City of Orlando City Planning

Certificate of Appropriateness

Minor Review Application I Major Review Application

The purpose of a Certificate of Appropriateness is to ensure that all construction, alteration, restoration, relocation, or demolition of a Historic Landmark or of structure(s) in a Historic Preservation Overlay District is in accordance with the standards, values, and characteristics of the particular district or landmark.

A Certificate of Appropriateness is required for the following:

(a) For Historic Landmarks: All construction, alteration, restoration, relocation or demolition on or to any Historic Landmark (whether such Historic Landmark consists of land or structure or both). and

(b) Within a Historic Preservation Overlay District: All construction, alteration, restoration, relocation, or demolition of or to any exterior portion of any building, other structure, above-ground utility structure, or any type of outdoor advertising sign.

Any person desiring to construct, alter, restore, relocate or demolish a Historic Landmark or a structure in a Historic Preservation Overlay District must submit to the Historic Preservation Board a fully completed written application form requesting the issuance of a Certificate of Appropriateness.

There are two types of Certificate of Appropriateness applications. Please click on the links below for more information on each application type:

(1) Minor Review

An administrative review performed by the Planning Official or designee and a qualified member of the Historic Preservation Board. Minor review is performed for construction and alterations which have a minor impact on the significant historical, architectural, or cultural materials of the structure and/or the district.

(2) Major Review

A public hearing process before the Historic Preservation Board for all major projects and Ad ValoremTax Exemption applications within Orlando’s historic districts.

A Certificate of Appropriateness must be issued by the Historic Preservation Board prior to the issuance of any building permit or any other permit required for construction or alteration of land or structures. A Certificate of Appropriateness shall always be required whenever a building permit is required, and may also be required when a building permit is not required if the proposed alteration, etc. otherwise falls into the Certificate of Appropriateness categories listed above.

The Historic Preservation Board does not consider interior arrangement within Historic Preservation Overlay District, but does consider interior arrangements of Landmarks where such arrangements are integral to the Historic Landmark status.

For questions regarding whether a Certificate of Appropriateness is required or the Historic Preservation Board process, please contact Richard Forbes, the Historic Preservation Officer, at 407.246.3350 or Diane Rivera, the HPB recording secretary, at 407.246.3416.

| Historic Preservation Board Main |