Overview
Code type
euclidean
Naming convention
mixed
Lehigh Acres is an unincorporated community (census-designated place) in eastern Lee County, FL. It has no independent municipal zoning authority; all zoning is governed by the Lee County Land Development Code (LDC), Chapter 34. Lee County uses a conventional euclidean framework with agricultural (AG-2), single-family residential (RS-1 through RS-5), multi-family (RM-2), mobile-home (RMH-2), commercial (CN, CC, CG, CT, CPD), mixed-use (MPD), and industrial (IL, IG, IPD) districts, plus a rich set of planned-development overlays. Full district enumeration and dimensional standards require live municode retrieval which is blocked in this pass. coastal-zone sub-flag applied because Lee County (the governing jurisdiction) is Gulf-coast-adjacent, though Lehigh Acres itself is inland (~15 miles east of Fort Myers).
Worth knowing
- Lehigh Acres is an unincorporated CDP — no municipal government and no independent zoning authority. All zoning is Lee County LDC Chapter 34. Mailing address is 'Lehigh Acres, FL' but the local government is Lee County.
- Lehigh Acres is a pre-platted community originating from the 1950s Lehigh Acres Land and Cattle Co. / Lee Ratner subdivision. Tens of thousands of small single-family 'lots of record' (typically ~10,000 sf 80x125 ft) were recorded before modern zoning, creating a large vested-rights population and significant Bert Harris Act exposure for any aggregation or down-zoning.
- V1 profile contained parse-error 'districts' whose names were column headers from the LDC dimensional table (e.g. 'Minimum Lot Area', 'Maximum Height', 'FAR', 'Other Parameters', 'Parameter'). V1 overlays similarly contained '[SIAS' garbage codes. Full v2 regeneration clears these; district roster and overlay catalog require live municode retrieval which is blocked in this pass.
+ 4 more in Quirks & notes
Districts
spec 1
| Code | Name | Category | Min lot | Height | Coverage | FAR | Du/ac | Parking | Setbacks F/S/R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNDER_REVIEW | Lee County LDC Chapter 34 zoning district roster — UNDER REVIEW | spec | —[1] | —[2] | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
Confidence: confirmed partial under review not found
Overlays
LACP
Lee County Comprehensive Plan — Lehigh Acres Community Plan (Future Land Use sub-element)
SPECGeographic boundary of the Lehigh Acres Community Plan planning area, generally coterminous with the Lehigh Acres CDP in eastern Lee County.
| character_area_policies | under_review |
|---|---|
| density_ranges_by_flu_category | under_review |
| town_center_policies | under_review |
| note | Lee Plan Lehigh Acres Community Plan sets FLU-map-driven density, use, and character-area policies for Lehigh Acres parcels. Specific density caps per FLU category require live retrieval of the Lee Plan sub-element. |
APZ-RSW
Lee County Airport Zoning — Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) AICUZ / FAA Part 77
APParcels within FAA Part 77 imaginary surfaces for Southwest Florida International Airport (KRSW); portions of southwestern Lehigh Acres near Alico Road/Corkscrew Road may fall under conical or horizontal surfaces depending on elevation and distance.
| height_limit_ft | under_review — varies by location relative to Part 77 surfaces |
|---|---|
| use_restrictions_in_APZ | under_review — AICUZ-incompatible uses (schools, high-density residential, assembly) may be restricted in Accident Potential Zones |
| faa_7460_filing_threshold_ft | 200 |
| note | RSW is approximately 8-12 miles southwest of central Lehigh Acres; conical/horizontal Part 77 surfaces likely intersect western Lehigh Acres parcels. Exact geometry under_review. |
FP-SFHA
FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) — Lee County FIRM
FPParcels within FEMA-mapped SFHA on the Lee County FIRM (Zone AE, AH, X-shaded, etc.). Portions of Lehigh Acres, particularly along Able Canal, Orange River tributaries, and low-elevation eastern parcels, are mapped SFHA.
