The Fort Pierce City Commission on April 21 adopted ordinance 205-16, a zoning text amendment that establishes minimum operating and safety standards for boarding houses and rooming houses and restricts where new such uses may locate.

City planning manager Kevin Freeman told the commission the amendment is intended “to establish and enforce standards for boarding houses and rooming houses in the city” and to protect “the health, safety, and appearance and general welfare of the citizens of the city.” The text references the International Property Maintenance Code, the Florida Building Code and the fire code as the basis for many of the standards.

The ordinance defines boarding and rooming houses as buildings used for lodging with rooms rented individually, and excludes adult congregate living facilities and bed-and-breakfasts. It requires minimum unit sizes (70 square feet minimum and 50 square feet per occupant when a room houses multiple people), minimum room widths, separate utility connections for individual units, operable windows or secondary egress, and a prohibition on cooking inside individual units. Fire- and smoke-protection systems must be in place and exterior premises must be maintained to prevent hazards such as stagnant water.

The text amendment also sets parking standards for these uses aligned with the city’s off-street parking rules, and allows a reduction in required parking where public-transportation stops are within a quarter mile; staff recommended encouraging bicycle racks and sidewalk improvements in those cases. Existing boarding or rooming houses located in the city’s R-5 (high-density residential) or C-2 (neighborhood commercial/transitional) districts will have two years from adoption to obtain a conditional-use permit and demonstrate compliance; properties outside those districts must apply immediately for a conditional use and, if needed, a change of use with the building department.

Commissioners said the ordinance responds to longstanding neighborhood complaints about conversions of single-family houses to multiple-occupancy rentals. “I’m seeing in our community where we have approved single family homes, and then the single family homes are being turned into rent room in a single family home,” Commissioner Gaines said during the hearing.

Public commenter Diane Williams Johnson described ongoing problems near Lincoln Park Academy, including alleged code and safety issues at a nearby rental property; staff said those complaints would be handled through code enforcement and, where applicable, the building department and police.

The commission voted unanimously to adopt Ordinance 205-16. The ordinance will be enforced as civil violations under the city code and implemented through the technical review committee, planning board and, where required, the commission.

The ordinance text, staff presentation and the commission’s action tie the new rules to accepted building and safety codes and provide a path for existing legally zoned properties to remain in use while requiring compliance planning.

The adoption concludes a multi-year effort that included public hearings beginning in 2021, additional consultation with the building and fire departments and a planning-board review in 2023.