Outdoor kitchens in Miami Beach

Miami Beach is a barrier-island community between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, with over seven miles of sandy beaches. In February 2023, Miami Beach approved its first major update of land development rules since 1989, including a new resiliency code aimed at rising sea levels. For new construction, Miami Beach sets minimum and maximum yard elevations to encourage raising private lots along with the future raising of streets; the minimums do not apply to existing structures.

For an outdoor kitchen on a new home, that means the terrace height is part of the plan from the start.

On May 14, 1979, the Miami Beach Architectural District became the nation's first urban 20th-century historic district on the National Register of Historic Places, and the city's historic districts now include over 2,600 buildings. Mediterranean Revival became a prominent style in Miami Beach in the 1920s, with light stucco, clay tile roofs, arches and courtyards that invite outdoor living. For single-family homes built before 1966, Miami Beach's code names styles such as Vernacular, Mediterranean Revival, Art Deco, Streamline Moderne, post-war modern, mid-century modern and brutalist when deciding whether a home is architecturally significant.

A FREILUFT kitchen does not imitate any of these styles. Its calm lines and a natural stone counter (natural stone worktops in Nero Assoluto, Anthracite Black, Taj Mahal and Calacatta Brazil) let it stand beside stucco, tile roofs or mid-century glass.

In Miami Beach's single-family districts, an outdoor built-in barbecue grill or similar cooking equipment is allowed as an accessory use, as permitted by the fire marshal and in line with the applicable safety code or the Florida Building Code. In Miami Beach's single-family districts, accessory buildings may cover no more than 25 percent of the required rear yard and must stand at least five feet from the main home, open to the sky.

In Miami Beach, permits for new construction, alterations or additions in single-family districts are reviewed by planning staff, the Design Review Board or the Historic Preservation Board, depending on the property. In Miami Beach, work on historic structures or within historic districts needs a certificate of appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Board or Planning Department staff.

Removing trees or palms in Miami Beach needs a tree work permit; exemptions include non-specimen trees under three inches DBH in single-family yards and palms under 15 feet in overall height. We place the kitchen so it works with the existing palms, and keep the fire away from fronds and branches. The manufacturer specifies a minimum clearance of 11 13/16 in (30 cm) to adjacent building elements; local fire codes in Florida are reviewed during planning.

Miami-Dade County lies in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone and has the most advanced requirements of the Florida Building Code. A FREILUFT kitchen is built to stay outside year-round and has storm hooks in the plinth that secure the doors; before a storm, secure everything loose.