In South Beach’s tranquil Palm View neighborhood, a once-stylish house gone shabby offers a case study in a complicated conflict facing many South Florida communities threatened by rising seas, tides and storm surge.

It’s historic preservation vs. flood protection.

Anthony Accetta — an attorney who inherited three connected properties in a historic district of Miami Beach where some homes date back nearly a century — has been embroiled in a battle over a 1930’s home with a colorful heritage that neighbors now call an eyesore. Two of his adjacent homes in a flood-prone area of the city have already been deemed unsafe and demolished. But the city’s Historic Preservation Board has been pushing to save the last one.

The board argues that the two-story home can be raised — or even restored w

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