Annexation into Melbourne

Annexation makes a property in unincorporated Brevard County part of the City of Melbourne, and it must follow Chapter 171 of the Florida Statutes (City of Melbourne Annexation page).

The City of Melbourne describes two main routes under state law. In a referendum, the registered voters of a defined area vote on whether that area joins the city; in a voluntary annexation, an individual owner petitions to bring a particular property in (City of Melbourne Annexation page). Melbourne's own annexation chapter, Chapter 5 of the Land Development Code, governs only voluntary annexations and petitioned contractions, and it treats any agreement requiring annexation as a voluntary request (Melbourne Land Development Code Chapter 5, Section 5.03).

An owner who annexes into Melbourne does not keep the county's land use and zoning. The city states that the owner must also submit petitions for a City future land use designation and a City zoning classification (City of Melbourne Annexation page), and Melbourne's code says that once an annexation is approved the owner automatically takes on an obligation to propose those designations if they were not filed at the same time (Melbourne Land Development Code Section 5.05).

Melbourne makes annexation the price of city water and sewer for unincorporated land that touches the city limits, and it ties land that does not yet touch the limits to a signed promise to annex later (City of Melbourne Annexation page).

In the city's words, Melbourne requires the annexation of contiguous properties within the unincorporated county prior to providing water and/or sewer service. Owners of non-contiguous land who want to tie into city water or wastewater lines must execute a pre-annexation agreement, which obliges the property to annex at the time it becomes contiguous to the Melbourne boundary (City of Melbourne Annexation page). For vacant land, the city adds that it can provide water service inside its water service area, contingent upon annexation (City of Melbourne Annexation page).

The Melbourne Annexation page lists what the city sees as the benefits of joining: police and fire services, participation through the Melbourne City Council, stable land use and zoning rules, and a 10 percent reduction in the water utility bill for city residents (City of Melbourne Annexation page). Those are the city's own statements of its case. The page directs questions to the Community Development Department at 321-608-7500 (City of Melbourne Annexation page).

Development plans can change the impact fee math in Melbourne. When an annexation application includes a definite plan of development, the city may agree to reduce impact fees, but not below what the county, including its water and sewer hook-up or connection fees, would have charged in the unincorporated area, and Melbourne's water and sewer connection charges are never set below the city's regular charge (Melbourne Land Development Code Section 5.05).

Melbourne's code says a voluntary annexation takes approximately 12 weeks in most cases and needs one Planning and Zoning Board hearing and two City Council hearings (Melbourne Land Development Code Section 5.05).

The Melbourne sequence in Melbourne Land Development Code Section 5.05 runs in this order:

1. The applicant meets at least once with the Community Development Department before applying, to discuss submittal requirements, a future land use designation and zoning.
2. The applicant files a properly executed annexation application with all attachments. City staff review whether serving the property is in Melbourne's best interest and whether city water or a public or investor-owned sewer system is or can be made available, consistent with the comprehensive plan.
3. The Planning and Zoning Board holds a public hearing, takes public comment and recommends whether to annex.
4. The Melbourne City Council holds two public hearings with first and second readings of the implementing ordinance, and may approve, approve with conditions or deny it.

The Melbourne application itself must be signed by the property owner or owners with a notarized signature, and Section 5.06 of the Land Development Code lists the exhibits due at submittal: two signed and sealed surveys by a Florida-registered surveyor showing the boundaries and any improvements, a legal description with the exact acreage, the required fees, copies of any deed restrictions, variances, easements or parking agreements, any plans already submitted or approved in the unincorporated area, and a site plan or a statement of the intended use.

State law adds its own Melbourne-relevant notice steps for a voluntary annexation ordinance. Under Florida Statutes Section 171.044, the city confirms the petition bears the signatures of all owners in the area, publishes notice at least once each week for 2 consecutive weeks, sends a copy of the notice by certified mail to the Brevard County commission not fewer than 10 days before publishing, and files the adopted ordinance with the clerk of the circuit court, the county's chief administrative officer and the Department of State within 7 days of adoption.

