Outdoor kitchens in South Miami

South Miami grew from the pioneer settlement of Larkins, was incorporated as the Town of South Miami in 1926 and became the City of South Miami on June 24, 1927. South Miami calls itself the City of Pleasant Living and points to its small-town atmosphere.

Most of South Miami's land area is designated and zoned for single-family residential use. Minimum lot sizes in South Miami's single-family districts range from 40,000 square feet in RS-1 Estate Residential to 6,000 square feet in RS-4 and RS-5.

In 2005, Cambridge Lawns, a neighborhood of 31 small Tudor and Mediterranean style homes from the 1920s and 1930s, became South Miami's first historic district.

In South Miami, the Design Review Board reviews site plans before a permit is issued for any new structure, or material alteration to one, that is visible from a public or private street. All site plans for new single-family homes in South Miami are reviewed by the Design Review Board after staff confirm they meet the zoning rules.

South Miami's Design Review Board weighs the scale, color, texture and landscaping of a project, and accessory structures and utility areas must be placed or screened so they fit their surroundings. We plan the kitchen so it is screened from the street wherever possible, and prepare the plans and material details for the review. In South Miami's historic district and on designated historic sites, projects are reviewed by the Historic Preservation Board before design review, including the standards for a certificate of appropriateness.

South Miami requires a tree permit to remove or relocate any tree and to prune more than one-third of a tree's canopy, and building permits for work such as decks or pools wait for a valid tree permit. Before a tree permit is issued in South Miami, the applicant must post a notice on the property for at least ten days, during which an objection backed by a licensed arborist can be filed.

That notice period is one reason to start early. We place the kitchen clear of large roots and keep the fire away from low 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.