Commercial Painting Rules in St. Lucie County

Painting is on the list of job scopes in s. 489.117 of the Florida Statutes for which no local government may demand a state or local license before it issues a permit. So no city or county in St. Lucie can make a painting license the condition of a painting permit.

There is one carve-out. Where a city or county already licensed painting, coating and cleaning on the roofs of buildings over three stories before January 1, 2021, it may keep that license. Separately, s. 163.211 ended older local occupational licensing on July 1, 2025.

Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor. On a painting job that uncovers work needing its own license, such as electrical or structural repair, Romco coordinates that work with a firm that holds the license.

The county's Building and Code Regulations Division holds permitting over the unincorporated county. Its list of items not requiring a permit includes painting, but only within repairs below the county's value limit that leave structure, fire ratings and exits alone. For some larger work the county still wants an exemption application so it can verify the exemption. Above that, the county's page is silent, so Romco asks the division.

Color is set by the county's Community Architectural Standards, LDC 7.10.24. In commercial, office, institutional and planned non-residential zones they call for soft, muted tones from a Preferred Color Chart and no more than three colors on all facades. The standards apply to new construction, substantial expansion, and redevelopment worth half or more of a building's appraised value, with site plans approved through the Development Review Committee. They do not say whether a plain repaint of an existing building must follow the chart.

Historic properties designated by the county are different. Under LDC 4.11.09 a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historical Commission covers the color of walls, roofs, windows and doors, and the county issues no permit affecting such a property without it.

Port St. Lucie's Citywide Design Standards, adopted by Ordinance 21-030 in May 2021, name repaints directly: a proposal to paint the walls must meet Section 9.1, Building Face Color. When an existing building's face changes color, the new colors must come from the city's Approved Colors Chart. The standards cover commercial, office, industrial, institutional and multifamily buildings visible from a street right-of-way.

The chart is keyed to one paint maker's color numbers, and the city accepts any manufacturer's paint that matches a listed number. The palette favors light to medium pastels and earth tones, with darker colors limited to accent and trim: accent is capped at 20 percent, and trim at lower percentages.

St. Lucie West, Tradition, Southern Grove, Western Grove and City Center PUD are exempt, because they adopted other design standards. In those areas Romco confirms with the property's association or district which standards apply before choosing colors.

Fort Pierce has six designated historic districts. Under city code Chapter 111, altering a designated site or a building in a district needs a certificate of appropriateness, and the review covers color. The approval matrix makes painting a staff decision; painting an originally unpainted surface on a contributing building goes to the Historic Preservation Board.

The city issues no building permit until the certificate is approved. Outside the districts, city design review applies to development needing site plan approval, and a plain repaint is not named, so Romco asks the city.

St. Lucie Village is its own town and issues its own building permits through its Building Official. We found no town color or design rule for a commercial repaint, and its oldest section is a National Register Historic District with 33 contributing homes and structures, so Romco checks with the town before each job.

The EPA renovation rule covers child-occupied facilities: pre-1978 rooms or buildings that one child younger than six keeps returning to, week after week, such as day care centers, preschools and kindergarten classrooms in commercial or public buildings. Work that disturbs paint there must be done by a certified renovation firm, and Romco arranges one when the rule applies.

OSHA's lead standard for construction, 29 CFR 1926.62, reaches any alteration, repair or renovation of structures that contain lead, including removal or encapsulation. Romco has old coats tested before sanding or scraping a pre-1978 building.

Scaffolds fall under 29 CFR 1926.451, which requires each scaffold and component to carry its own weight and at least four times the maximum intended load. Boom lifts, aerial ladders and vertical towers used to raise workers fall under 29 CFR 1926.453.

Rope descent on a tall building depends on the owner. Under 29 CFR 1910.27, the building owner has to hand the contractor a written statement, before anyone descends, that every anchor point was located, tested and kept up to hold 5,000 pounds for each worker. Romco requests that owner letter at the start.

On unincorporated Hutchinson Island, county code allows buildings up to 125 feet in Zone A and 35 feet in Zone B, so the access method there is set by the zone as much as by the wall.

Section 553.899 sets the first milestone inspection for a condominium building at the close of its 30th year. The local enforcement agency may move that to 25 years for local reasons such as proximity to salt water. St. Lucie County's milestone web page lists a 25-year trigger within 3 miles of the coast, while the county code points back to the statute, so each association should confirm its own date with the county.

Section 718.112 puts waterproofing and exterior painting on the required list for a structural integrity reserve study. Romco can phase a repaint to match the study's schedule and coordinates any structural repair the inspection calls for with a licensed firm.

County Ordinance 07-005 bars anyone from discharging anything but stormwater into the county storm sewer or watercourses, and its definition of a pollutant names paints, varnishes, solvents and building residues. Commercial washing is not on its exempt list. The county names the North Fork of the St. Lucie River and the Indian River Lagoon as where that runoff ends up.

Port St. Lucie code Section 56.11 treats any discharge not on its allowed list as illicit, and Fort Pierce's utility code lists paint and ink residues among discharges barred from the sewer. Romco contains wash water, chips and leftover paint on every job and removes them for disposal.

Treasure Coast International Airport is a county-run general aviation airport with a U.S. Customs and Border Protection office. We found no published contractor badging or airside rule for it, so on a quote there Romco arranges access, escorts and work hours directly with the airport operator.

The Port of Fort Pierce is managed by the county's Department of Port, Inlet & Beaches, and Derecktor Shipyards services megayachts there as a tenant. Romco quotes port and airport building work and plans the phasing and access around operations with the operator.