No. Property rights are always limited by regulations that protect the public health, safety, and welfare (i.e. zoning, building codes, fire codes, etc.). This ordinance is a set of regulations intended to protect the public welfare. Its legal precedent has been well established and tested in Miami and in over 800 U.S. cities that have similar historic ordinances in effect. The ordinance contains innumerable safeguards for private property owners, most notably the prohibition against creating an unreasonable or undue economic hardship. An illegal infringement on private property rights could occur only if the Historic and Environmental Preservation Board were to try and impose an unreasonable requirement contrary to the rules of the ordinance. Owners are protected against that possibility through appeals to the City Commission and the Circuit Court.

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