Outdoor kitchens on Marco Island

Marco Island, a city since August 27, 1997, is a barrier island in Southwest Florida's Ten Thousand Islands area, with six miles of beach and more than 100 miles of waterways within 24 square miles. The Mackle brothers and their Deltona Corporation developed modern Marco Island, which officially opened on January 31, 1965; the master plan called for 90 miles of navigable bulkheaded waterways.

Marco Island's code protects mangroves, and their trimming is regulated by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection under the state Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act. On Marco Island's beachfront, building or changing structures seaward of the coastal construction setback line is unlawful unless the City grants a variance or permit, and the state's Coastal Construction Control Line program regulates structures that can cause beach erosion or destabilize dunes.

On Marco Island, building permits are issued by the City's own Building Services Division, which reviews plans and inspects every project that needs a permit; the division is headed by a state-certified building official. Marco Island reviews single-family building plans against its structural and site design guidelines and may return plans when massing, architectural style, roofline or site elements do not fit them; unresolved cases can be appealed to the planning board.

On Marco Island's waterfront lots, chickees and barbecue areas need a rear setback of 10 feet and pools or screen enclosures 15 feet, and accessory structures may only be built together with or after the house. Waterfront yards are measured from the property line, bulkhead, shoreline or seawall, whichever is most restrictive, and are never less than 10 feet for any structure unless the code provides otherwise. The code does not name outdoor kitchens, so we clarify with the City how your kitchen is classified before the design is final.

Marco Island prohibits in-ground pools and retaining walls waterward of seawall anchors or within 15 feet of an existing seawall, and the City's seawall manual advises against large trees next to the seawall and heavy equipment along it. On single-family lots in Marco Island, impervious surfaces may cover no more than 67 percent of the total lot area.

Open burning is not allowed in Marco Island, but cooking fires and small recreational fires on the owner's own property are exempt and need no permit when conducted safely. The wood-fired grill and the fire elements of a FREILUFT kitchen are made for this. The manufacturer specifies a minimum clearance of 11 13/16 in (30 cm) to adjacent building elements; local fire codes in Florida are reviewed during planning.

Florida lists the burrowing owl and the gopher tortoise as Threatened. State guidelines treat disturbance within 10 feet of a potentially occupied owl burrow at any time, or within 33 feet during the February 15 to July 10 breeding season, as take, and gopher tortoises must be relocated under a state permit before land clearing or development.

During construction, Marco Island requires a protection zone around burrowing owl burrows, 10 feet in all directions from July 11 to February 14 and 33 feet from February 15 to July 10. Vehicles and equipment may not operate or park within 33 feet of an owl burrow or 25 feet of a gopher tortoise burrow, and the City issues no permit to take an owl burrow without the state removal permit. Before we plan the site, we check the lot for burrows and keep the kitchen and the work area outside the protection zones.

According to the City, every property on Marco Island is in, on or near a Special Flood Hazard Area; the zones that apply are AE and VE, based on the Collier County flood study dated February 8, 2024, and every structure gets a floodplain review as part of the building permit. On Marco Island, repairs and improvements to a building within 12 months that together cost 50 percent or more of its market value count as a substantial improvement, and the building must then be brought up to current floodplain requirements. We plan the kitchen, its anchoring and its connections for the flood zone of your lot.

Hurricane Irma made its final landfall near Marco Island on September 10, 2017, as a Category 3 hurricane with estimated maximum winds of 100 knots; storm surge flooded 3 to 5 feet above ground from Marco Island north to Fort Myers, and trees and power poles on the island were heavily damaged. During Hurricane Ian in September 2022, storm surge inundation of 4 to 6 feet above ground occurred from Marco Island through Everglades City, and the City counted 304 residential and 63 commercial buildings with significant damage.

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. When a tropical storm or hurricane warning covers Collier County, Marco Island requires furniture and lawn equipment on developed lots that is not protected by a fence or screen enclosure to be secured, stored or removed.