Commercial land in Starke, FL: zoning, utilities and approvals

What approvals does commercial land need in Starke, FL?

A site plan comes first for a commercial or industrial use. The Land Development Code the city posts lists a site plan "received and approved" for a site with "Any commercial activity" or "Any industrial activity," and it says "Site plans are required prior to construction and should be prepared by a registered professional engineer."^[1]

The code asks the plan to show the land's constraints: "Any wells, septic tanks, or septic drain fields on the property or within two-hundred (200) feet of the property boundary," the "Location and dimensions of all existing and proposed utility poles and guylines, fire hydrants, meters, water lines, sewer lines, and easements," and "The 100-year flood elevation, minimum required floor elevation," along with the floodplain boundaries.^[1]

What to do with this: when you compare two Starke parcels, ask an engineer to price the site plan items for each one, namely the wells and septic within 200 feet, the utility lines and the floodplain, because each can change what the land costs to prepare. Ask the city for a pre-application meeting before you close, not after.

Which Starke zoning district fits commercial or industrial land?

The code ties districts to land use categories: "The following zoning districts are allowable within areas designated as COMMERCIAL (C)," and "The following zoning districts are allowed within the INDUSTRIAL land use category."^[1] Beyond the business districts, it lists Agricultural AGR and Planned Unit Development PUD.^[1]

The I-1 Light Industrial district is meant to provide for "warehousing, wholesaling, and offices and shops of small contractors as well as research operations and light manufacturing concerns."^[1] The I-2 General Industrial district allows "All uses permitted by right in the I-1 (light industrial) district" plus "Agricultural feed and grain packaging, blending and storage facilities," "Asphalt and concrete products or central mixing and proportioning plants" and "Chemical industries."^[1]

For land with highway frontage, read the B-3 purpose statement, which describes businesses that "primarily serve the needs of the traveling public."^[1] The buyer's checklist quotes the B-2 and B-3 purposes in full.

What to do with this: do not buy land for a use because a nearby site has it. Ask the Building and Zoning Department which district and land use category the parcel is in today, and read that district's list of uses against your plan.

Can land in Starke be rezoned for commercial use?

The code limits what a rezoning can do: "Under no circumstance shall any district be established, combined, amended, or abolished that would be inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan until such time as the Comprehensive Plan is amended to allow such action."^[1] A request that conflicts with the plan therefore has to deal with the plan first. A zoning change ends with a vote, because the Administrative Official updates the zoning map after "the amendments to district boundaries of rezoning are adopted by the City Commission."^[1]

The city's Building & Zoning page posts three forms for this kind of request: one for Comprehensive Plan amendments, one for Land Development Code amendments, and one for variances.^[3]

Our October 2026 research did not find the city's rezoning fee amounts or its public hearing steps in text we could quote, so this page lists neither.

What to do with this: if land is not zoned for your use, ask the Building and Zoning Department which of the three applications fits, what it costs and how long the city takes, and make approval a contingency in any contract.

How much can be built on commercial land in Starke?

The Comprehensive Plan the city posts includes a policy that development "shall be limited to a floor area ratio of 0.5." It explains that "Floor area ratio is the ratio of building area that may be constructed relative to the amount of land area available (e.g., a 10,000 square foot parcel may contain up to 5,000 square feet of building area where the floor area ratio equals 0.5)."^[2] The policy carries an exception: "Except as necessary to provide adequate space to meet the convenience shopping needs of the City's population."^[2]

What to do with this: ask the Building and Zoning Department which land use categories this policy covers for your parcel and whether the convenience shopping exception could apply to your project, and size your concept against the plan's own example before you pay for design.

Do water and sewer reach commercial land in Starke?

It depends on where the parcel sits. For a subdivision, the code says "Where a publicly-owned sanitary sewer system is within one hundred (100) feet of the property line, the developer shall provide sanitary sewer services to each lot within the subdivision."^[1] Where the City Commission finds that "lots cannot be served by the extension of an existing publicly-owned sanitary sewer," "an alternate method of sewage disposal for each lot may be used," and "Costs of installing sanitary sewer facilities shall be the responsibility of the developer."^[1]

The plan adds capacity tests. It requires "availability of the adopted level of service for wastewater collection and treatment, solid waste collection, stormwater and drainage facilities, and potable water supply and distribution concurrent with the issuance of development permits for any type or intensity of future land uses."^[2] It also says "future development shall be encouraged in areas where public facilities are available," and that the city intends to "discourage the development or extension of commercial strips, provide for mixed use developments where appropriate, and support the development of areas which are already served by public utilities."^[2]

Where a well is involved, the plan says "An Interim Wellhead Protection area shall be established as a circular area with a fixed radius of two hundred (200) feet and shall be drawn utilizing each well as the center of the circle."^[2] The city's statement on impact fees is on the buyer's checklist.

What to do with this: for land at the edge of town, ask the city's utility how far the nearest public sewer line is from the parcel boundary, since the subdivision rule turns on 100 feet. If neither water nor sewer is at the boundary, price a well and a septic system, and map the 200-foot wellhead circle against your building footprint.

What is the US 301 bypass water and sewer contract?

The Bradford County Telegraph reported that the Starke City Commission "voted unanimously Sept. 3 to award a $5.86 million contract to extend water and sewer service to the U.S. 301 bypass, a project that came in less than half of what the city had budgeted for it."^[5] That is a contract award, not a finished extension. Our October 2026 research did not find which parcels the extension reaches or when it will be complete, because the report's full text was behind a paywall.

Separately, the Telegraph ran a May 26, 2026 story headlined "Plan offers look at future fairgrounds, airport and bypass development."^[6] Bradford County, not the City of Starke, also acted on land along the same highway: "About 6 acres of farmland along U.S. 301 near Lawtey is now designated for commercial use. Bradford County commissioners approved a land use change and rezoning Sept. 22."^[7] Neither item is a Starke approval.

What to do with this: if you are pricing land along the bypass, ask the city for the extension's route map and service date, and for any parcel the line does not reach, get the cost of a well, septic or a private extension before you make an offer. The development tracker follows the public record on each project.

Who handles zoning for land outside the Starke city limits?

The Bradford County zoning page says "This Zoning Dept is responsible for all other areas in Bradford County."^[4] The city's rules above apply inside Starke, so for a parcel outside the city the county's office is the starting point.

What to do with this: before you spend on due diligence for rural land near Starke, confirm in writing which office zones the parcel, then ask that office for the district, the land use designation and the approvals your plan needs.

What does our research not show about Starke commercial land?

The city posts a "City's Future Land Use Map" and a "City's Zoning Map" as PDFs.^[3] Our October 2026 research could not read parcel-level designations from them, so this page names no designation for any parcel beyond the COMMERCIAL (C) and INDUSTRIAL categories the code uses.

It also did not find acreage, per-acre prices, the city's rezoning fees or its hearing steps, or what Bradford County charges in impact fees for land outside the city.

What to do with this: treat every parcel as unverified until you hold the city's zoning and future land use answer in writing, the engineer's utility estimate and a recorded deed history from the Clerk.