Remodeling or Building in Coral Gables: How the Board of Architects Process Works

Coral Gables was planned in the 1920s around a consistent Mediterranean look, and a century later the city still enforces it. That is a big part of why the neighborhoods look the way they do, and also why projects that would be simple in other cities take an extra step here.

The extra step is the Board of Architects. If you are planning an addition, a new house, a pool, new roof tiles or any change to the outside of a building in Coral Gables, this is how the process works and how to keep it from eating your schedule.

What the Board of Architects reviews

The board decides whether a project meets the design review standards in the city's zoning code, with a focus on the compatibility of color, materials, windows and proportion. The city lists the kinds of work it reviews:

• New residences and new commercial buildings
• All building expansions, which includes home additions
• Pools and pavement, such as driveways and patios
• Roof tiles
• Signs

Interior remodels that do not change the outside of the building generally do not go to the board, though they still need the normal building permits. If you are unsure whether a change counts, the City Architect is available to help applicants work through design questions.

Preliminary and final approval

According to the city, a typical project involves a preliminary and a final board approval before the building permit is issued. In practice:

1. Preliminary approval looks at the design concept: massing, style, materials and how the project sits on the lot and with its neighbors. Comments at this stage are much cheaper to address than after construction drawings are done.
2. Final approval looks at the developed drawings, including the details, materials and colors that will actually be built.
3. Then the permit. With final approval in hand, the project goes through building department plan review like anywhere else.

The board meets every Thursday, so the calendar works in weekly steps. Submittal deadlines come before each meeting, and if comments require changes, the revised design goes back on a later agenda.

What the submittal needs

If the house is historic

Coral Gables has its own historic register. Properties that are designated landmarks, or that sit in a designated historic district, need a Certificate of Appropriateness before most exterior work and before a building permit or variance. Minor work such as reroofing, painting or in-kind repairs is generally handled by city staff, while additions, demolitions and major exterior changes go to the Historic Preservation Board at a public hearing. Check whether your property is on the register before you design anything.

How to plan the schedule

• Start with the survey and the rules. Tree survey, property survey, zoning limits and, if it applies, historic status.
• Design to the standards from day one. Mediterranean-compatible massing, materials and colors from the approved palettes save rounds of comments.
• Build in board time. Preliminary and final approval each depend on getting onto a Thursday agenda, plus time for revisions.
• Then permit time. Building department review starts after board approval. Our post on how long building permits take explains the state deadlines.
• Build what was approved. Changes during construction that affect the exterior, such as a different window, tile or color, can need a new approval. Settle selections before the final submittal.

Where the contractor fits

The architect leads the board submittals, but a contractor who knows the process helps in two ways: pricing the design early so the approved version is one you can afford, and building exactly what the board approved, down to the tile and the trim. We work with your architect through approval and then pull the permit. Our post on hiring a general contractor covers what to check first.

The bottom line

In Coral Gables, design approval comes before the permit, and it shapes the project more than in most cities. Get the tree survey and historic status early, design to the city's standards from the start, and plan for weekly board meetings in your timeline. We build additions, new homes and whole-home renovations in Coral Gables and across Miami-Dade. Tell us about your project.