| base_flood_elevation_ft | per FIRM panel — varies |
|---|---|
| freeboard_ft | under_review — Lee County local freeboard above BFE |
| fill_restrictions | under_review |
| substantial_improvement_threshold_pct | 50 |
| note | Lee County participates in NFIP and the Community Rating System (CRS); local freeboard amount and compensatory-storage rules require live LDC retrieval. |
State preemptions
Qualifying condition
Statutory applicability to Florida COUNTIES under Fla. Stat. §125.01055(7) (the county-government analog of §166.04151(7)). Lehigh Acres is unincorporated, so Lee County is the qualifying local government. Per-parcel trigger: parcel must be in a commercial, industrial, or mixed-use zoning category under Lee County LDC Chapter 34 AND ≥40% of residential units must be affordable at or below 120% AMI for ≥30 years. Lee County has adopted Live Local implementation guidance through the County's Community Development department; the county-published highest-residential-density figure and tallest-residential-building-within-1-mile values that drive the height/density floor for Lehigh Acres parcels were not retrieved in this pass (municode blocker).
Source
Fla. Stat. §125.01055(7); state-overlays/florida.json FL_LIVE_LOCAL_ACT_SB102_2023 and FL_LIVE_LOCAL_ACT_SB328_2024_AMENDMENTS
Effect
On qualifying commercial/industrial/mixed-use parcels in Lehigh Acres: (a) multifamily permitted by administrative/by-right approval; (b) density floor = highest residential density allowed anywhere in unincorporated Lee County (county-published figure under_review); (c) height floor = tallest residential zoning height permitted within 1 mile (or, under SB 328 adjacency-tempering, capped at 150% of tallest allowed residential within 1 mile if parcel abuts single-family); (d) ≥20% parking reduction mandatory, stronger reductions near major transit (Lehigh Acres has no fixed-rail transit and limited LeeTran bus coverage — major-transit-stop status for most parcels likely false); (e) hotel-to-affordable conversion pathway via SB 328.
Retrieval issue
Lee County LDC Chapter 34 live retrieval blocked by municode SPA rendering; county-published Live Local guidance page (likely at leegov.com) not fetched in this pass. Highest-residential-density-in-jurisdiction and tallest-residential-building-within-1-mile values needed to compute the exact height/density floor for Lehigh Acres parcels remain under_review.
FL Short-Term Rental Preemption — §509.032applies
Qualifying condition
Statewide preemption under Fla. Stat. §509.032(7): Lee County (as the zoning authority for unincorporated Lehigh Acres) cannot prohibit STRs or regulate their duration/frequency beyond rules applied uniformly to all residential dwellings, unless a Lee County ordinance pre-dating June 1, 2011 is grandfathered. Lee County does have a vacation-rental registration program and noise/occupancy rules, but the duration/frequency preemption holds.
Source
Fla. Stat. §509.032(7); state-overlays/florida.json FL_SHORT_TERM_RENTAL_PREEMPTION_509_032
Effect
STRs cannot be categorically banned in Lehigh Acres residential zoning districts. State DBPR licensure required; Lee County may impose general zoning, noise, parking, and life-safety rules applied uniformly to all residential uses. Duration caps and frequency limits are preempted.
FL Comprehensive Plan Consistency — Ch. 163.3180applies
Qualifying condition
Statewide requirement under the Community Planning Act. All Lee County development orders (including those for Lehigh Acres) must be consistent with the Lee County Comprehensive Plan and concurrency requirements (transportation, potable water, sewer, solid waste, drainage, schools, parks). The Lee Plan includes a specific 'Lehigh Acres Community Plan' sub-element adopted as part of the Lee Plan that guides land-use decisions in the Lehigh Acres planning area.
Source
Fla. Stat. §163.3180; Lee County Comprehensive Plan (Lee Plan) — Lehigh Acres Community Plan sub-element.
Effect
All development in Lehigh Acres must demonstrate Lee Plan consistency; amendments to the Lehigh Acres Community Plan sub-element require comprehensive-plan amendment procedures under Ch. 163.
Qualifying condition
Fla. Stat. §125.01055(6) authorizes Lee County (as the county government for unincorporated Lehigh Acres) to approve affordable housing on any parcel zoned residential, commercial, or industrial regardless of base-zone limits when funded by State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) or State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP). Lee County participates in SHIP; Florida Housing Finance Corporation SAIL allocations may apply to Lehigh Acres projects.
