Monroe County, FL Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

Monroe County Land Development Code Section 135-4 gives the five-member Historic Preservation Commission, appointed by the Board of County Commissioners under Section 135-3, the criteria it uses to recommend designating a building, site, structure or object as an archaeological, historic or cultural landmark in the unincorporated Keys. A property qualifies if it is significant in the history of the county, the state or the United States, or associated with a significant historic event; if it is associated with the life of a historically significant individual; if it embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction, represents the work of a master, possesses high artistic value, or represents a significant entity whose individual parts might otherwise lack distinction; or if it has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important to prehistory or history.

Cemeteries, birthplaces, religious properties, moved or reconstructed buildings, purely commemorative sites and anything less than 50 years old are ordinarily excluded, but the section carves out exceptions for a religious property with independent architectural or historical distinction, a birthplace or grave of outstanding importance with no better-associated site, a reconstructed building done under the article's own rules, and a property under 50 years old of exceptional importance. Once the HPC recommends designation, the Board of County Commissioners makes the final call by resolution after its own public hearing, and the property owner receives a certified copy of that resolution once the clerk of the circuit court files it.