Getting a permit in Coral Gables is more cumbersome than in other areas of Miami. Unlike most municipalities, Coral Gables requires additional steps in the process. As experienced Coral Gables residential architects, United Architects can help you design and take your project to a successful completion.
Prior to getting a permit, the city requires at least one visit to the Board of Architects. If the board requires a lot of changes, they may even demand an additional visit or multiple visits.
Normally, what I do as a residential architect in Coral Gables, is to start by establishing the new floor plan and the new elevations before even thinking about the Board of Architects. If you are the owner of the house, you want to make sure that your architect is clear on what you want. Then, this is established in the new floor plan and the new elevations. Making changes later will likely require that you go back and get approval at an additional Board of Architects meeting.
In addition to the new floor plan and elevations, the Board of Architects requires that you submit a site plan, the existing floor plan with the demolition, the existing elevations, a survey that is not older than 5 years, color photos of the house from all sides and of any additional structures, and a tree disposition plan, which includes a tree protection plan for all specimen trees on the site and in the public right of way. A rendering of the house with the addition is highly recommended. If no trees will be affected by the addition, the tree disposition plan is not required.
The architectural plans must be submitted in a 24” x 36” format in color, and if you want one for your records, submit two sets so that you can get one back. You or your architect must fill out an application to accompany the plans. You can get the form here.
The city then requires an additional 10 copies of the submittal in 11”x17” format.
If your house belongs to a homeowner’s association, it is a historic building, or if there are mangroves on the site, there are more requirements.
If the house is in Cocoplum, or any of the similar communities near the water, it may have its own Board of Architects, so the project may have to be approved by two Board of Architects. It's also important to note that these houses near the water were often built with a subterranean basement built below the FEMA minimum floor elevation. This space was not to be inhabited. Over the years, the owners of these houses went ahead and finished these spaces illegally. Now, if you buy one of those houses, you will not be allowed to remodel those spaces legally. Just be aware that you may encounter this issue in these areas. You can find out if a house you are considering for purchase is in a flood zone by putting the address in the box at the website here.
Once your architect presents the documents to the Coral Gables Board of Architects and gets preliminary approval, your architect and the engineering team can complete the construction documents for the addition. These plans are processed internally by the Board of Architects after they are submitted to the Building Department for permitting. If the plans have not changed, then the board should approve them without any issues. Once the board approves the documents, the other departments, such as, electrical, plumbing, structural, and septic tank review them. If these department have comments, then the architect or engineer will address those comments as long as they are in their scope of work.
Getting a City of Coral Gables permit is not an easy process, but this procedure, for the most part, prevents horrible projects from being built in the Gables. There is a consistency of good design and construction in the Gables that is not seen in other parts of Miami.
I recently submitted two projects to the Coral Gables Board of Architects on the same day and had no problems. They were both approved.
If you would like to discuss a project you are considering, call Maria Luisa Castellanos, R.A., the principal of the firm, on her cell at 305-439-7898.