Permit Office (AHJ)
City of Orlando Permitting Services Division (Economic Development Department)
Orlando, FL · Licensed Professional Engineering
Site engineering that clears local review — grading, drainage, and utilities designed to each jurisdiction's published standards from day one.
Civil and site engineering in Orlando is defined by stormwater on flat, sandy, high-water-table terrain with real karst risk. Stormwater is commonly managed with wet-detention ponds and, where soils allow, exfiltration, permitted through the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) or South Florida Water Management District depending on basin, alongside City of Orlando and Orange County review — the regional district layer is unique to Florida. We design grading and drainage to district and local criteria, integrate FEMA base-flood-elevation requirements, and site ponds carefully to avoid concentrating water over potential sinkhole features. Sites over an acre require FDEP NPDES construction stormwater coverage and a SWPPP. Reclaimed-water availability from OUC and Orange County shapes irrigation design, and master-drainage coordination often paces entitlement on large tourism and Lake Nona projects.
Code adoptions and local amendments change on multi-year cycles. The state source verification date is 2026-07-28; we verify the governing editions with City of Orlando Permitting Services Division (Economic Development Department) at project kickoff.
Commercial plan review runs through the City of Orlando's online Accela Citizen Access / e-permitting system, with electronic submittal and multi-discipline review across building, structural, MEP, zoning, and engineering. Orlando is not in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, so it uses standard Florida Building Code wind provisions with Florida Product Approval rather than Miami-Dade NOAs. Private provider (private inspector/plan reviewer) service is available under Florida statute to accelerate qualifying projects, and larger developments run through concurrent development and engineering review.
As a non-HVHZ jurisdiction, Orlando designs to standard FBC wind pressures with Florida Product Approval for components rather than Miami-Dade NOAs. Local layers that reshape design include City of Orlando and Orange County stormwater and floodplain ordinances, the city's Green Works / building-performance initiatives, and coordination with the regional water management district for master drainage.
OUC is a municipal provider with its own commercial rate schedules, demand charges, and interconnection process, and OUC also provides chilled-water district cooling in parts of downtown that changes central-plant scope. New large services can carry transformer lead times we confirm early. OUC and Orange County Utilities provide water and reclaimed water, and reclaimed-water availability affects irrigation and site design.
Orlando's construction market is anchored by tourism and hospitality (theme parks, convention, and resort development around International Drive), strong in-migration and multifamily growth, healthcare and the Lake Nona Medical City / life-science cluster, and expanding logistics and higher-education activity. That pipeline keeps Permitting Services' review queues active, and stormwater/floodplain review often paces site schedules.
Reviewed 2026-09-11. Code editions and local requirements can change; confirm the current requirements with the authority having jurisdiction before design.
With a team of licensed PEs and a multi-discipline engineering team, we're ready to take on projects of any size — and we turn quotes around fast. Send us your scope and get a clear proposal: deliverables, timeline, and fee.
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