Florida building codes; cob house?

I'm very interested in cob building and would like to build my own house eventually. I'm heavily considering purchasing land in Florida in the near future, but can't seem to find much precedence for cob houses in the southern US (BarefootBuilder has built a cob pottery studio in Pensacola, FL. I'm contacting Christina to find out more). I don't doubt that built right, cob can withstand Florida's climate. I assume the reason there are so few cob houses in the South is due to the difficulty of obtaining building permits.

I've been trying to research Florida building permit codes, but it's all very complicated. I've that many areas in the US allow buildings below a certain size to be exempt from needing a permit. Does anyone know if this is true of FL, or perhaps just specific areas of the state? Does anyone have any more information about cob buildings (permit-approved or not) in FL?

Aria, any new info on building codes in FL?

I have just begun learning about this. So far it isn't easy or obvious. I've spoken to two counties and both have said that any structure, no matter the size, requires a building permit. And neither knew what a cob house or an Earthship is.

The two counties are Highlands and Hendry.

They follow the Florida Building Code, so there was little difference between the two counties. They both also require you to get a permit to live in an RV while building your house. (In both cases I specified that I wanted to buy land zoned as agriculture.) One of them explained that this is because people have just dumped their sewage from their mobile homes on the ground, creating an environmental issue.

I've sent an email to Highlands county asking about compost toilets, but I don't have my hopes up.

Anyone else learned more?

Kevmo

Is there any new news on this subject?  We live in S. Florida, and want to build and accessory building with cob....to live in.  Before I go trying to ask the city if they allow it, and likely will have to approach it with some delicacy, I am hoping that there are others who already have had experience with this so we can get some pointers.  Thank you!

Research in your county codes for the term "Building of no consequence".

Any news on this subject? I live in SW FL. Highlands County has The Parc with cob schoolhouse, but I'm wondering if there is a cob house that has been permitted in FL?