Seawall requiredEvery property on a waterfront other than the Atlantic Ocean must have a seawall and maintain it - Golden Beach Code Sec. 46-76
Town permitA building permit from the Town and other applicable jurisdictions is required to construct a seawall; the permit fee and a cash bond are set by resolution - Sec. 46-77
DesignCertified by a registered engineer and built by a licensed contractor to plans approved in advance by the Building Official - Sec. 46-78
SurveysLot survey under 6 months old with NAVD-88 elevations every 20 ft; pile log approved before forms go up, form surveys approved before concrete, and sealed as-built surveys before final inspection - Sec. 46-79
HeightNew and replacement seawalls built at 4.425 ft NAVD-88 - Sec. 46-85(a)
RepairsRepairs may use other methods such as precast panels or sheet piles if they match the original design; rip-rap banned - Sec. 46-82
Nonconforming wallsMust be brought up to standard when work on the property exceeds 50% of the structure's assessed value, the house is demolished, the wall is materially altered, or the property is sold; before a sale (except to immediate family) the owner provides a sealed engineer's report, and a permit to fix deficiencies, including raising the cap, must be filed within 180 days after closing - Sec. 46-86(b)
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)