Melbourne's staff, Planning and Zoning Board and City Council may only support an annexation that meets six standards set out in Melbourne Land Development Code Section 5.07.

The Melbourne standards ask whether the petition will have a favorable or unfavorable effect on the city's budget; whether it will harm established levels of service for public facilities, and how and when city services will be provided; whether it could conflict with the comprehensive plan; whether it has been executed by all owners of the real property; whether the boundary is reasonably compact and contiguous to the corporate city limits; and whether the petition is consistent with Chapters 187, 163 and 171 of the Florida Statutes (Melbourne Land Development Code Section 5.07).

Neighbors in Brevard County get a say through the city's interlocal notice rule. Any affected municipality and the county are notified of Melbourne annexation requests and may report on them, with comments passed to the Planning and Zoning Board and City Council (Melbourne Land Development Code Chapter 5, Section 5.11). State law also bars a voluntary annexation that would create an enclave, an unincorporated pocket surrounded by the city (Florida Statutes Section 171.044).

Annexing a Melbourne single-family property of five acres or less costs $625.00, a package that includes the plan amendment and zoning, while larger residential and all non-residential land carry a $0 fee plus legal advertising (Melbourne Community Development fee schedule).

Other Melbourne costs sit outside that fee list. The two signed and sealed surveys required by the code must be signed by a surveyor registered in the State of Florida (Section 5.06). The same Melbourne fee list prices a small scale Comprehensive Plan amendment at $1,438.00 and a large scale amendment at $2,188.00, each with its own legal advertisement fee (Melbourne Community Development fee schedule).

A referendum annexation under Florida Statutes Section 171.0413 starts with a city such as Melbourne, not the owner, and the ordinance takes effect only if the voters of the area approve it.

For Melbourne or any Florida city, the referendum route requires at least two advertised public hearings before the ordinance is adopted, then a vote of the registered electors in the area proposed for annexation, held at the next regular election or a special election no sooner than 30 days after final adoption (Florida Statutes Section 171.0413). If a majority votes against, the ordinance does not take effect and the same area cannot be the subject of another annexation ordinance by that city for 2 years (Florida Statutes Section 171.0413). Where more than 70 percent of the acres are owned by people or entities who are not registered electors of the area, the owners of more than 50 percent of the acres must consent before the referendum (Florida Statutes Section 171.0413).

Before starting that process, the city must prepare a feasibility study showing how it will extend urban services, including water and sewer mains, to the area, and file it with the Brevard County commission not fewer than 15 days before beginning (Florida Statutes Section 171.042). Small developed pockets follow a separate state rule: an enclave of 110 acres or less may be annexed by interlocal agreement with the county, or, when it has fewer than 25 registered voters, by ordinance approved by at least 60 percent of the registered voters living in it (Florida Statutes Section 171.046).

Yes, but Melbourne allows contraction, its term for returning land to unincorporated status, only when a parcel meets all five criteria in Melbourne Land Development Code Section 5.10.

The Melbourne criteria require that no city services can be provided or are available in the area; that the contraction will not create or enlarge an enclave; that the property is physically separated from the rest of the city by water, wetland, a railroad line or another obstacle; that the county finds a plan of services by the county or another city acceptable; and that the city cannot economically provide services there (Melbourne Land Development Code Section 5.10). Contraction also has to follow the state procedures the section lists from Chapter 171 (Melbourne Land Development Code Section 5.10).

Either way, the boundary change is recorded. Melbourne's code requires every City Council action to annex or contract the city boundaries to be recorded in the Public Records of Brevard County and filed with the Florida Department of State, and the official zoning map is amended on the ordinance's effective date (Melbourne Land Development Code Section 5.12). Fees for rezoning and plan amendments are covered in the Melbourne planning and zoning guide.

Last verified: October 21, 2026, against the City of Melbourne Annexation page, the Community Development fee list as of July 1, 2025, Chapter 5 of the Melbourne Land Development Code and Florida Statutes Sections 171.042, 171.044, 171.0413 and 171.046.