Concrete Contractors in Palm Beach, FL (Town of Palm Beach)

Design Review Comes Before the Permit: ARCOM, Landmarks and Staff-Level Hardscape

Under the town code, no permit is issued for building or landscaping plans or other development of property until the Architectural Commission, called ARCOM, approves, unless the director finds the improvements minimal in nature and not on the Manual's list. Properties that are designated landmarks or in a historic district go to the Landmarks Preservation Commission instead. The Project Designation Manual has a hardscape row covering driveways and patios in three levels: extensive alterations go to the commission, minor alterations to the commission chair, and work interior to the lot and not readily visible from the right-of-way to staff.

A staff-level application asks for an existing and proposed site plan, current color photos, the Town's planting legend sheet, an exterior materials and finishes sheet and product approvals. A condominium also needs an association approval letter. Review fees run $450 for ARCOM administrative review, $2,000 for a minor project and $3,000 for a major one, so plan the pour around the review. Our permit guide covers the countywide basics.

Before you approve a bid from concrete contractors in Palm Beach, ask which review level the plan falls in. The review fee and the wait come before the pour.

The Driveway Agreement for Anything Not Plain Concrete or Asphalt

Public Works issues a driveway permit for any alteration, addition or removal of a driveway in the town. The application wants construction detail drawings, a maintenance of traffic plan and a narrative of the work. If any portion of the driveway in the right-of-way or utility easement is not plain concrete or asphalt, the owner must sign a recorded Driveway Agreement, and decorative driveways are not permitted in the right-of-way where a sidewalk or bicycle path exists.

The recorded agreement says the work does not conform with town ordinances, commits the owner to remove it at their own expense if the town needs the space, and runs with the land. That is why we price a plain broom apron and a stamped driveway on the lot side separately. See our driveway page and stamped concrete page.

A Pour Calendar With No Summer Saturdays and a Winter Blackout

Section 42-199 prohibits concrete pours and sawing on Saturdays from May 1 through October 31 unless the building official waives the rule for compelling circumstances, and Saturday material deliveries are banned too unless waived. From November 1 through April 30, all construction is prohibited on Saturdays, Sundays, town holidays, the days around Thanksgiving, and December 24 through January 1. Winter weekday hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with no site noise before 9.

Summer weekday hours outside Worth Avenue run 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. In the Worth Avenue district, construction is allowed only May 1 through October 31. Work in the road right-of-way cannot begin before 9 a.m. unless the permit says so. A right-of-way request in season has to explain why it must happen then and fit a two hour window between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. We build these limits into the schedule from the first visit.

The calendar is the hard part, so as concrete contractors in Palm Beach, we plan around it before we set a price.

A Dollar per Square Foot, Plus a Public Works Approach Fee

The town's fee schedule lists a building permit for a driveway or hardscape at $1.00 per square foot of area, plus compliance fees, a 4% technology fee and surcharges. A Public Works driveway approach up to 20 lineal feet wide is $180, and wider approaches add $3.60 per lineal foot. Every right-of-way permit carries a $25 application fee, and a Driveway or Walkway agreement costs $100 to prepare or review. Working in the right-of-way before the permit issues costs 200% of the permit fee plus $150 a day. A gate on a driveway is a separate $700 item.

A 576 square foot court carries about $576 of permit fee before surcharges. We list those figures in the written estimate so they are not a surprise after the job is priced.

The Town charges by area, so ask concrete contractors in Palm Beach to total the permit and approach fees in the quote.

Landscaped Open Space in R-B: Forty-Five Percent, Forty in the Front Yard

In the R-B Low Density Residential district the minimum landscaped open space is 45 percent, half of it perimeter landscaping within ten feet of the property line unless the lot is 20,000 square feet or more. At least 40 percent of the required front yard must be landscaped open space, and lot coverage is 40 percent for one-story buildings and 30 percent for two-story buildings. Open space excludes driveways and parking areas. Larger R-B lots follow the R-A or R-AA rules, and lakefront lots of 20,000 square feet or more between Dunbar Road and Reef Road are excepted. The staff application asks for an open space diagram, and a hardscape in a setback may need a neighbor consent form. See our patio page for sizing.

An Island That Is Half Water: Canaveral Soil, AE Zones and Worth Avenue to Dunbar Road

About half of the Census polygon is water, so the land-only map points are the useful ones. Canaveral-Urban land, somewhat poorly drained with a water table that can rise to about 54 centimeters at its highest, was 30% of land points, Palm Beach-Urban land, excessively drained, was 23%, and Urban land, Cocoa-Urban land and Pomello fine sand made up most of the rest. Flood zones were AE at 43%, X at 40%, X 0.2% coastal at 13% and VE at 3%. Check your parcel on the town's FEMA map before you set a finished height for a patio or garage slab, and ask Planning, Zoning and Building how the flood zone affects the plan. Soil units on the island range from excessively drained to somewhat poorly drained, and base work is priced after we see the lot.

Streets and landmarks inside the town include Worth Avenue, Royal Poinciana Way, Whitehall Way, Lake Trail, Dunbar Road and Reef Road. Slab jobs on low ground are covered on our slab page.

Mainland Neighbors Across the Lake

The island town is separate from West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach, Lake Worth Beach and Lantana, and each of those has its own permit office. Ask which town your parcel is in before you call a contractor, because a Palm Beach mailing address does not settle it. Parcels inside the Town of Palm Beach answer to the Town for the building permit and the driveway permit, while a mainland parcel answers to its own city or to the County. Each office has its own review steps, fees and working hours, and the Saturday pour rule here is the Town's own. The service area page lists every office.

If your house is in a historic district, the plan goes to the Landmarks Commission, and as concrete contractors in Palm Beach, we say so up front.

Ask Concrete Contractors in Palm Beach About Review Before Price

Send photos from the street, a site plan if you have one, and whether the house is a landmark or in a historic district. We tell you which review level the work likely falls in and which Saturdays are off the table. Royal Palm Beach Concrete Co is Locally Owned & Operated, and the written quote comes before any work begins. Start on the contact page, and ask any concrete contractors in Palm Beach how they handle the Driveway Agreement and the Saturday rule. Also tell us if the property is a condominium, since an association approval letter is part of the staff application, whether a driveway gate is in the plan, since a gate is a separate $700 fee, and how large any motor court is, since hardscape is billed by the square foot.