Port St. Lucie, St. Lucie County
Demolition in Port St. Lucie
Port St. Lucie runs its own Building Department, and its demolition checklist starts with the utilities. A house comes down only after FPL and the city's Utilities Department confirm in writing that service has been removed. Half the city's housing was built in 2002 or later, yet the older platted lots carry their own complications.
General Development Corporation bought about 40,000 acres along the North Fork of the St. Lucie River in 1958 and set out to sell lots rather than houses. The city was incorporated on April 27, 1961. On those old platted lots, septic systems went in at up to four per acre, and 12,717 septic tanks were still in service across the city at the end of January 2025. A demolition on one of those lots can involve a septic tank, and closing one out takes a state abandonment permit under Rule 62-6.011 and a licensed contractor, both of which we line up.
The city's checklist, updated in September 2025, asks the owner to initial an Asbestos Notification Statement. A written asbestos report is required only if asbestos has been found on the property, but the state still expects notice of the demolition at least 10 working days ahead, asbestos or not, and a city permit does not satisfy that notice. Where the building's age calls for it, we arrange a licensed survey by an independent consultant before anything is pulled down.
Work valued at 5,000 dollars or more needs a Notice of Commencement recorded with the St. Lucie County Clerk and uploaded to the city portal, with 24 hours allowed before an inspection is requested. Owner-builders add a recorded deed or property card and an owner-builder affidavit. Trees are a separate permit from Planning & Zoning under the 2011 ordinance, which protects trees of 12 inches in diameter or more and native palms with at least 10 feet of clear trunk.
Sources: City of Port St. Lucie: Building Department (Notice of Commencement upload) · City of Port St. Lucie: Tree Protection and Preservation · City of Port St. Lucie: 2025 septic-to-sewer fact sheet · Port St. Lucie Historical Society: Q&A · Port St. Lucie history and incorporation · Census Reporter: year structure built (ACS 2020–2024) · Florida DEP: asbestos and demolition notification · Florida Administrative Code: Rule 62-6.011, abandonment of onsite sewage systems (DEP)
Permit office for Port St. Lucie
City of Port St. Lucie Building Department
Demolition checklist (9-24-25): FPL and Utilities Department letters, owner-initialled Asbestos Notification Statement, recorded NOC at 5,000 dollars or more, and owner-builder deed plus affidavit.
Read the official sourceThis summary is not legal advice. When Romco takes the job, we sign the permit application as the responsible contractor. St. Lucie guide to demolition permits
What we quote in Port St. Lucie
More demolition we quote
- Interior demolitionStrip a suite or a house to the studs while the shell and its live systems stay intact.Interior demolition in St. Lucie →
- Selective demolitionTake out an addition, a wing or a bay and keep the building that remains in service.Selective demolition in St. Lucie →
- Commercial demolitionRetail, office and industrial buildings taken down, with approvals run in the right order.Commercial demolition in St. Lucie →
- House demolitionA full teardown of a single-family house, from utility letters to a graded lot.House demolition in St. Lucie →
- Structural demolitionFrames, walls and floors taken down in order, including buildings under unsafe orders.Structural demolition in St. Lucie →
- Concrete removalSlabs, driveways, footings and foundations broken out, hauled and recycled.Concrete removal in St. Lucie →
- Pool removalBreak out the top and backfill, or lift the whole shell, with the drainage handled.Pool removal in St. Lucie →
- Mobile home demolitionSingle and double wides removed with chassis, tie-downs, add-ons and debris cleared.Mobile home demolition in St. Lucie →
- Storm damage demolitionHurricane, tornado and flood damage taken down with the record your insurer needs.Storm damage demolition in St. Lucie →
- Site clearingLots cleared of old structures, slabs and debris, with protected trees left in place.Site clearing in St. Lucie →
- Asbestos coordinationLicensed survey, FDEP notice and licensed abatement scheduled before demolition.Asbestos coordination in St. Lucie →
- Accessory structure demolitionSheds, detached garages, carports and screen enclosures removed under permit.Accessory structure demolition in St. Lucie →
- Something else?If your job is missing from the list, call anyway. We price odd jobs too.Call (772) 310-3298 →
Start to finish
How a St. Lucie job moves
Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale. A backyard shed follows the same order as a commercial building.
Reach out
Call or fill in the form. Mention whether the place has a septic tank; it adds a step before the permit.
We look at the property
We come out and trace the services: the FPL drop, the water line, and the septic tank or sewer tap. Then we look at the truck route in and at what sits next door.
A written scope and quote
Each line of the scope says come down, stay, or leave on a truck. Items waiting on the survey result are flagged so nothing is assumed.
Survey, notice, letters, permit
A licensed asbestos survey, the state demolition notice, the utility letters, then the permit from the city, town or county.
Demolition and hauling
The crew works through the scope in order. C&D debris goes to a permitted site such as the county facility on Glades Cut-Off Road, and every ticket is filed.
Final inspection
Last comes the final inspection from the city, town or county. After that the lot is bare and graded, or the shell you wanted kept is still standing.
Questions
Demolition in Port St. Lucie
Do I need a tree permit to demolish a house in Port St. Lucie?
Possibly. The city's tree ordinance protects trees of 12 inches in diameter or more and native palms with 10 feet or more of clear trunk, and those permits come from Planning & Zoning rather than the Building Department. Platted single-family lots are exempt, so a house on a platted lot usually is not caught, while a commercial or unplatted parcel can be. Tree removal is licensed work we coordinate.
What will my demolition cost in St. Lucie?
Two houses on the same Port St. Lucie street can quote quite differently, so we post no rates. The price is set after a visit, or from photos and plans that show enough, and it follows the materials, the footprint and height, the asbestos survey, the service disconnects, any septic tank to abandon, how equipment gets in, what sits next door, what stays, and how far the debris travels.
Do I need an asbestos survey if I think there is no asbestos?
The state's position is that every demolition needs a written notice, even when no asbestos is found, and the notice has to be filed at least ten working days before demolition begins. St. Lucie notices go to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Southeast District. A building permit does not take its place. Fort Pierce also asks for an asbestos report on older homes and commercial buildings. Romco books a licensed survey and brings in a licensed abatement firm for any material found, since we hold no abatement license ourselves.
How long does the whole process take?
We give no estimate until the paperwork picture is clear. The ten-working-day state notice is fixed. Review time at the city, town or county, the utility letters, the survey result, any Fort Pierce historic board review and septic abandonment are not, and size and construction count too. When each is known, you get the steps in order and what each one is waiting for.
Other St. Lucie cities: Tradition · St. Lucie West · Sandpiper Bay · Fort Pierce · Lincoln Park · St. Lucie Village · River Park · Lakewood Park · White City · Hutchinson Island South · Unincorporated St. Lucie County
Every type and size, all over St. Lucie County
Tell us what has to come down, and we will quote it.
Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale. A kitchen wall in Tradition and a strip center on US 1 are quoted the same way: on paper, line by line.