WallDockDeck
Key Colony Beach · Monroe County

How high does a seawall have to be in Key Colony Beach?

5.5ft above mean sea level

Key Colony Beach is the only jurisdiction in Monroe County that sets a seawall elevation, and it is the most prescriptive seawall code in the Keys - height, cap width, length, shape and even rubbing posts are all fixed. Note the datum: the city states its rule in mean sea level, not NAVD88, and the two are not interchangeable.

Source: City of Key Colony Beach Code of Ordinances Ch. 5, Art. III, Div. 5, Seawall Location and Design Standards, Secs. 5-50 to 5-56, and Secs. 5-25, 5-30, 5-62, 6-45 · Verified 2026-10

The detail

The figure5.5 ft above mean sea level for the first seawall on a canal, and for all subsequent walls on that canal. Rubbing posts, pilings and similar projections are excluded from the measurement. Sec. 5-51(a).
Mind the datumThat is mean sea level, not NAVD88. The ordinance predates NAVD88 in local practice and we have found no published conversion, so take the figure as written and get your datum from your survey.
If you connect to neighboursJoining existing walls at both ends, your top matches the higher of the two. Joining at one end, it matches that one. Sec. 5-51(b) and (c).
If nothing adjoinsYour top matches the highest existing seawall on the same side of the same canal. Sec. 5-51(d).
Cap widthNot less than 5 feet and not more than 10 feet. Sec. 5-52.
Full frontageThe seawall must run the full length of the water frontage, with no exception for lots with more than one frontage. Sec. 5-53.
Sloping walls are bannedSeawalls must be perpendicular and the cap horizontal. Sloping seawalls are not permitted. Sec. 5-54.
Return slabsNot less than five inches thick. Sec. 5-55.
Rubbing postsNot less than 5 feet nor more than 10 feet above mean sea level. Sec. 5-56.
A seawall may be mandatoryThe city's position is that seawalls are the most suitable erosion control for most locations here, and they are required wherever permitted by state or federal agencies. Sec. 5-25.
Order of permitsThe city issues its permit only after you hold the required approvals from the Army Corps of Engineers, FDEP or any other required agency. Sec. 5-30.
You must maintain itOwners must keep a seawall in safe and sturdy condition. Sec. 5-62. Seawalls are deemed structures subject to city inspection and enforcement, with a notice procedure for an unsafe or deteriorated wall. Sec. 6-45.

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.

Available for the cities whose rule we have verified and sourced.

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The county rule behind this

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

Monroe CountySeawall requirements county-wide

The same question, nearby

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

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Other questions about Key Colony Beach

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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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