Ordinance Creating Section 20-233 Family Homestead Exemption of the LDR (LDR-0011-2025)

This ordinance, LDR-0011-2025, creates Section 20-233 of the DeSoto County Land Development Regulations to establish a "Family Homestead Exemption." This exemption allows property owners to convey a portion of their land to an immediate family member for use solely as a homestead, notwithstanding the density or intensity assigned to the parcel in the Comprehensive Plan. This provision is based on Florida Statute 163.3179 and a previously adopted policy (Policy 1.1.15) in the Comprehensive Plan.

Key Requirements for Approval:

• Parent Parcel: Must be in A-10 or A-5 zoning districts, a legal lot of record, and owned for a minimum of two consecutive years by the person conveying the property.
• Recipient: Parcels can only be conveyed to an "immediate family member" (grandparent, parent, stepparent, adopted parent, sibling, child, stepchild, adopted child, or grandchild).
• Lot Size: New parcels must be a minimum of one-half acre and have frontage on a public road, publicly maintained right-of-way, private street, or a driveway within a recorded ingress/egress easement built to Engineering Detail D-5 standards.
• Subdivision Limit: A parent parcel can be divided for a maximum of 6 lots under this exemption; more than 6 lots require a full subdivision plat.
• Application: Requires a certified boundary survey, legal description, deed of the parent parcel (showing 2-year ownership), proposed covenants and restrictions, and a joint affidavit from the owner and family member.
• Building Permit: The immediate family member must apply for a building permit for a homestead within 6 months of recording the exemption approval.

Limits on Transferability:

• The conveyed parcel must be used solely as the homestead for twenty years from the approval date.
• Transfer before 20 years is restricted unless authorized by the Board or administratively released due to death or institutionalization of the intended family member.
• Covenants and restrictions must be executed and recorded at the applicant's expense, enforceable by DeSoto County.