WallDockDeck
Aventura · Miami-Dade County

How big a dock can I build in Aventura?

15 ft onto public propertymaximum; actual reach set case by case by waterway width

Aventura leaves dock reach largely discretionary: there is no fixed length for private waterways. The Community Development Department sizes each dock case by case from the waterway's width, with a hard ceiling of 15 ft of protrusion onto public property. Miami-Dade County environmental staff and the drainage district must also sign off before construction.

Source: City of Aventura Code Sec. 31-238(m) (section history through Ord. 2017-07); Miami-Dade County Code Secs. 24-48.1(1)(a), 24-48.3(1)(j),(3); Fla. Stat. 403.813(1)(b) (2026); 33 CFR 322.3(a) · Verified 2026-10

The detail

ProjectionThe amount a dock protrudes onto public property is at the discretion of the Community Development Department based on waterway width; in no case more than 15 ft - City Code 31-238(m)
ApprovalsBefore construction, approval from the Community Development Department, Miami-Dade County Environmental Resource Management and the appropriate drainage district - 31-238(m)
UpkeepDocks must be kept in repair; a dock not properly built or maintained must be removed within 15 days of notice - 31-238(m)
Governing sectionDock rules sit in City Code Ch. 31 (Land Development Regulations), Sec. 31-238(m); it sets no side setback, width or height figure for docks
Waterfront setbackSeparately, a 20 ft rear setback measured landward from the rear or waterfront line applies to buildings, principal and accessory alike; no building construction is allowed in it - City Code 31-238(l)
Miami-Dade County Class I permitAny work in, on, over or upon tidal waters or bay bottom anywhere in Miami-Dade County, cities included, needs a county Class I permit - County Code 24-48.1(1)(a). New boat slips at docks in tidal waters need at least 4 ft of water at mean low water; the depth rule does not apply to docks in bulkheaded artificial canals bordered by uplands on both sides, to lifts, davits and piles in slips at existing permitted docks, or to repair of existing legal docks with at least 3 ft of water - 24-48.3(3). A dock proposed beyond the boundaries in Sec. D-5(03)(2)(a) of the county Public Works Manual gets extra review factors - 24-48.3(1)(j)
State exemptionA private, non-commercial dock on pilings with 1,000 sq ft or less of over-water surface (500 sq ft in Outstanding Florida Waters), and the only exempt dock along 65 ft of shoreline (or one per lot if the lot is narrower), needs no state environmental permit - Fla. Stat. 403.813(1)(b). The exemption does not grant permission to use state-owned submerged lands and does not override city or county rules - 403.813(1)
FederalStructures in navigable waters need a Department of the Army permit, general or individual - 33 CFR 322.3(a)

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