Monroe County
Commercial painting on every key
The Keys are 113 miles of road and 42 bridges with several building departments along them. Key West reviews color in its historic district, Islamorada lists its no-permit work on a single page, and the county covers the rest. Here is what matters on each key.
- Key WestIn Key West's historic district, a repaint is also a filing. The city's Minor Projects application for a Certificate of Appropriateness carries a table for painting or repainting that asks for each element's current color and its proposed color. Color is a decision for the commission before it is a decision for the owner.Commercial painting in Key West →
- Stock IslandStock Island is where Key West keeps its working boats, and the buildings show it: boatyard sheds, marina offices and metal workshops sit within a few steps of the basin. Painting here is mostly about what is close by, namely boats, water and salt.Commercial painting in Stock Island →
- MarathonMarathon is the middle of the Keys, a city of roadside shops, marinas and storage yards strung along US 1, with its own building department and its own online permit portal. The county airport here, Florida Keys Marathon International, sits in the same strip.Commercial painting in Marathon →
- IslamoradaIslamorada puts its answer on paper. The village's list of work that needs no permit includes painting of commercial buildings, provided no signage is part of the project. A short list, but it settles a question that most Keys offices leave open.Commercial painting in Islamorada →
- Key LargoKey Largo has no city building department. Monroe County's Upper Keys permitting office sits in the Murray Nelson Government and Cultural Center on Overseas Highway, so a repaint of a roadside shop, a canal-front office or a marina building goes to the county, not to a city.Commercial painting in Key Largo →
- Ocean ReefOcean Reef is a gated community at the north end of Key Largo with a Monroe County permitting office of its own. For a painting job, the gate decides the schedule: who is admitted, at what hour, with which trucks and with what paperwork.Commercial painting in Ocean Reef →
- TavernierTavernier sits next to the village of Islamorada but is not part of it. A shop here follows Monroe County's rules, not the village's, and the village's published list of work that needs no permit does not reach across that line.Commercial painting in Tavernier →
- Duck Key and Conch KeyDuck Key is a small island community built around a resort, and Conch Key is counted with it in the census area. Neither has a city government. Work on a resort-scale building here means salt exposure on every side and a short list of roads for the equipment.Commercial painting in Duck Key and Conch Key →
- Key Colony BeachKey Colony Beach is a small city next to Marathon with its own commission and its own Building Department and Code Enforcement. It is neither Marathon nor the county, so a painting job here starts with asking the city.Commercial painting in Key Colony Beach →
- Big Pine KeyBig Pine Key has a Monroe County satellite permitting office on Key Deer Boulevard, and the key is home to the Key deer. A painting job that needs staging on bare ground here comes with a habitat question that most places in the county do not have.Commercial painting in Big Pine Key →
- Cudjoe KeyCudjoe Key hosts one of Monroe County's three transfer stations, but the county's page says businesses must arrange waste service with local providers. For a commercial painting job here, leftover coatings and used rollers are the contractor's problem, not the transfer station's.Commercial painting in Cudjoe Key →
- Summerland KeyA federal survey after Hurricane Irma recorded waves and surge overtopping the seawalls in front of homes on Summerland Key. That is a fact about water. For painting it means the water-side wall of a building here gets the worst of the salt.Commercial painting in Summerland Key →
- Ramrod KeyReports from the Lower Keys after Hurricane Irma singled out Ramrod Key for severe damage, and years of repair followed. That history shows up on the wall: patched stucco, replaced trim and doors from different decades share one facade.Commercial painting in Ramrod Key →
- Big Coppitt KeyBig Coppitt Key is the gateway to Geiger Key and connects over old railroad fill to Shark Key, a private gated community. A painting job on this stretch may be an ordinary roadside building or one behind a gate with its own rules.Commercial painting in Big Coppitt Key →
Questions
Across Monroe
Does commercial painting need a permit in the Keys?
It depends on the office. Islamorada's list says painting a commercial building needs no permit when no signage is involved, and Key West reviews color changes in its historic district. For Marathon, Key Colony Beach and the county we found no published rule, so we ask the office for your parcel. Repairs can change the answer.
Which parts of Monroe County do you cover?
Every key from Key Largo to Key West. That includes the cities of Key West, Marathon, Islamorada and Key Colony Beach, and the unincorporated keys between them. Each page for a key or city says what matters for painting there.
Every key from Key Largo to Key West
Tell us what needs paint and where it stands. A written scope and a quote follow.
Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale. One storefront or a whole resort: every job gets a written scope and a quote.