Town permitDevelopment in a flood hazard area needs a permit from the floodplain administrator and, where applicable, the building official - Cutler Bay Code Sec. 18-41
Other agenciesPermits carry a condition that all other applicable state or federal permits be obtained first, including FDEP for shore protection seaward of the coastal construction control line and FDEP with the Army Corps for work affecting wetlands - Sec. 18-48
Coastal zone VBulkheads and seawalls allowed only if authorised by the appropriate federal, state or local authority and a design professional shows no harmful diversion of floodwater - Sec. 18-146
Water use districtThe town's canals, lakes and submerged lands are zoned WU; site plan approval is required for all uses there, docks reach no more than 6 ft into canals, and natural and nature-based features are required when shoreline stabilization is needed unless the director approves another method - Sec. 3-64
After the workNo fertilizer within 15 ft of the top of a seawall (new plantings may be fed for 60 days starting 30 days after planting) - Sec. 14-305
DepartmentBuilding Division of the Community Development Department; its forms include a contractor registration form, owner-builder disclosure, notice of survey requirements and a homeowner survey affidavit, but no seawall checklist - Town Building Forms page
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)