About Historic Preservation

The Miami-Dade County Office of Historic Preservation preserves and protects Miami-Dade County’s cultural, historical, architectural, and archaeological resources through historic designations, site management and monitoring, public education, by finding creative solutions and economic incentives for historic preservation efforts and by providing oversight to any municipality in the County that has opted to establish their own historic preservation program.

The historic preservation programs of Miami-Dade County are intended to document, manage, regulate, and protect all the buildings, structures, archaeological sites, districts and landscapes of historic and cultural significance within their jurisdiction and preserve them for public benefit. Each program has a historic preservation board, as well as municipal staff assigned to work with the board. The work conducted by local preservation boards aims to promote a greater appreciation for South Florida’s cultural heritage and a deeper understanding of the past. Historic preservation boards regularly update, designate and share information about their resources, meaning new historic and cultural information is continuously being identified and recorded to best document our past.

In Miami-Dade County, the county retains oversight over all historic resources in its jurisdiction except for those within municipalities that have specifically opted out of Miami-Dade County’s historic and/or archaeological preservation programs through an official historic preservation ordinance. Those municipalities that choose to opt out of Miami-Dade County’s preservation jurisdiction are required to maintain a set of minimum standards, which guides the terms of their establishing ordinance and operations.

Currently 10 municipalities have opted out of Miami-Dade County’s historic preservation program. These municipalities are.