Ponte Vedra Beach HOA Guide for Outdoor Living Projects

A homeowner's guide to architectural review for outdoor living projects in Ponte Vedra Beach.

Below: what's distinctive about Ponte Vedra Beach, who reviews exterior changes, who issues the permit and where we've worked nearby.

Book a Consultation · Call (904) 629-8803

Ponte Vedra Beach at a Glance

Ponte Vedra Beach is an unincorporated coastal area of St. Johns County between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway. It includes gated golf communities such as Sawgrass Players Club, Marsh Landing and The Plantation, as well as older neighborhoods along the ocean and the Intracoastal with deed restrictions instead of an architectural board.

Backyard Planning in Ponte Vedra Beach

Layered review in gated communities. Some communities review projects at both the neighborhood and master level.
Del Webb Ponte Vedra is in neighboring Nocatee, not in the city of Ponte Vedra Beach, and it has its own association.
Between the ocean and the Intracoastal, Ponte Vedra Beach homes get salt air, strong sun and coastal storms, so finishes are chosen for the exposure.
Ponte Vedra Beach homes are often larger and older than Nocatee's, so many projects replace an aging pergola, deck or screen with something built to last.
Outdoor rooms here tend to be full living spaces, with fireplaces, TVs and kitchens under one roof.

What We've Built in Ponte Vedra Beach

Cedar gazebo, screen enclosure and outdoor kitchen, The Coves (Sawgrass Players Club) An expansive A-frame cedar gazebo tied into the home's roofline, with a linear gas fireplace and TV wall, inside a screen enclosure with our expanded-view upgrade, over marble laid in a French pattern with an outdoor kitchen and a new door opening into the house.

From old pool to cedar A-frame and outdoor kitchen, Ponte Vedra Beach We filled in an unused pool and built an A-frame cedar gazebo carried into the roof, over a new paver patio with a gas fire bowl. Underneath sits an outdoor kitchen with a bar and granite counters. This family came back to us for their second project.

Pergola-to-gazebo makeover with travertine and seating walls, Sawgrass (Ponte Vedra Beach) We removed an aging pergola and outdoor kitchen and replaced them with a custom cedar gazebo with a wood ceiling, a screen enclosure with a motorized retractable screen and a linear fireplace. French-pattern travertine, seating walls, columns and a water feature tie it together, with in-ground lighting for evenings.

In Florida, UF/IFAS advises eliminating wood-to-ground contact, such as posts and decks set directly in soil, to help reduce termite risk.

The Building Permit in Ponte Vedra Beach

St. Johns County issues the building permits for Ponte Vedra Beach. Expect a clearance step before the permit application, an automatic notice to registered architectural review associations, and a recorded Notice of Commencement for most permitted projects. The details are in our St. Johns County permit guide. Each permitted structure gets the engineered documents it needs. Approval from the board and the permit from the building department are two different sign-offs, and we manage each.

Architectural Review in Ponte Vedra Beach

Each Ponte Vedra Beach community runs its own review. We prepare the package to your community's current guidelines. Confirm current guidelines with your association.

Gated and golf communities in Ponte Vedra Beach, including Sawgrass Players Club, Marsh Landing and The Plantation, each run their own architectural review, and roof materials, screen colors and setbacks are common topics. Confirm current guidelines with your association.

The Florida Building Code uses the national ASCE 7 wind standard, so design wind speeds vary by location, and areas designated wind-borne debris regions carry added requirements.

Working With AY Luxury Designs

Amany Youssef designs every project in person with you in AutoCAD, first at our Jacksonville studio and then at your home. We can start most projects within two to four weeks, and financing is available through Synchrony Bank, including 18 months of no-interest financing. You get a fully itemized custom quote within 24 hours of your design consultation, and every project has a $10,000 minimum. Electrical work is handled with our licensed electrical partner, and gas and plumbing connections are made by our licensed trade partners. The final 5% stays with you for seven days after we finish, so any touch-ups get done before you sign. We prepare the HOA/ARB package, get the necessary engineered documents for every permitted structure and pull the permits.

Matching the Package to the Project

Outdoor kitchens. Most HOAs review outdoor kitchens along with any structure over them, so we submit them together.
Screen rooms and enclosures. Frame color, screen color and height are the usual questions, and the drawings answer them up front.
Lights. Where an HOA reviews lighting, we list the fixtures and locations in the package.
Covers and gazebos. A scaled site plan, elevations and the roof, post and trim selections are what most boards ask to see for a new structure.

Every board is different, so treat this as a checklist and confirm current guidelines with your association.

Related Guides

More reading: the HOA architectural review guide and our Ponte Vedra Beach page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Ponte Vedra Beach its own city? No. Ponte Vedra Beach is unincorporated St. Johns County, so building permits come from the County.

Do oceanfront homes need extra permits? Construction seaward of Florida's Coastal Construction Control Line can need a permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection on top of the county permit. We check this for oceanfront lots.

Do I need a permit for a backyard structure in Ponte Vedra Beach? Most roofed and attached structures need a building permit from St. Johns County, and many freestanding ones do too, depending on size and design. HOA approval and the permit are separate steps, and we handle both.

Do you serve Ponte Vedra Beach? Yes. In Ponte Vedra Beach, our projects include a paver patio with seating walls and lighting. We start with a design session at our Jacksonville studio, and Amany then visits your home to finalize the design with you.

Next Step for Your Ponte Vedra Beach Home

Sit down with Amany to design it in person in AutoCAD, and we'll handle the review package and the permit.

Call (904) 629-8803 or book a consultation. Design studio: 8917 Western Way, Suite 7, Jacksonville, FL 32256 · Monday–Friday, 10am–5pm

AY Luxury Designs LLC · Certified Building Contractor CBC1268168 · Amany Youssef: Registered Building Contractor RB29003947 · Registered Electrical Contractor ER13016631 · Registered Underground Utility & Excavation Contractor RU11066663