Rural landowners in unincorporated Okeechobee County are subjected to stringent and unreasonable residential building requirements. Landowners in these unincorporated areas are prohibited from investing in sustainable and economic homes that are permitted in other counties throughout the state. The Board of County Commissioners in Okeechobee County has prohibited the construction of residential structures less than 1,000 sq ft, they have prohibited the construction of shipping container homes, and they have prohibited the construction of steel frame metal residential buildings.

      All of these residential structures are approved for construction by the state of Florida, and they are encouraged in other Florida Counties. In addition to this, the Okeechobee Board of County Commissioners have prohibited the long term use of recreation vehicles on private property absent any permanent structures. 

      Recreation vehicles and sustainable buildings provide an affordable housing option to landowners who are facing an increasingly costly housing market, as well as a national shortage of building supplies. Landowners in the rural and unincorporated areas of Okeechobee County are being forced to succumb to unreasonable and draconian ordinances that are not practiced elsewhere in Florida.