Fences, sheds and pools in Satellite Beach

Yes in most cases: the Satellite Beach permit page lists pools and spas, fences and sheds among the work that requires a building permit, filed through the city's BS&A online portal.

The Community Development permit page groups sheds with structural changes, additions, garages, screen rooms, decks and docks, and groups pools and spas with fences, driveways and seawall work, and its FAQ names fencing and accessory structures as permit work (Satellite Beach Permit Information page). Typical submittals include a site plan or survey showing setbacks, easements and flood information where it applies. Section 30-519 puts numbers on it for fences: a permit is triggered by more than 24 feet of new permanent fence, or by replacing over 50 percent of an existing permanent fence, within any 12-month period, and a repair in the same spot needs none (City Code chapter 30, article V).

The Satellite Beach Community Development Department works from 1390 S. Patrick Drive, (321) 773-4409, Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and its forms list includes a Building Permit Application, a Lot Coverage Calculation sheet and a Request For Residential Permit Exemption (Satellite Beach Community Development forms page). Section 30-510 requires accessory structures to be included in all calculations of impervious surface and surface water runoff (City Code chapter 30, article V). Fees and review times for all permits are covered in the Satellite Beach building permits guide.

A Satellite Beach fence may be up to six feet above finished grade and may not stand in front of the outside corners of the house or in a setback next to a street.

Satellite Beach corner lots get one allowance: a side yard fence may run up to and inside the property line along the side street, as long as it is not in the front yard of any lot (City Code chapter 30, article V). A decorative wall may extend beyond the front corner of a Satellite Beach house if it meets the minimum front setback and matches the color and facade texture of the house, and on any fence beside a street the posts and stringers must face the inside of the fenced property.

East of Highway A1A, Satellite Beach fences must be plastic-coated chainlink, ultraviolet-resistant PVC or aluminum, and no more than 30 percent of any vertical surface per running foot may be opaque.

Satellite Beach Section 30-516(d) sets that oceanside material rule, and Section 30-520 explains how it reaches older fences: a nonconforming fence west of Highway A1A may be replaced as long as the nonconformity does not grow, but a fence or wall east of A1A must meet the material rule if it is replaced or if repairs pass the thresholds cross-referenced in the code (City Code chapter 30, article V). Section 30-516(c) allows masonry walls to be used for fencing, and except for decorative masonry block walls they need painted stucco, brick veneer or another painted masonry finish on both sides.

Some fences are banned everywhere in Satellite Beach. Section 30-518 prohibits barbed-wire fences, electric fences, and fences topped with broken glass, spikes or other sharp points that may cause injury, and Section 30-521 requires a developer to build a masonry wall between six and eight feet high where commercial or industrial property meets residential property (City Code chapter 30, article V).

A Satellite Beach shed or other enclosed accessory building may cover up to 400 square feet and rise up to 18 feet, and all accessory structures together may not exceed half the square footage of the house.

In Satellite Beach, Section 30-510 applies in single-family and duplex districts and sorts accessory structures into enclosed buildings such as storage sheds and cabanas, open structures such as gazebos, and customary yard structures such as barbecue pits and playground equipment; a lot may hold one enclosed building and one open structure, and none may be used as an accessory dwelling unit (City Code chapter 30, article V). The structures may not sit in a front or side yard or in an easement, must be tied down by a means the Florida Building Code authorizes, certified by a licensed engineer or architect, and may not be used for living quarters, business uses, home occupations other than storage, commercial equipment or commercial kennels.

Enclosed buildings in Satellite Beach need exterior walls of wood, glass, aluminum or masonry with stucco or another nonmetallic finish on masonry, roofs secured directly to the walls and an overhang of no more than two feet, or four feet over a driveway (City Code chapter 30, article V). Cargo trailers, utility trailers and mobile homes may not serve as storage buildings, except that a trailer may be used during permitted construction and must leave within ten days after the certificate of occupancy.

Satellite Beach requires any outdoor pool or spa deeper than 12 inches to be fully surrounded by a fence, pool enclosure or masonry wall at least four feet high that a four-inch sphere cannot pass through.

Under Satellite Beach Section 30-517 every pedestrian gate or door in that barrier needs a self-closing, self-latching device, although a house door that forms part of the enclosure is exempt, and a gate wider than six feet must be locked closed when not in use (City Code chapter 30, article V). An unattended pool under construction needs a temporary fence at least four feet high, which may stay up for no more than 90 days after the permit is issued before a permanent fence replaces it, and repairs to a required pool fence must be finished within 24 hours of notice from a city official.

State law runs alongside the Satellite Beach code. To pass final inspection and receive a certificate of completion, a residential swimming pool must meet at least one of five safety feature requirements: a barrier meeting Section 515.29, an approved safety pool cover, exit alarms rated at least 85 dB A at 10 feet on doors and windows giving direct access from the home to the pool, self-closing, self-latching doors with a release no lower than 54 inches above the floor, or an in-pool alarm certified to ASTM F2208 (Section 515.27, Florida Statutes). Section 515.29 adds that a barrier must be at least 4 feet high on the outside and that pool gates must open outward away from the pool, self-close and self-latch with the release on the pool side (Section 515.29, Florida Statutes).

A Satellite Beach pool or spa, with its deck and enclosure, must stay out of the front yard and keep at least five feet from rear and side lines and ten feet from a canal shoreline or bulkhead.

Satellite Beach Section 30-530 makes one front yard exception: on a corner lot a pool may sit in the front yard facing the secondary street if that yard is enclosed by a six-foot fence, and in that case a screen enclosure is not allowed (City Code chapter 30, article V). When any part of the pool work comes within 24 inches of an easement or setback, the contractor must submit a sealed survey from a registered surveyor after the forms are set and before the steel inspection. Section 30-531 requires at least three feet of deck or landscaping between the pool's interior wall and the house wall, and Section 30-532 caps an above-ground pool and its deck at four feet above grade.

Satellite Beach pool contractors must catch sand in a 55-gallon barrel when pumping water into city rights-of-way and may pump for no more than seven consecutive days per construction phase without approval.

Section 30-533 calls for an open-top barrel with no holes in the side or bottom, emptied before sand reaches the top, and lets the building official stop construction when the procedure is not followed; sand and debris that reach city rights-of-way, including the storm drain invert, must be cleaned up before each inspection (City Code chapter 30, article V). Section 30-534 allows more than seven days of pumping only for causes such as unusual rain or heavy groundwater, with the building official's authorization. Outside construction, Section 30-535 says pumped pool water goes onto the owner's own Satellite Beach property, not into the street, a canal or the ocean.

Last verified: October 21, 2026, by rereading article V of the Satellite Beach land development code, the Community Development permit and forms pages, and Sections 515.27 and 515.29 of the Florida Statutes.