Do I need a permit for screen enclosure or pool cage in Melbourne?

Florida and local notes for Melbourne

Site-specific engineered wind-load drawings are effectively required for a new enclosure. Setbacks, easements, and HOA rules still apply. Re-screening mesh only is generally exempt; structural work is not. Brevard County's own permitting office is the Brevard County Building Permits office, reachable on 321-633-2187 at https://www.brevardfl.gov/PlanningAndDevelopment/BuildingPermits/BrevardCountyBuildingPermits. Its online permit portal is https://aca-prod.accela.com/brevard/Default.aspx. It issues permits for the unincorporated county. If your city does not run its own building department, this is the office that will handle the job. Brevard County publishes its wind speed requirements as a set of maps, one per Risk Category, that you search by street address. Most houses are Risk Category 2. Screen enclosures are explicitly Risk Category 1, which is a lower design requirement than the house they attach to. Be aware the county's own map instructions still tell you to install Microsoft Silverlight, which no current browser supports, so in practice you may need to call the Building Department on 321-633-2187 to get the design wind speed for your address. Melbourne's FAQ names screen rooms and pools among improvements checked for setbacks at permitting, and all types of residential aluminum construction must have signed and sealed plans. Under Appendix B, Article VII, Section 2(N), a screened pool enclosure must be at least 7.5 feet from the property line, or aligned with the house side walls if the district side setback is less than 7.5 feet. It may not exceed 500 percent of the pool's area, and its framing may only support screening. Screened pool enclosures do not count toward the maximum number of accessory structures on the lot.