Demolition permits in Martin County

Martin County has five municipalities, and each runs its own building office: the City of Stuart, the Town of Jupiter Island, the Town of Sewall's Point, the Town of Ocean Breeze and the Village of Indiantown, which incorporated at the end of 2017. A parcel inside one of them is permitted there.

All other land, which covers Palm City, Jensen Beach, Port Salerno, Hobe Sound, Rio, Hutchinson Island outside Ocean Breeze and the western farm country, is permitted by the Martin County Building Department in Stuart. Check the parcel record first, because Jensen Beach mailing addresses include Ocean Breeze, and Hobe Sound addresses include the Town of Jupiter Island.

The Building Department's demolition checklist, revised February 2026, lists three items: the permit application, an owner/builder disclosure signed in front of staff when the owner is acting as contractor, and floor plans for a partial demolition.

The checklist does not mention utility releases, septic abandonment or asbestos, but state rules on all three still apply, and inspectors may ask for proof. We ask the department what it expects for the specific parcel rather than read the short list as the whole job.

No local asbestos program operates in Martin County. Notices under the federal NESHAP rule go directly to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Southeast District, filed online through the DEP Business Portal or on paper Form 62-257.900(1).

A regulated demolition needs a thorough inspection by a DBPR-licensed asbestos consultant before work, and the notice must be in at least ten working days ahead, counting Monday through Friday. The notice is still required when the inspection finds no asbestos, and a building permit does not stand in for it.

For a condominium or co-op, the board is treated as the owner. A house with four or fewer dwelling units can fall outside the rule, but only when it is not part of a larger project and not one of several small residential buildings on one site under common ownership. Abatement itself takes a DBPR asbestos contractor license, which Romco does not hold; we arrange the licensed firms.

Service providers change across the county. Martin County Utilities covers most unincorporated land as well as Sewall's Point and Ocean Breeze. South Martin Regional Utility, run by the Town of Jupiter Island, supplies water and wastewater to Hobe Sound and the island, and the City of Stuart operates its own water system.

FPL is the only party that may disconnect its service conductors. Smaller single-phase services can be scheduled through FPL's project portal, while three-phase services need FPL to do the work. On Jupiter Island, the town's pre-demolition certification requires disconnects by contractors registered with the Town Building Department.

Large parts of Martin County sit outside the Urban Service District, where regional sewer is not extended, so many teardowns involve a septic tank. Florida rule 62-6.011 sets how a system is abandoned: a permit, pumping by a permitted septage company, breaking or collapsing the tank, sand fill and an inspection, within 90 days of a sewer connection. Whether a demolition on its own triggers abandonment is a question for the state onsite sewage program, and we put it to them before scheduling.

Section 556.105 of the Florida Statutes requires notice to Sunshine 811 no less than two full business days before any excavation or demolition begins. Breaking out a slab, pulling footings or removing a pool all disturb buried lines, so the locate request goes in first.

Policy 4.1F.4 of the county's Comprehensive Growth Management Plan states that no building may exceed four stories or 40 feet, except as the Land Development Regulations provide. It is why Martin's side of Hutchinson Island is mostly low-rise.

For a demolition, the cap matters at the planning stage. A building that stands above today's limits may not return at the same height or size, so owners usually confirm the replacement before committing to the teardown. Section 553.8991 limits local blocks on demolishing certain unsafe or below-flood-elevation buildings seaward of the CCCL, but a replacement there is still held to the maximum the local rules allow.

Martin County has about 22 miles of Atlantic coastline, split by the St. Lucie Inlet between Hutchinson Island and Jupiter Island. Work seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line needs a permit or exemption from FDEP in addition to the local permit.

Sea turtle nesting season in Martin County runs from March 1 to October 31, and the county's lighting ordinance dates from 1988. Oceanfront schedules account for both from the start.

In a special flood hazard area, a building that is substantially damaged or improved, meaning repair or improvement reaching 50 percent of its market value, must meet the county's floodplain management ordinance and the Florida Building Code. After a storm, the county's recovery guide says demolition still needs a permit, with fees waived and review expedited. Separately, section 553.79(25) stops local governments from restricting a code-compliant demolition of a single-family home in a flood zone whose lowest floor is at or below base flood elevation.

Stuart's Land Development Code holds a permit to demolish a historic structure for 30 days after a complete application, or 90 days if the property is zoned other than R-1 or R-2, while the city and the owner look at preservation or relocation. In September 2026, the Downtown Stuart and East Stuart Historic Districts were listed on the National Register of Historic Places, so older buildings in those areas warrant a records check before a schedule is set.

Florida's owner-builder exemption, section 489.103(7), lets an owner who will occupy or use the building act as contractor for certain homes and smaller commercial buildings, with personal on-site supervision. The county wants the owner/builder disclosure signed in front of staff.

Demolition debris can be self-hauled to the Martin County Solid Waste Transfer and Recycling Facility in Palm City, which accepts construction and demolition material such as concrete, brick, roofing and wallboard; disposal fees apply. Land-clearing debris is the contractor's or owner's to dispose of. Hired as contractor of record, Romco puts in the application, lines up the licensed trades and agencies, and sees the permit through to its last inspection.