Martin County is one of the clearest examples of why an ALF should be treated as a property-development project and an operating-license project at the same time. Carline's 2025 correspondence with the Florida Department of Health in Martin County required both a site plan and a floor plan before th...
Miami-Dade is not a county where I would tell someone to 'find a house, get zoning, and apply to AHCA.' For a small ALF in unincorporated Miami-Dade, the zoning process itself can start a clock. The county's current Group Home/ALF process for a maximum of six residents requires a zoning verification...
Marion County is one of the counties where I would bring the kitchen into the due diligence conversation earlier than many operators expect. When Carline asked the Florida Department of Health in Marion County about an ALF project in 2025, the local response was very concrete: site plan, scaled kitc...
In Manatee County, I would check the evacuation map before I get emotionally attached to the house. That is not a general hurricane-preparedness suggestion. It is a land-use issue. The county's current code says assisted living facilities shall not be located within the Coastal Evacuation Area.
Tha...
Sometimes the absence of a detailed local checklist is useful information in itself. When Carline contacted the Florida Department of Health in Madison County in 2025 for local group-care guidance, the response was essentially a referral to the statewide Residential Group Care program. That means an...
A rural county can make an ALF property look deceptively simple. There may be less development pressure, fewer nearby facilities, and a house may seem easier to convert than property in a larger metro area. Liberty County is exactly where I would resist that assumption. The public process is smaller...
Levy County is a good example of why I do not like asking only, 'Is an ALF allowed here?' The more useful question is, 'What local use is this facility going to be classified as at this capacity and on this parcel?' That distinction matters because Levy County's code has separate provisions for comm...
If you are looking at a house or other property for an assisted living facility in Leon County, the first question I would ask is not whether the address says Tallahassee. I would ask which government actually controls the property. A Tallahassee mailing address can sit inside the city or in unincor...
Lee County is one of those places where saying "I am opening an ALF in Lee County" is not yet enough information to map the approval path. The exact address may place you in unincorporated Lee County or inside a municipality, under a particular zoning authority, within an independent fire district, ...
If you are evaluating a Lake County property for an assisted living facility, I would not let the street address make the jurisdiction decision for you. Lake County has a large unincorporated area surrounded by multiple municipalities, and a property that is marketed as being in the Clermont, Lady L...
Lafayette County is rural, but rural does not mean unrestricted. If I were looking at acreage or a residential property here for an assisted living facility, my first question would be: what legal use does this operation become at the capacity I am proposing? That answer can change the local approva...
Jefferson County is a good example of why a smaller market should not be mistaken for a simpler ALF project. If I were evaluating a property here, I would not begin by asking whether the house looks large enough or whether the AHCA application is ready. I would begin with jurisdiction and the local ...
