Outdoor kitchens in Sarasota, FL

The City of Sarasota had 54,842 residents in the 2020 Census and covers about 14.7 square miles of land and 9.4 square miles of water on Sarasota Bay. Its limits include downtown and the bayfront as well as Lido Key, St. Armands Key and Bird Key; Siesta Key to the south is an unincorporated community. In 1923 John Ringling bought St. Armands Key and planned a residential community around a central circle, which opened in 1928 when the bridge to the mainland was completed; the Harding Circle Historic District has been on the National Register since 2001. Sarasota itself was incorporated as a town in 1902 and as a city in 1913.

Sarasota gave its name to the Sarasota School of Architecture, a postwar modern movement whose architects adapted buildings to the area's sun, heat and breezes, with Paul Rudolph's start with Ralph Twitchell in 1941 counted as its beginning. The City encourages owners of Sarasota School buildings to seek local historic designation even when they are younger than 50 years, and City Hall itself is a designated Sarasota School building. Sarasota lists about 180 locally designated historic buildings, and any building permit affecting a designated building, structure, district or site needs a Certificate of Appropriateness, reviewed at a hearing of the Historic Preservation Board under the Secretary of the Interior's Standards. New construction on such a property must be compatible in massing, size and scale and should be removable without harming the historic property.

Inside the city limits, the City of Sarasota's Building & Permitting division reviews plans and inspects every building project, and permits are filed through the City's own online portal. Areas outside the city such as Siesta Key are unincorporated Sarasota County, where county rules and the county permit office apply. In the City of Sarasota, any work involving structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing or fire systems needs a permit. The 2026 state exemption for small single-family projects does not apply in Sarasota to work with electrical, plumbing, mechanical, gas or structural scope, nor to homes in a special flood hazard area, and it must be requested from the Building Official in writing.

In Sarasota's residential districts, accessory structures under 20 feet tall must stay at least 5 feet from side and rear lot lines and out of the required front yard, and their footprint counts toward the lot's maximum building coverage; in multifamily projects the setback is 10 feet. The zoning code expressly allows patios, gazebos and private barbecue pits as accessory structures, and treats an outdoor grill as an incidental cooking facility that does not create a second dwelling unit. In Sarasota, accessory structures may not be placed in the required waterfront setback, which is 30 feet from the mean high-water line on bays and canals and, on the Gulf between New Pass and Big Pass, 150 feet. Structures in a waterfront setback may rise no more than 30 inches above natural grade or the seawall cap, and in the Gulf-front setback even those need approval by the City Commission at a public hearing. How your kitchen is classified, we clarify with the City during planning.

In September 2024 Hurricane Helene pushed 5 to 7 feet of storm surge above ground from the Anclote River south to Longboat Key and damaged numerous structures in Sarasota County's coastal areas. Two weeks later Hurricane Milton made landfall on Siesta Key as a Category 3 hurricane, with 4 to 6 feet of surge from Longboat Key to Venice and a gust of 89 knots at Sarasota's airport. Sarasota's current FEMA flood maps took effect in March 2024. St. Armands, Bird Key, Lido Shores and the downtown bayfront lie in Zone AE with base flood elevations of about 7 to 9 feet, while Lido Beach on the Gulf is mapped as coastal high-hazard Zone VE. The City takes part in FEMA's Community Rating System at Class 5, which lowers flood insurance premiums by up to 25 percent. In Sarasota's flood zones, if the cost of improving or repairing a building reaches 50 percent of the structure's market value, the building must be brought up to current flood rules, including elevation to or above the 100-year flood level. The City uses the structure value from the County Property Appraiser and lists outside improvements such as gazebos, decks, sheds, detached structures, docks and seawalls as excluded from the calculation.

In the City of Sarasota, removing or relocating any tree over 4.5 inches in trunk diameter needs a City permit, even when the tree is dead, and grand trees such as live oaks of 24 inches or more may only be removed under narrow exceptions. Mangroves inside the city are regulated by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and the City will not issue a removal permit without the state mangrove permit. The City of Sarasota has its own marine turtle lighting ordinance, in effect since 1999, which applies to beachfront properties on Lido Key. Florida's wildlife agency recommends that light near nesting beaches be kept low, shielded and long-wavelength, using amber, orange or red LEDs above 560 nanometers.