Coconut Creek, FL Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Section 13-38 of the Coconut Creek Code opens with a broad trigger: a building permit is required for construction, addition, alteration, movement, repair or change to a new or different use of any building, structure or land. It also applies to all work by city franchises and their assigns within the city limits, rights-of-way and easements granted to the city.

Applications go to the department of sustainable development. They must contain the information the director of sustainable development requires under the Florida Building Code, be accompanied by a survey prepared by a registered land surveyor of the state, and include the processing fees set by division 4 of the article. Applications are accepted only from the property owner or a licensed, bonded contractor representing the owner. Completed forms are submitted with two sets of construction plans, reviewed by the department, then returned for correction or approved, and the director authorizes issuance after all required approvals.

The director cannot issue a permit unless the work conforms to the Land Development Code and the Florida Building Code. A permit for a principal building also needs a plat approved by the city commission and recorded in the county's official records after June 4, 1953, with exceptions for a single-family dwelling on a qualifying parcel and for multifamily or nonresidential parcels under five acres delineated on a recorded plat. Where these requirements conflict with other state and county regulations, the most restrictive applies.

All building and construction permits expire if construction does not begin within 180 days of issuance. A permit authorizes only the use, arrangement and construction shown on approved plans, and a permit issued in error confers no rights and is null and void.

Fees come from section 13-84 and are non-refundable: a $75.00 minimum, 2.0 percent of construction cost for new residential work, 2.5 percent for new commercial work, and 4.0 percent (residential) or 4.5 percent (commercial) of cost with a $300.00 minimum for renovations. Fences are $0.75 per lineal foot, walls $2.00 per lineal foot, sheds and carports $100.00, demolition $100.00 and swimming pools or spas $700.00.