Historic Preservation

Chapter 66 

Chapter 66 of the Sarasota County Code of Ordinances outlines the county’s historic preservation programs, including:  

• The duties and responsibilities of the Sarasota County Historic Preservation Board.
• A Sarasota County Register of Historic Places, with certain protections for properties listed on it.
• The criteria for designating a property as historically significant.
• The process for reviewing building and development applications for potential impact on historic resources.
• An ad valorem tax exemption program for certain kinds of improvements on qualifying historic properties.

Read the Complete Text of Chapter 66 Online

Most parts of Sarasota County’s historic preservation ordinance only apply to properties located in unincorporated Sarasota County, meaning the territory outside the boundaries of municipalities, including the cities of Sarasota, North Port, and Venice, plus the Town of Longboat Key. Ad valorem tax exemptions are one key exception—all Sarasota County properties inside or outside municipal limits can qualify for ad valorem tax exemptions as long as the property and the proposed improvements meet the requirements. 

Not sure whether your property falls within unincorporated Sarasota County? Look up your property on the Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s website. If the record for your property lists “Sarasota County” as your municipality, that property is located in an unincorporated area. 

The Historic Preservation Board (HPB) is an advisory council whose members are appointed by the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners (BCC). The HPB has three responsibilities: 

• Review Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) applications.
• Review applications to add new properties to the Sarasota County Register of Historic Places.
• Review applications for the Ad Valorem Tax Exemption program for certain improvements to qualifying historic properties.

The HPB, in its advisory role, does not make the final determination for most applications. Instead, all applications except COA applications are forwarded to the BCC for their final approval.  

Visit the HPB webpage for a list of the current Board members and information about their monthly meetings. 

Sarasota County Register of Historic Places

Listing a property on the local Sarasota County Register of Historic Places is not the same as listing it on the National Register of Historic Places. The Sarasota County Division of Historical Resources administers the local register, but nominations to the National Register of Historic Places are administered by the Florida Division of Historical Resources in Tallahassee.  

Both registers recognize a property’s historic significance and confer eligibility for certain programs and incentives. Listing a property on the Sarasota County Register of Historic Places, however, adds an extra layer of protection by requiring that certain future alterations to the property be reviewed to ensure they preserve the unique characteristics and significance of the resource. 

View a list of properties listed on the Sarasota County Register of Historic Places here.

Certificates of Appropriateness

Certificates of appropriateness (COAs) are part of the permitting process for any demolition, alteration, construction, or relocation activities on locally designated historic properties. COAs are also required when these activities are contemplated for a contributing resource, noncontributing resource, or vacant land within a locally designated historic district. 

The COA process is Sarasota County’s most important tool for protecting designated historic properties. This process helps regulate the necessary alterations, additions, and rehabilitation work that historic buildings experience in order to make them viable for contemporary use. The Sarasota County Historic Preservation Board (HPB) reviews and issues COAs in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings, as well as the Sarasota County Design Guidelines for Historic Properties. 

The “Director’s List” is a planning tool used by the Division of Historical Resources to identify historically significant properties in Sarasota County, regardless of whether they have been listed on local or national registers. By maintaining this list, the Division is able to anticipate potential impacts to valuable historic properties by all kinds of projects, including expanded roadways, cell phone towers, new construction, or demolitions. Properties on the Director’s List are not subject to the same protections as those on the Sarasota County Register of Historic Places. If a proposed project is likely to diminish or destroy a property’s historic character, however, the Division of Historical Resources will work with the proposer to try to mitigate that loss. 

Sarasota County offers an ad valorem tax exemption program for property owners looking to make qualifying improvements to properties listed on either the Sarasota County Register of Historic Places or a similar register within one of the county’s municipalities. To qualify, the improvements must meet certain conditions specified in Chapter 66 of the Sarasota County Code of Ordinances.  

Property owners may apply for the ad valorem tax exemption program either before or after completing the qualifying project. The Division of Historical Resources strongly recommends consulting the staff before beginning the project to ensure it meets the necessary requirements and criteria.

Additional Resources

Preservation Briefs from the National Park Service - Preservation Briefs provide information on preserving, rehabilitating, and restoring historic buildings. These publications help historic building owners recognize and resolve common problems prior to work. The briefs are especially useful to Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program applicants because they recommend methods and approaches for rehabilitating historic buildings that are consistent with their historic character.

National Park Service Guides to Preservation by Topic - Technical Preservation Services has compiled this index to assist users in finding the online and printed information that has been developed on the subjects of historic preservation and the rehabilitation of historic buildings. The index is arranged alphabetically and topics are cross referenced where appropriate.

Contact us by email at historycenter@scgov.net or by phone at (941)-861-6882 if you have further questions about the Sarasota County's historic preservation programs.