Outdoor kitchens in Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale is named for a fort built on the banks of the New River in 1838, during the Second Seminole War, by troops under Major William Lauderdale. The city was incorporated on March 27, 1911, and none of the three forts named after him survive today. The City of Fort Lauderdale counts 165 miles of inland waterways winding through the city and calls itself the “Venice of America.” The city covers about 36 square miles.

Inside the city limits, the City of Fort Lauderdale's Building Services division issues permits and performs inspections under the Florida Building Code, and new applications are submitted digitally through the City's online portal. The City processes permits only for addresses inside its boundaries, and all exterior work needs a current signed and sealed survey with a site plan locating the proposed work. In Fort Lauderdale, the 2026 state permit exemption for small single-family projects is not automatic and needs a written determination from the City, and it never covers electrical, plumbing, mechanical, gas or structural work or properties in a Special Flood Hazard Area. Even an exempt project must still meet zoning, floodplain, setback and HOA requirements.

Under Fort Lauderdale's land development rules, accessory structures may not sit in a required yard unless the code specifically permits it, and nothing taller than 2½ feet is allowed within 5 feet of a waterway, measured from the water side of the seawall. In residential districts an accessory structure may not be taller than the main house, and its height is measured from the house's finished floor elevation. At homes in Fort Lauderdale, aboveground propane tanks may not be placed in the required front yard and, in side or rear yards, must stay at least 5 feet from property lines. On lots abutting a street or waterway, the full zoning setbacks apply, and where the Florida Building Code or Fire Prevention Code is stricter, the stricter rule governs. How your kitchen is classified, we clarify with the City during planning.

Since 2023, new or substantially repaired seawalls and other tidal flood barriers in Fort Lauderdale must reach an elevation of at least 5 feet NAVD88 at the cap; applications filed before January 1, 2035 may build to 4 feet if the wall is designed to reach 5 feet by 2050. The rule also applies when fixed structures are attached to a seawall, and owners must keep their barrier from letting tidal water flow onto neighboring property. The City of Fort Lauderdale describes itself as highly vulnerable to king tides and sea-level rise because of its low elevation and extensive waterways, and it expects king tides on at least 40 days in 2026, mostly from September to December. The City says it is elevating seawalls and maintains nearly 200 tidal valves.

The Florida Building Code places all of Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale, in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. For a garden shed, the City requires a building permit and either signed and sealed engineering drawings, a State of Florida product approval or a Miami-Dade County Notice of Acceptance. New FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps took effect for Fort Lauderdale on July 31, 2024, with Zone X for low and moderate risk, Zones AE, AO and AH for inland high risk and Zone VE for coastal areas with high-velocity wave action. Any work in the Special Flood Hazard Area needs a permit, and the City says a majority of its residents live in or close to such an area. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. A FREILUFT kitchen is built to stay outside year-round and has storm hooks in the plinth that secure the doors; before a storm, secure everything loose.

Fort Lauderdale's sea turtle rules apply from March 1 to October 31 and require outdoor lights visible from the beach, including on remodels that change exterior lighting, to be shielded so the light source is not seen from the beach, mounted as low as possible, with decorative floodlights and spotlights prohibited. Windows and glass doors facing the beach need tinted glass or shade screens, and campfires on the beach are banned at night during nesting season. Fort Lauderdale has three locally designated historic districts, the largest being Sailboat Bend, the city's oldest neighborhood with more than 550 buildings. Any work that would change the exterior appearance of a designated historic property needs a Certificate of Appropriateness, reviewed by the Historic Preservation Board at its monthly meetings or, for maintenance and in-kind replacement, by staff. In Fort Lauderdale, a tree permit is required before removing a tree with a trunk diameter of 3 inches or more or a palm with 8 feet or more of clear trunk. Digging or changing the grade within a tree's drip line is not allowed unless it is shown beforehand that the tree will not be harmed.