Village permitDevelopment in a flood hazard area needs a permit from the Floodplain Administrator (the Chief Building Official) - Key Biscayne Code Secs. 10-23, 10-14
Coastal flood zonesIn V and Coastal A zones, seawalls and bulkheads need authorisation from the appropriate federal, state or local authority plus a design professional's analysis showing no harmful diversion of floodwater or wave reflection - Sec. 10-99
SurveysEvery permit needs a survey and site plan; the survey must be under two years old for single-family homes (three for other property), a notarized affidavit can replace an older survey if nothing has changed, an updated survey is due at setback inspection and an as-built at final - Sec. 30-34
Fill near the wallWithin 25 ft of the water, fill may not be more than 6 inches above the bulkhead, and neither the bulkhead nor the lot may be raised above the rear-zone limit of 2.5 ft below base flood elevation - Sec. 30-100(d)(1)b.-c.
After the workArtificial turf next to a seawall must be pinned or staked behind it; nothing may be attached to or placed on the seawall or its cap - Sec. 30-242
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)