Source
Fla. Stat. §125.01055(6); state-overlays/florida.json FL_AFFORDABLE_HOUSING_PREEMPTION_HB1339_2020
Effect
Lee County may approve SAIL/SHIP-funded affordable housing on Lehigh Acres parcels in any residential, commercial, or industrial district by administrative action, bypassing base-zone use restrictions.
FL Building Code Preemption — §553.73applies
Qualifying condition
Statewide preemption: Lee County (and Lehigh Acres as part thereof) must apply the Florida Building Code as the exclusive technical building code; local amendments limited to those authorized under §553.73(4). Lee County is ASCE 7 Risk Category II with 160+ mph ultimate design wind speed; FBC flood-resistant construction standards (ASCE 24) apply where parcels intersect FEMA SFHA (portions of Lehigh Acres have AE and X zone designations).
Source
Fla. Stat. §553.73; state-overlays/florida.json FL_BUILDING_CODE_PREEMPTION_553_73
Effect
Construction in Lehigh Acres is governed by the Florida Building Code; zoning (Ch. 34) sets height/setback/density but FBC governs wind, flood, and life-safety construction standards.
FL Bert J. Harris Act — §70.001applies
Qualifying condition
Statewide: property owners may bring compensation claims when governmental action 'inordinately burdens' existing use or vested rights. Lehigh Acres is a pre-platted community (Lehigh Acres Corporation 1950s-era platting) with tens of thousands of small single-family lots of record; Bert Harris exposure is particularly acute for any down-zoning, aggregation requirement, or new overlay that affects vested lot-of-record rights.
Source
Fla. Stat. §70.001; state-overlays/florida.json FL_BERT_HARRIS_ACT_70_001
Effect
Any Lee County down-zoning, new overlay, or material intensification of development restrictions affecting Lehigh Acres parcels should undergo Bert Harris inordinate-burden exposure review before adoption.
Non-applicable laws (2)
FL Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) — Ch. 161does_not_apply
Qualifying condition
CCCL is a per-parcel geographic predicate keyed to the FDEP-mapped line along open-Gulf sandy-beach coasts. Lehigh Acres is an inland community approximately 15 miles east of the Gulf of Mexico coastline in eastern Lee County; no parcels within the Lehigh Acres CDP intersect the FDEP CCCL line.
Source
FDEP CCCL mapping; state-overlays/florida.json FL_COASTAL_CONSTRUCTION_CONTROL_LINE_CH161 geographic predicate — attr city.is_in_cccl_jurisdiction = false for inland Lehigh Acres.
Effect
No FDEP CCCL permit required for construction in Lehigh Acres.
FL Coastal High Hazard Area (CHHA) — Ch. 163.3178does_not_apply
Qualifying condition
CHHA = Category 1 SLOSH inundation zone. Lehigh Acres is inland and elevated relative to Gulf storm-surge zones; per Lee County Comprehensive Plan Coastal Management Element and NOAA SLOSH modeling for Lee County, Lehigh Acres is outside the Category 1 CHHA. (Lee County does have substantial CHHA exposure on Estero Island, Pine Island, Sanibel/Captiva, and the Fort Myers Beach / Iona / San Carlos Park shoreline — but not in Lehigh Acres.)
Source
Fla. Stat. §163.3178(2)(h); Lee County Comprehensive Plan Coastal Management Element; NOAA SLOSH Category 1 mapping.
Effect
CHHA density-increase findings under §163.3178(9) are not triggered for Lehigh Acres comprehensive plan amendments.
Adopted building codes
Statewide — FL Building Code 7th ed
Click a code label to open its state-by-state adoption atlas.
Amendment history
| Date | Kind | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-19 | retrieved at | V1_URL_HINT attempted; library.municode.com JS-rendered SPA blocked direct HTML retrieval — supplement-effective date not extractable in this pass. |
Quirks & notes
- Lehigh Acres is an unincorporated CDP — no municipal government and no independent zoning authority. All zoning is Lee County LDC Chapter 34. Mailing address is 'Lehigh Acres, FL' but the local government is Lee County.
