Division reviews permits and enforces the Florida Building Code, organized by discipline as required by the Broward County Administrative Chapter of the code. Since January 12, 2026, permits are submitted online, and a typical accessory structure is reviewed by Planning & Zoning, Structural and Engineering. In Davie, removing or relocating a tree, or clearing land in a way that would destroy one, requires a Town tree removal/relocation permit unless an exception applies. Permit applications for structures such as gazebos include a tree affidavit when the work does not conflict with existing trees. Every building permit application in Davie must include an affidavit of awareness of homeowners' association rules. Owners acknowledge that their HOA may impose additional building and landscaping rules that the Town does not enforce, and that a Town permit does not exempt them from those rules. Davie bans bonfires without a Fire Department permit, but outdoor cooking fires are not bonfires. The exception covers fires up to 3 feet across and 2 feet high, contained in an outdoor fireplace, barbecue grill or barbecue pit, for preparing food.