City permitNo development until the Community Development Department's Building Division issues a building permit, and every other approval the land development regulations require must be obtained first - Aventura Code Sec. 31-81(a)
ApplicationMust describe the land by legal description and address, state the value of the work, include plans and specifications and be attested by the applicant and the property owner; the Building Official checks it for compliance with the land development regulations, the City Code and the Florida Building Code - Sec. 31-81(b),(c)
Permit cardShows the owner, the contractor and the work being done, and stays posted in a conspicuous place at the front of the property during working hours, available to the Building Official on demand - Sec. 31-81(d)
County approval firstBefore any development permit next to tidal waters, the owner must obtain approval from Miami-Dade County environmental resources management - Sec. 31-236
Coastal flood zonesSeawalls in V and Coastal A zones need other agency authorisation and a design professional's analysis - Sec. 30-147(d)
After the workNo fertilizer within 20 ft of the top of a seawall or of Biscayne Bay, canals and other surface waters - Sec. 30-224(a)
Small jobsA licensed contractor needs a permit for general maintenance over $500; the city asks for a notarized application signed by owner and contractor, proof of ownership and a job cost evaluation - Building Division Residential/Commercial Requirements
County Class I permitMiami-Dade DERM must issue a Class I permit before any work in, on, over or upon tidal waters anywhere in the county, including inside cities - County Code Sec. 24-48(1)(d) and 24-48.1(1)(a)
Short formRebuilding or repairing a seawall at the mean high water line or no more than 18 inches waterward of the existing wall qualifies for a short-form application. It also qualifies where existing primary support piles stick out no more than 14 inches, if the new wall is no more than 18 inches waterward of those piles - Sec. 24-48.2(I)(A)(1)
Who decidesA short-form application limited to seawalls is decided by the Department with no County Commission hearing. Most standard-form applications are now decided by the Director, apart from listed exceptions such as variances - Sec. 24-48.2(I)(B)(1)(iii)-(iv) and (II)(C)(1), as amended by Ord. 25-73 (1 July 2025)
County clockOrd. 25-73 Sec. 8 directs the County to issue a Completeness Summary within 10 calendar days of submission and a final decision on short-form seawall applications within 90 calendar days after that summary. The applicant may waive these limits in writing. The County Mayor reported the timeframes apply from 1 Dec 2025 (report to the Commission dated 17 Apr 2026)
No Class I neededSealing cracks and spalls on the cap or face, repairing pilasters, backfilling behind the wall, and limited riprap or sand-cement bags at the toe (no more than 2 ft out) - Sec. 24-48(3)(b)-(f)
Quick approval insteadRepairing or replacing the cap or the tieback system gets a written expedited administrative authorization, answered within 10 business days, if the contractor submits structurally approved plans from the building authority - Sec. 24-48(4)(f)-(g)
Not a substituteA county permit does not relieve the applicant from obtaining all required federal, state and local permits - Sec. 24-48.5(1)
State (FDEP)No state environmental permit is needed to restore a seawall at its previous location, upland of it, or within 18 inches waterward of it - Fla. Stat. 403.813(1)(e). The exemption does not cover permission to use state-owned submerged lands or local requirements - 403.813(1)
State-owned bottomWork over sovereign submerged lands still needs Board of Trustees permission even when the seawall work is exempt - Fla. Stat. 403.813(1)
Federal (Army Corps)A Department of the Army permit is required for structures or work in or affecting navigable waters, either under a nationwide or regional general permit or an individual permit - 33 CFR 322.3(a)