Alternative Text Description for Coastal Building Zone

TABLE OF CONTENTS

MAP OVERVIEW

This map depicts the possible extent of the Coastal Building Zone (CBZ) of the state of Florida. The Coastal Building Zone represents regulatory areas along Florida's coastline where specific construction and activity requirements apply according to Florida Statutes. The map shows a continuous zone following Florida's Gulf of America and Atlantic Ocean coastlines, including the mainland coast, barrier islands, and the Florida Keys.

GEOGRAPHIC CONTEXT

The map covers the entire state of Florida and portions of neighboring states to the north, including southern Georgia and Alabama. Major cities labeled on the map include Jacksonville along the northeastern Atlantic coast, Orlando in the central interior, Tampa along the central Gulf of America coast, Cape Coral on the southwestern coast, and Miami at the southern tip of the peninsula. The map extends from the panhandle region in the northwest (near Pensacola) through the peninsula and down to the Florida Keys island chain in the south. Surrounding waters include the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Gulf of America to the west and south. Additional cities visible include Tallahassee, Gainesville, Lakeland, St. Petersburg, Port St. Lucie, West Palm Beach, and Coral Springs.

KEY INSIGHTS

The Coastal Building Zone forms an almost continuous band following Florida's entire coastline. The zone is notably wider in areas with coastal barrier islands compared to mainland coastal areas, reflecting different regulatory criteria for these geographic features. The zone encompasses the entire Florida Keys archipelago in Monroe County. The most extensive zones appear along the Gulf of America coast from the panhandle through the southwest coast, and along barrier island systems on both coasts. The northern Atlantic coast from Jacksonville southward shows a consistent but narrower zone. The CBZ does not extend significantly inland except in areas with broad coastal barrier island systems or where specific regulatory criteria apply.

VISUAL ELEMENTS

Coastal Building Zone

This layer represents the regulatory extent of Florida's Coastal Building Zone as defined by state statutes, showing areas where coastal construction and activity requirements apply.

Coastal Building Zone Boundary (black outline with white fill pattern)

Appearance:

The zone is depicted with a thick black outline forming an irregular boundary that follows the coastline. The area has a white or light fill pattern with dashed edges distinguishing it from the gray background.

Distribution:

The zone appears along the entire perimeter of Florida's coastline, including the Gulf of America coast from the panhandle to the southwest, the Atlantic coast from the northeast to the southeast, and encompassing all of the Florida Keys.

Notable locations:

Significant concentrations include the panhandle coastal area, the Big Bend region where Florida's peninsula meets the panhandle, the Tampa Bay area, the southwest Gulf of America coast, the Atlantic coast barrier island systems near Jacksonville and Palm Coast, and the entire Miami metropolitan coastal area extending through the Keys.

Spatial patterns:

The zone width varies based on geographic features and regulatory criteria. Wider zones appear in coastal barrier island areas (up to 5,000 feet landward from regulatory lines) compared to mainland areas (1,500 feet landward from regulatory lines). The zone follows the complex geometry of Florida's coastline, including bays, inlets, and coastal irregularities.

SYMBOL GUIDE

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This map represents a regulatory zone rather than a physical geographic feature. The extent of the Coastal Building Zone varies based on whether an area has an established Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL), and whether the location is on the mainland or on a coastal barrier island. The criteria for defining the zone boundaries differ across these scenarios, resulting in varying zone widths along different portions of the coast. Coastal barrier islands are defined as geological features surrounded by marine waters fronting the open waters of the Gulf of America or the Atlantic Ocean, not separated from the mainland by artificial channelization. All land area in the Florida Keys located within Monroe County is included in the CBZ regardless of other criteria. This map depicts the "possible extent" of the zone based on statutory definitions.

DATA CONTEXT

Data Source:

This data was created by applying the regulatory criteria specified in Florida Statutes s. 161.54 (Definitions) and s. 161.55 (Requirements for activities or construction within the coastal building zone). The delineation methodology varies by location type: Mainland areas with CCCL extend from Mean High Water (MHW) to 1,500 feet landward from the CCCL measured perpendicularly; Coastal barrier islands with CCCL extend from MHW to either 5,000 feet landward from the CCCL or the entire island, whichever is less; Mainland areas without CCCL cover all land seaward from the most landward boundary of the velocity zone (V-zone) fronting the Gulf of America or Atlantic Ocean; Coastal barrier islands without CCCL cover from MHW to the landward boundary of the island. Data source layer name: CBZ_JUN21.

Definition Query:

No definition query or filter criteria was applied to this layer.

Scale Information:

The map shows the entire state of Florida at a regional scale appropriate for understanding the statewide extent of the regulatory zone. This scale is suitable for general planning and policy overview but may not show fine-scale details of zone boundaries.

Coordinate System:

NAD_1983_HARN_Florida_GDL_Albers (WKID 3087)

Time Period of Content:

The data layer name indicates a June 2021 version (CBZ_JUN21).

Limitations:

This polygon depicts the "possible extent" of the Coastal Building Zone based on statutory criteria, suggesting that actual regulatory determinations may require site-specific verification. The accuracy of the zone boundaries depends on the accuracy of underlying datasets including Mean High Water lines, Coastal Construction Control Lines, velocity zones, and island boundary delineations. Users should contact the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for issues or questions regarding this data. Smaller islands attached to main barrier islands were considered part of the coastal barrier island when delineating the CBZ area.

Map Coverage:

The map covers the entire state of Florida and includes portions of neighboring states (southern Georgia and Alabama) for geographic context. The mapped data extends along all of Florida's Gulf of America and Atlantic Ocean coastlines, including the panhandle, peninsula, and Florida Keys.

The alternative text description of this map was AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies.