Outdoor kitchens in Palm Beach County

The Florida Legislature created Palm Beach County in 1909 as the state's 47th county, carved from what was then Dade County, with West Palm Beach as county seat. Its boundaries last changed in 1963, when most of Lake Okeechobee was allocated to neighboring counties. Palm Beach County covers about 1,964 square miles of land along 47 miles of Atlantic shoreline, with an urban east and mainly suburban and rural central and western areas. The Census Bureau estimates its population at about 1.58 million in 2025. Palm Beach County has 39 municipalities, each with its own permit department, covering about 17 percent of the county's land area. According to the county budget, about 44 percent of residents live in the unincorporated area governed directly by the county.

The county's Planning, Zoning and Building Department issues building permits only for the unincorporated area, while each municipality runs its own permit department. Owners can tell which applies from the parcel control number, which begins with 00 for unincorporated Palm Beach County. Palm Beach County's amendments to the Florida Building Code, 8th Edition, in effect since December 31, 2023, require a permit before electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing work is installed, and exemptions do not excuse work from the floodplain rules. New patios, decks or similar improvements that significantly reduce permeable land or change drainage require a professionally prepared drainage plan.

A town name in the address alone does not tell which rules apply. We check this at the start of every project and prepare the documents the licensed contractor needs for the permits. Under the Florida Building Code, a permit from the building official is needed before a structure is built or altered and before electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing systems are installed or altered.

Palm Beach County lies outside Florida's High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, which the Florida Building Code limits to Broward and Miami-Dade counties, but the county's wind map sets ultimate design wind speeds of 150, 160 or 170 mph for typical Risk Category II structures, depending on location. All of unincorporated Palm Beach County lies within the wind-borne debris region.

On September 16, 1928, a Category 4 hurricane made landfall in Palm Beach County between Jupiter and Boca Raton, pushing a storm surge of around 10 feet onto the barrier islands. Around the south end of Lake Okeechobee, more than 2,500 people drowned. In September 2004, Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne made landfall about three weeks apart at nearly the same point on Hutchinson Island north of Palm Beach County, and both times the southern eyewall reached northeast Palm Beach County. The National Weather Service estimated storm surge of 2 to 4 feet along the northeast Palm Beach coast in each storm.

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. Near the coast, salt air reaches the garden: FREILUFT cabinets use 5/16 in (8 mm) marine-grade aluminum, finished with Off-Shore powder coating with a chromate-free, nano-ceramic pre-treatment. Clean aluminum and the coating with mild soapy water, clean natural stone without acids, and lubricate the hinges twice a year.

In unincorporated Palm Beach County, accessory structures may not stand in the front or side street yard, and on residential lots those up to 10 feet high need at least 5 feet from the side and rear property lines. On agricultural-residential lots of one acre or more, the minimum is 15 feet, or 25 feet from five acres. The county code allows open terraces and patios, fountains, air-conditioning units and, with at least 3 feet of setback, arbors and trellises under 10 feet within required setbacks. Buildings and structures in unincorporated Palm Beach County are generally limited to 35 feet in height. The county's Unified Land Development Code governs development in unincorporated Palm Beach County, and its architectural guidelines apply to non-residential projects and larger multifamily buildings, not to single-family homes. Accessory structures within a planned unit development or a standard zoning district are expressly exempt. The code does not name outdoor kitchens; how yours is classified, we clarify during planning. Under Florida law, a homeowners' association may review the location, size, type or appearance of improvements on a lot only as far as its declaration or published guidelines provide, and it must apply those standards equally to all owners. If it denies an application, it must state in writing the specific rule and the part of the project that does not conform.

Updated FEMA flood maps took effect in Palm Beach County on December 20, 2024, adding thousands of residents in the eastern part of the county to high-risk flood zones. More than 16,000 parcels saw their base flood elevation rise by one foot or more. In unincorporated Palm Beach County, improvements to a building count as a substantial improvement under the flood rules when their cumulative cost over five years reaches 45 percent of the building's market value. County staff offer substantial improvement determinations before major renovations.

In the county's coastal high hazard and Coastal A zones, a patio below the design flood elevation must be structurally independent of the house and either stay intact in a flood or break into small pieces, and patios thicker than 12 inches need an engineering analysis. Accessory structures below the required elevation are limited to parking or storage, with mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems raised to the base flood elevation plus one foot.

Florida's Coastal Construction Control Line for Palm Beach County runs along the entire Atlantic coast from the Martin County line to the Broward County line, interrupted only at the inlets. The line was first set in 1979 and last revised in 1997, and construction seaward of it is subject to special siting and design rules. On property within 600 feet of the Atlantic mean high-water line in Palm Beach County, new construction and new outdoor lighting need an approved sea turtle protection lighting plan before a building permit is issued. The rule applies countywide unless a municipality has its own sea turtle ordinance, and sea turtle nesting season runs from March 1 to October 31. In gardens near the beach, we plan the kitchen lighting with these rules in mind.

In unincorporated Palm Beach County, above-ground gas tanks three feet or taller must meet the greater of the zoning setback or the building and fire code setback, and be screened when next to homes and visible from a street. Under the county fire marshal's rules, gas, charcoal and wood grills may not be used on balconies or within 10 feet of a structure at buildings other than one- and two-family homes. In unincorporated Palm Beach County, removal of native vegetation on single-family lots, including for accessory structures, must be limited to the minimum needed for the site plan. Listed invasive plants must be removed from the whole parcel before the certificate of occupancy, and planting them is prohibited.