Palm Beach Gardens, Stuart and Treasure Coast Construction Permit Guide 2026

The northern Palm Beach County and Treasure Coast region — encompassing Palm Beach Gardens, North Palm Beach, Jupiter (covered in detail in a previous blog), and the adjacent areas of Martin County including Stuart, Hobe Sound, and Jensen Beach — represents one of South Florida's most desirable and rapidly growing residential and commercial construction markets. While Martin County technically falls outside the three-county South Florida focus area, many of Endless Life Design's clients have properties along the Treasure Coast, and understanding how Palm Beach County's northern municipalities and the adjacent Martin County permit landscape works is valuable for any property owner along this corridor.

City of Palm Beach Gardens Building Division

The City of Palm Beach Gardens Building Division is located at Palm Beach Gardens City Hall, 10500 North Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410. Palm Beach Gardens is one of Palm Beach County's premier municipalities, home to PGA National Resort, a thriving medical device and biotech industry corridor along PGA Boulevard, major professional and recreational golf facilities, and highly desirable residential communities including PGA National, Mirasol, Ballenisles, and Frenchman's Creek.

Palm Beach Gardens permit applications are submitted through the city's permitting portal. USD permit fees follow the adopted fee schedule. Plan review involves building, fire, zoning, public works, and environmental disciplines. Palm Beach Gardens has sophisticated growth management planning and enforces strict environmental protection requirements for its extensive natural areas and scrub habitat within city limits.

PGA Corridor Commercial Development

The PGA Boulevard corridor is one of the most active commercial development strips in Palm Beach County, with medical facilities, biotech company campuses, class A office buildings, hotels, retail centers, and restaurants lining the boulevard from I-95 to Military Trail. Commercial permits along PGA Boulevard require standard commercial plan review from the Palm Beach Gardens Building Division plus the city's planning department review for site plan compliance with PGA Boulevard corridor design standards.

Medical and research facility construction along the PGA corridor — adjacent to the Gardens of the Palm Beaches healthcare district — must comply with Florida AHCA plan review requirements if the facilities are licensed healthcare facilities, in addition to standard Palm Beach Gardens commercial permits.

Village of North Palm Beach Building Department

The Village of North Palm Beach is a small, affluent waterfront community directly north of Palm Beach Gardens along the Intracoastal Waterway. The Village of North Palm Beach Building Department administers permits for construction within village limits. North Palm Beach has extensive single-family waterfront residential development, a marina district, and a well-known public country club.

North Palm Beach enforces strict seawall and dock permit requirements for its waterfront properties, requiring USACE, FDEP, and Palm Beach County DERM permits in addition to village building permits for all waterfront construction. The village's residential character is strongly protected through its zoning code and active code enforcement.

Martin County Construction Permits

Martin County, immediately north of Palm Beach County along the Treasure Coast, has its own building department — the Martin County Building Division — located in Stuart, the county seat. Martin County is known for its strong growth management policies, its commitment to preserving its natural environment and small-town character, and its high-quality residential and commercial development standards.

Martin County's Building Division administers permits for all construction in unincorporated Martin County. Incorporated municipalities in Martin County — including the City of Stuart, Town of Jupiter Island (a small, extremely exclusive barrier island community), Town of Sewall's Point, City of Ocean Breeze, and Town of Indiantown — have their own building departments or use Martin County's services through agreements.

City of Stuart Building Division

The City of Stuart is the Martin County seat and the primary commercial and civic center of the Treasure Coast. Stuart has a thriving downtown on the South Fork of the St. Lucie River, an active arts community, and significant redevelopment activity along Monterey Road and the St. Lucie Street corridor. The City of Stuart Building Division administers permits for construction within city limits. Stuart uses the Florida Building Code and has adopted local amendments. USD permit fees follow Stuart's adopted schedule.

Stuart is NOT within the High Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ) — the HVHZ covers only Miami-Dade and Broward County. Palm Beach County, Martin County, and points north are in the Wind Zone II or Wind Zone III categories that have lower design wind speed requirements than the HVHZ. Product approval requirements north of Broward County differ from HVHZ requirements. Contractors and architects working in Martin County should confirm the applicable wind speed and product approval requirements for the specific project location.

Environmental Permitting Along the Indian River Lagoon and St. Lucie River

The Indian River Lagoon — extending along the Treasure Coast through Martin and St. Lucie County — is one of the most biodiverse estuaries in North America and is under severe environmental stress from nutrient pollution, algal blooms, and development impacts. Construction adjacent to the Indian River Lagoon and its tributaries requires extensive environmental permits from SFWMD, FDEP, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and potentially the USACE.

Stormwater management for construction projects near the Indian River Lagoon must be designed to minimize nutrient loading — nitrogen and phosphorus — to the lagoon. Advanced stormwater treatment techniques may be required beyond standard retention pond designs. USD environmental consulting fees for projects in the Indian River Lagoon watershed are higher than for projects in less sensitive environments due to the complexity of the environmental review required.

Jonathan Dickinson State Park and Natural Area Construction Constraints

Martin County contains extensive preserved natural areas including Jonathan Dickinson State Park, the Loxahatchee River corridor (the only federally designated Wild and Scenic River in Florida), and various conservation lands managed by the South Florida Water Management District and Martin County. Construction near these natural areas faces the most stringent environmental review in the region, with potential impacts to listed species (particularly the Eastern indigo snake, gopher tortoise, and various plant species) requiring consultation with the USFWS and the Florida FWC.

Properties adjacent to the Loxahatchee River in northern Palm Beach County and southern Martin County must comply with SFWMD environmental resource permit requirements that protect the river's outstanding Florida water designation. USD environmental consulting and permit costs for projects in the Loxahatchee River corridor can reach $50,000 USD to $200,000 USD depending on project scope and proximity to the river.