WallDockDeck
Hollywood · Broward County

Do I need a permit to repair a seawall in Hollywood?

Yes, plus county licensecity permit + county license

Yes. Hollywood will not issue a building permit to build, rebuild, structurally alter or repair a waterfront retaining wall unless its seawall rules are met, and the application needs a Florida engineer's design. A substantial repair must reach the city's tidal flood barrier height and be faced with limerock rip-rap or other approved habitat enhancement. Broward County also requires its own Environmental Resource License, often a general license for a repair in the same place.

Source: Hollywood Code of Ordinances ss. 150.22, 150.23, 150.30 (American Legal, 2026 S-52); Broward County Code Ch. 27 Art. XI Secs. 27-333, 27-336 (Supp. 72); s. 403.813(1)(e), F.S. (2026); 33 CFR 322.3(a) · Verified 2026-10

The detail

CityNo building permit to construct, reconstruct, structurally alter or repair any retaining wall on property abutting canals, lakes or other waterways unless the subchapter is complied with - Code s. 150.23; applications must include a design by a Florida-registered engineer, filed with the city - s. 150.22. Substantial repair = one project modifying more than 50% of the property's shoreline, or work on an attached structure such as a dock exceeding 50% of the cost of a new tidal flood barrier as determined by the City Engineer - s. 150.30(C); such walls need 5.0 ft NAVD88 (4.0 ft for applications before 1 Jan 2035 if designed to reach 5.0 ft by 2050), must run along the entire tidally influenced shoreline with return walls where they cannot tie in, and must be faced with at least one cubic yard per linear foot of natural limerock rip-rap, or other approved habitat enhancement - s. 150.30(D)(1), (6), (7). Not applicable seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line - s. 150.30(B) (Ord. O-2022-01). The city committed to re-evaluate the 5 ft standard by 2034, and a living shoreline counts if its landside edge is impermeable and built to the minimum elevation - s. 150.30(A)(3), (D)(8)
Broward CountyConstruction in regulated aquatic resources needs a county Environmental Resource License (ERL) - Broward County Code Sec. 27-333(a)(1). Repairing an existing functional seawall no more than 1 ft waterward of its authorized location, or a new wall within 1 ft of the old wet face with the old wall left in place, qualifies for a general license (Sec. 27-336(a)(1)b.), as do refacing, crack filling, seepage holes and other minor repairs (n.) and raising the cap in the same footprint (o.); the code says a general license is issued within 10 days of a complete application - Sec. 27-336(a)(1)
StateRestoring a seawall at its previous location, upland of it, or within 18 inches waterward is exempt from a state environmental resource permit; the exemption does not replace permission to use state-owned submerged land or county and city requirements, and does not cover chapter 161 coastal permits - s. 403.813(1), (1)(e), F.S.
FederalA U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Department of the Army) authorization is required for structures or work in or affecting navigable waters, unless exempt or covered by a nationwide or regional general permit - 33 CFR 322.3(a) (Rivers and Harbors Act s. 10)

Your city's height sheet

The elevation your city requires, the datum it is measured in, and the section of code that says so. One page.

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The county rule behind this

What applies across Broward County, and where each city departs from it.

Broward CountySeawall requirements county-wide

The same question, nearby

The rule changes at the city line, not the county line.

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Twelve signs a seawall is failing

What to look for, where to look for it, and what it means when you find it. Walk your wall in twenty minutes.

A screening sheet for owners, not an engineering inspection.

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