- Lehigh Acres is a pre-platted community originating from the 1950s Lehigh Acres Land and Cattle Co. / Lee Ratner subdivision. Tens of thousands of small single-family 'lots of record' (typically ~10,000 sf 80x125 ft) were recorded before modern zoning, creating a large vested-rights population and significant Bert Harris Act exposure for any aggregation or down-zoning.
- V1 profile contained parse-error 'districts' whose names were column headers from the LDC dimensional table (e.g. 'Minimum Lot Area', 'Maximum Height', 'FAR', 'Other Parameters', 'Parameter'). V1 overlays similarly contained '[SIAS' garbage codes. Full v2 regeneration clears these; district roster and overlay catalog require live municode retrieval which is blocked in this pass.
- The Lee Plan includes a dedicated Lehigh Acres Community Plan sub-element governing character-area policies and FLU-map densities for the Lehigh Acres planning area.
- Proximity to Southwest Florida International Airport (KRSW, ~8-12 miles SW) puts western Lehigh Acres parcels under FAA Part 77 imaginary surfaces; specific height limits require per-parcel Part 77 analysis.
- Portions of Lehigh Acres intersect FEMA SFHA along Able Canal and Orange River tributaries; flood-resistant construction and local freeboard apply.
- municode.com / library.municode.com is a known SPA blocker for raw HTTP fetch; any repair pass must use a browser-driven fetch (Chrome MCP) or a cached mirror to extract Chapter 34 primary text.
Formulas
Definitions
- height
- Grade to highest point of structure (per Lee County LDC Ch. 34 definitions — under_review pending live retrieval).
- lot_coverage
- Building footprint / lot area.
- far
- Gross floor area / lot area.
- du_ac
- Dwelling units per gross acre.
- setback_front
- Front property line to nearest building face.
- setback_side
- Side property line to nearest building face.
- setback_rear
- Rear property line to nearest building face.
- parking
- Spaces per dwelling unit unless noted.
Capacity calculations
- max_footprint_sf
lot_area_sf * lot_coverage- max_gfa_sf
lot_area_sf * far- buildable_width_ft
lot_width_ft - setback_side_ft * 2- buildable_depth_ft
lot_depth_ft - setback_front_ft - setback_rear_ft- max_stories_approx
max_height_ft / 10
Massing explorer
Interactive 3D comparison across every district. Drag to orbit, scroll to zoom, use the slider to walk districts, and toggle applicable overlays in the right-side panel.
Sort by
Max height
— ft
——
Floor area ratio
—
——
Lot coverage
—%
——
Setbacks (F / S / R)
— ft
——
Parking
— /unit
——
Max density
— du/ac
——
Min lot size
— sf
——
Copy zoning profile
Loading…
| District | Category | Height | FAR | Coverage | Setbacks | Parking | Density | Min lot | Overlays |
|---|
Sources & references
Citations
- [1] u
- [2] u
Research status
Data quality
15%completeness3 partial
Documented gaps
- District roster (AG-2, RS-1–RS-5, RM-2, RMH-2, CN, CC, CG, CT, CPD, MPD, IL, IG, IPD, PD overlays) not enumerated from primary source — municode SPA blocker.
- Dimensional standards (min_lot_sf, max_height_ft, lot_coverage, far, du_ac, parking, setbacks) per district not extracted.
- Lee Plan Lehigh Acres Community Plan FLU-category density caps and character-area policies not retrieved.
- FAA Part 77 surface geometry for parcels relative to RSW not analyzed at per-parcel level.
- FEMA FIRM local freeboard amount and floodplain-ordinance section reference not extracted.
- Live Local Act county-published highest-residential-density-in-jurisdiction and tallest-residential-building-within-1-mile values (which drive the SB 102 height/density floors) not retrieved from leegov.com.
- Code supplement/effective date not extractable in this pass.
Known issues
schema:v1-legacypriority:lowcohort:needs-dom-retrievalfreshness:volatileblocker:municodedata:gaps-present
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