Melbourne, FL Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

City Code section 20-263, originally adopted by Ordinance No. 2006-30 and amended by Ordinance No. 2014-35 and Ordinance No. ' A monument or memorial is not automatically protected; it must first go through the designation process in section 20-266, based on a recommendation from the Historic Preservation Board created under section 20-265, and final designation by city council. Once designated, section 20-268 requires a certificate of historic appropriateness before the resource may be 'erected, altered, restored, rehabilitated, renovated, excavated, relocated, or demolished,' issued by either the historic preservation officer or, for special certificates, the board itself; ordinary maintenance or repair that needs no building permit is exempt.

Under section 20-265, the board also maintains and updates the citywide historic survey identifying resources 'of special historic, aesthetic, architectural, archaeological, cultural, or social value,' which covers cataloging monuments and memorial sites for possible designation, and can recommend properties for the city register or nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. Ground-disturbing work near a designated monument, such as excavation for a new base or landscaping, can also require a certificate to dig if the site sits within a designated archaeological zone. The Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources, must get 30 days' notice of any proposed amendment to this article under section 20-269(i), reflecting Melbourne's status as a certified local government under the federal historic preservation program.