Vacant Land and Wetlands in Florida

We get a good number of calls from buyers looking to purchase vacant land here in Central Florida. One of the issues that comes up is wetlands. It’s environmentally protected land that cannot be disturbed without a permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FL DEP). County and/or municipal (where applicable) governments could also require a permit to disturb environmentally protected land. 

There isn’t much vacant land left in Central Florida zoned for single family residences or agriculture that doesn’t have some wetlands on it. Many parcels are 100% wetlands. 

Below is some information to help determine if a property may have wetlands and each counties zoning department website or staff can then let you know the requirements to build on any specific parcel of land. Please note that the county website resources are informational and may not be 100% reliable. It’s a good, cursory first check. 

When you’re ready to make an offer on a property, please contact us at 407-765-2912. We would be glad to do that for you and negotiate terms on your behalf.

Wetlands in Seminole County, FL

1. Go to the Seminole County Property Appraiser’s Website, 
2. Search for the property either by address, if available, or parcel ID, 
3. Click on “Show Map” and zoom out one or two clicks,
4. On the top right, select the layers icon,
5. Under “Environmental”, select “Wetlands (FWS)”. 
6. The areas that are determined to be wetlands are in green. 

Seminole County’s Zoning Department can be a resource to help confirm zoning, wetlands, and other requirements to build on a parcel of land. 

Wetlands in Orange County, FL 

1. Microsoft Edge is recommended at the moment. It is not working in Chrome at the moment. 
2. Go to the Orange County InfoMap, click the appropriate search function along the top and select that parcel in the left column. 
3. On the bottom left, click on Layers > select Environmental > National Wetland Inventory and wetlands will show in green. 

Wetlands in Volusia County, FL 

1. Microsoft Edge is recommended at the moment. It is not working in Chrome at the moment. 
2. Go to the Volusia County Property Appraiser’s website click “Search” and look up the property.
3. Click on Maps, then Map Kiosk, and search by that parcel ID and select the parcel in the left column. 
4. On the bottom left, click on Layers > select Environmental > Wetlands and the ‘+’ > then SJRWMD Wetlands (St John’s River Water Management District) or Wetlands NWI Outline (National Fish and Wildlife Service Wetlands Inventory).
5. You can add a color overlay by clicking the “>” and turning on a layer visualization. 
6. You can add an aerial view by selecting “Aerials” at the bottom of the left column. 

Wetlands in Other Florida Counties

All 67 Florida Counties do this differently. It’s best to start with The National Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) Wetlands Mapper to determine wetlands and FEMA’s Flood Zone Map to determine the flood zone(s) of a specific property. Then, contact that county’s zoning department for more information on what’s required to build on a parcel of land. Just Google, “<Name> County Zoning Department”. 

Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FL DEP)

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is an excellent resource. The following information was provided by them that’s been very helpful for several of our customers. 

The FL DEP defines wetlands as “those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or ground water at a frequency and a duration sufficient to support, and under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soils. Soils present in wetlands generally are classified as hydric or alluvial, or possess characteristics that are associated with reducing soil conditions.”

If you own, are buying, or representing someone buying a property with potential wetlands on it, we recommend that you see the attached Wetland Determinations and Impacts FAQ and the following:

 Where do I start? How do I know if I have wetlands?

1. Hire an environmental consultant to delineate the wetlands on the parcel. You have the option to have the state come out to verify the wetland line via an “Informal Wetland Determination (IWD)” for $150.00 to determine whether or not we agree with the placement, prior to you moving forward with home design, etc. Here is the link to the Informal Wetland Determination process: Wetland Evaluation and Delineation. 
2. Design home plans in a way to reduce and minimize impacts to wetlands, considering that all approved wetland impacts will have to be mitigated for.
3. Submit an application for an Individual Environmental Resource Permit ($320.00 fee if completed online). This can be done through the green Business Portal.  (Apply > Build > Individual or Conceptual Approval Environmental Resource Permit). Please see these sample drawings as guidelines of what will be requested.   

If you have already determined the extent of wetlands on the property through an environmental survey and have site plans for development, FL DEP can verify the wetland line during our permitting process. If you have available uplands, to meet reduction and elimination criteria for development, we will request that building is in the uplands prior to any wetland impacts. If only a small, isolated section of wetlands is impacted, there is the possibility the activity would be exempt.

Elimination and Reduction of Impacts

 

FL DEP Wetland Guidance on Mitigation

The application fee for an Individual Permit is $420, if submitted via US Mail or email, or $320 if submitted using the department’s electronic business portal. The cost to purchase mitigation credits and be granted only the permit to build by the FL DEP can be substantial. This can vary by supply and demand of mitigation credits for a given geographic area. In 2018, I was told the cost was $120,000 per acre in the Econ River Basin area of Chuluota. Additional costs include county and/or local municipality permitting, trucking out muck, and bringing in fill dirt suitable to build a single family home upon. More information can be found at Wetlands Mitigation and Mitigation Banking.